Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie

Description

The first stamp (36p) refers to how the Literary Society began, when Dawsey Adams dispatches the pig that Amelia Maugery has hidden from the Germans and feasts on it with Amelia and her friends.

The second stamp (45p) shows a bookshelf containing some of the many titles enjoyed by the Literary Society. Through these books, the group is able to 'almost forget, now and then, the darkness outside' (letter from Amelia to Juliet).

The third stamp (48p) illustrates Juliet's arrival in Guernsey. In a letter to Dawsey, she asks him to give a message to Isola Pribby that she will wear a red cloak on the boat so that she will recognise her.

The scene of stamp number four (52p) is the view through Elizabeth McKenna's window. During Juliet's stay, she discovers that Elizabeth, the absent heart of the group, was a collector of things, which she displayed throughout her cottage. The poppy is a tribute to the lives lost in the War.

Stamp number five (58p) is the pivotal moment when Juliet admits her feelings for Dawsey. She describes the atmosphere on the cliffs, when she and Dawsey look out over a moonlit sea, the air loaded with anticipation, the spell broken by the arrival of the arrogant American Markham V. Reynolds.

The final stamp (65p) shows Isola's parrot, Zenobia, who helps detain Billee Bee when she tries to steal the collection of Oscar Wilde letters written to Isola's grandmother.

If you have read the book, I hope the illustrations ring true for you and if you have not, I hope they encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful read - part love story, part social history and part champion of the power of books, but more importantly of the power of friendships, to help you through the hardest of times.

Specification