At the end of the Second World War, as the writer Juliet Ashton is considering what the subject for her next book might be, she receives a letter from a stranger on Guernsey island,Dawsey Adams, who has seen her name inscribed on a book by Charles Lamb.

The correspondence that begins between Juliet and this rather formal and shy man opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for Juliet, both in her personal quest for a new book subject and in the expansion of the horizons of her personal life.

The novel unfolds in the form of letters to and from Juliet, and thus we meet her close friends, her publisher, her American suitor who pursues her doggedly, and even more importantly we get to know the one character who is actually absent from the book: the haunting personality of Elizabeth, the founder of the society that has given this book its title.

As Elizabeth's life circumstances are revealed to us through the information Juliet receives about her from others who write to her we sense the empathetic bond that Juliet is forming with this absent character. Elizabeth's spontaneity and bravery find a deep resonance in Juliet's response to her story, and in her reaction to the way different people on the island have interacted with Elizabeth.

The members of her spontaneously formed literary society do in fact develop an interest in reading, although some of them become fixated on certain authors and styles. In all cases however, there is a humorous tolerance of one another as they explore their new-found interest in literature.

The backdrop to all of this is the dreadful shadow of the Second World War and the effect the German occupation had on this small island. The portrayal of the Germans is most interestingly achieved: it is not at all stereotypical, and it allows for individuals to reveal many facets of their lives and personalities. The social deprivation suffered by islanders and indeed people in Britain during the war years is well depicted, and the scenes of children being sent to war-torn Britain for their own safety are heart-rending.

Not all the characters in this book are positive and good people. There are mean-spirited backbiters who write Juliet letters with nasty undertones; there are double-dealing journalists and others who think only of the profit to themselves in their encounters with some of the characters in the book.

There are moments of great humour, as well as moments of great sorrow and pain in this book, but it is a book that leaves one with a sanguine hope for the future of its characters, many of whom we feel we have come to know very well as we peruse the letters they write.
Juliet's decision to go to Guernsey, to meet the correspondents she has come to know, is a turning point in the book and in her life.

It is interesting that Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows succeeded in maintaining the momentum of the story line by continuing with the letter-writing device to bring the novel to its dénouement.

This is another book where I felt I got to know the characters, and one I was sorry to have to finish, but it is one I will share with many of my friends who, I'm sure, will also enjoy it.

You might click
on the little librarian black cat
to read the impression of Grinning Cat 2
on this book.