A high-profile film set on Guernsey has opened up the island’s charms to a new audience,
From enchanting clifftops and white sandy bays to the pretty cobbled streets of St Peter Port, Guernsey is a wonderful place to potter around. The pace of life is unhurried; a positively serene speed limit of 35mph means even drivers take their time as the bees buzz lazily and families play cricket on the beach. These old-world charms have been attracting tourists for years, and rightly so, but, this spring, the release of a high-profile new film shone a light onto a little-known chapter of the island’s history.
Directed by the acclaimed director mike Newell, of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, and starring Lily James, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was released in April, introducing the island to a whole new audience.
The film is based on the book of the same name, written by mary Ann Shaffer and co-authored by her niece, Annie Barrows. Set during the Second World War and its aftermath, the story centres around a small rural community in Guernsey and how it dealt with four years of Nazi occupation.
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