英國女作家茱麗葉收到一封來自遙遠根西島的陌生人來信，他在一本二手書發現了她的名字和地址，由於很想再讀作者的其他作品，因此寫信與她聯繫，還提及島上成立「根西馬鈴薯皮派文學讀書會」的由來。茱麗葉對島上的一切感到很好奇，於是雙方開始通信，也與讀書會的其他成員魚雁往返，他們談閱讀對人生的影響，談逆境中堅強活下去的力量，也談生活中的甘甜苦澀。
隨著和島民的情誼日漸深厚，茱麗葉決定親自前往根西島一遊，一開始是為了收集下一本新書的題材，沒想到她的生命因此有了意想不到的轉折......
值得一提的是，這本小說採用書信體寫成，一封封情意真摯的信件在英國倫敦、蘇格蘭、海峽中的根西島、法國之間往返傳情，讀者就像展讀塵封在櫃子底部的一封封信件，逐漸串聯起令人歡笑又落淚的故事全貌。此書再次肯定閱讀的不朽和人性的不平凡，令人不禁憶起《查令十字路84號》的越洋情誼。這是一個關於書、關於愛情與友情的抉擇、關於歷史與記憶的美好故事。
★本書中譯本《親愛的茱麗葉》由遠流出版
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends-and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society-born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island-boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
作者簡介
瑪麗．安．薛芙（Mary Ann Shaffer）
曾任編輯、圖書館員，也曾在書店工作。二十年前，她赴倫敦旅行時順道前往海峽群島一遊，因氣候因素受困於根西島，卻就此展開與根西島的一世情緣。薛芙一直懷有寫作夢，也將第一部小說的故事背景設定在根西島，最後終於一圓夢想寫出《親愛的茱麗葉》，可惜她於本書出版前夕過世，無緣看到自己的第一本小說隆重出版。《出版家週刊》特為她刊出訃聞，這是新人作家少有的高規格待遇。
安妮．貝蘿絲（Annie Barrows）
是薛芙的外甥女，曾任編輯，也是童書作家。
