The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

It may not be so widely known, but not all of the British Isles escaped German occupation during World War Two. The Channel Islands, including Jersey and Guernsey, were occupied by the Nazis from 1940 until their liberation in 1945.

In 1946, a writer decides to travel to Guernsey after encountering a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. She meets a colourful cast of characters, including the man who originally wrote to her, Dawsey. The longer she stays, the more involved she becomes in their lives.

Some of Britain’s finest talent star in this film, including a fair few who made a turn in Downton Abbey: Lily James (Lady Rose, also seen in Cinderella and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) stars as Juliet, the writer; Jessica Brown Findley (Lady Sybil in Downton Abbey), Penelope Wilton (Isabel) and Matthew Goode, who played Lady Mary’s second husband, Henry Talbot (also seen in A Discovery of Witches). The handsome Dawsey is played by Dutch actor Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones).

The movie scored 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Entertainment Weekly saying that it’s “a movie… you don’t so much watch as wear like a slanket.”