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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
It's January, 1946, and writer Juliet Ashton sits at her desk, vainly seeking a subject for her next book. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from one Dawsey Adams of Guernsey - by chance, he's acquired a secondhand book that once belonged to Juliet - and, spurred on by their mutual love of Charles Lamb, they begin a correspondence.
When Dawsey reveals that he is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Juliet's curiosity is piqued, and it's not long before she begins to hear from the other members. As the letters fly back and forth with stories of life in Guernsey under the German Occupation, Juliet soon realizes that the society is every bit as extraordinary as its name.
There's gawky Isola, who makes love potions to sell along with her vegetables; Eben, a fisherman with a passion for Shakespeare; Will, erstwhile ironmonger and the creator of the famous potato peel pie; and Dawsey himself, a farmer with a shy manner and a tender heart. Most poignant of all are the memories of Elizabeth, the founding member of the society, who fell in love with a German officer, saved a starving prisoner, and was sent away to a concentration camp, leaving her child behind.
Sustained by books and one another, the islanders have battled the bitter hardships of World War II. Juliet, entranced by their stories and their spirit, decides to visit Guernsey to meet her new friends properly.
A moving tale of the power of friendship, books, and love, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will beguile the heart and mind.
(Nielsen BookData Online)
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Living with natives : New Zealanders talk about their love of native plants / edited by Ian Spellerberg and Michele Frey
Politicians, artists, academics, farmers, business people - growing numbers of New Zealanders are committed to a love affair with native plants.
Whether it be in a private garden, a corporate planting, or an eco-restoration area, there is something about planting with New Zealand natives that evokes beauty, tranquillity, and the satisfaction of restoring our environment to the way it used to be.
This collection of 44 personal narratives is sumptuously illustrated with photographs by John Maillard, who travelled from Invercargill to Auckland to bring to life the contributors' garden stories. Contributors include Peri Drysdale, Jeanette Fitzsimons, Bob Harvey, Diana, Lady Isaac, Tim Shadbolt, Steven Tindall, Mathew Sinclair, Hugh Wilson, and a host of conservationists and gardeners esteemed in their locales.
The informative and often moving stories are as individual as their authors. Each records a gardener's successes (and failures) and offers sound advice based on experience.
(Nielsen BookData online)
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