The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
Movie · 2018 · Romance, Drama, History · 2h 4m · English
Curator score: 5.1/10 (139.3K ratings)
Overview
Free-spirited writer Juliet Ashton forms a life-changing bond with the delightful and eccentric Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, when she decides to write about the book club they formed during the occupation of Guernsey in WWII.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.1/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.46/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Metacritic: 65
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Mike Newell
Production
Blueprint Pictures, The Mazur Kaplan Company, StudioCanal
Cast
Lily James, Jessica Brown Findlay, Matthew Goode, Michiel Huisman, Katherine Parkinson, Glen Powell, Tom Courtenay, Kit Connor, Penelope Wilton, Bronagh Gallagher, Bernice Stegers, Clive Merrison, Nicolo Pasetti, Florence Keen, Andy Gathergood, Tom Owen, Gregory Mann, Richard Derrington, Dilyana Bouklieva, Madeleine Domries
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A gentle, appealing wartime romance with strong period texture, amiable performances, and an easy literary charm. It’s best when it leans into the island community and the emotional aftermath of occupation, though the storytelling can feel a little polished and familiar.
Best for
viewers who like cozy period dramas with wartime backstory
fans of bookish romances and ensemble community stories
people in the mood for soft, comforting emotional stakes
Skip if
you want a sharper, more historically rigorous war drama
you prefer brisk pacing or more complex character conflict
you’re allergic to sentimental, tea-and-sweaters period-movie vibes
Overview
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society is a pleasant, old-fashioned drama that knows exactly how to be agreeable. It pairs a postwar mystery with a romance and a found-family ensemble, using the island setting and the book club premise to create a warm, lightly melancholic atmosphere.
Worth noting
The film’s biggest asset is its sense of community: the residents feel lived-in, and the occupation-era memories give the story more weight than its title suggests. Lily James brings brightness and determination, while the supporting cast helps sell the idea of a small place shaped by shared hardship.
Bottom line
It can feel a little too tidy, and some of the emotional turns are handled with a familiar prestige-drama gloss. But if you want a comforting historical romance with books, grief, resilience, and a scenic escape, it delivers exactly that.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Jay (2.5★) · 2434 likes
here is a list of everytime my mum has pronounced this films title wrong:
the guersney pie and paper clubthe potato guernsey pie clubthe litracy book potato clubgersey orange peel clubthe one with the nice girl from baby driver
beatriz (3.5★) · 1632 likes
i too would leave my london life behind after seeing michiel huisman wearing knitted sweaters and being so soft around a toddler
Robin (3★) · 1189 likes
maybe the real guernsey literary and potato peel pie society is the friends we made along the way
marcy (4★) · 905 likes
sometimes a family can be a pig farmer, a gin maker, a mailman, his grandson, an old woman, her adoptive daughter's illegitimate daughter, the writer that invited herself to their book club and her publisher
adam (4★) · 818 likes
i related DEEEPLY to the lonely alchohol making apothecary witch woman