Mary Ann Shaffer (née Fiery; December 13, 1934 – February 16, 2008) was an American writer, editor, librarian, and a bookshop worker. She is noted for her posthumously published work ''

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ''The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'' is a historical novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows that was published in 2008. It was adapted into a film in 2018 featuring Lily James as Juliet Ashton and Matthew Goode as Sidn ...

'', which she wrote with her niece, Annie Barrows.

Biography

Mary Ann Fiery was born on December 13, 1934, in

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Martinsburg the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia a ...

.Obituary
/ref> She had an older sister, Cynthia. They were raised in nearby Romney, West Virginia, but moved back to Martinsburg and went to high school there. Mary Ann was an alumna of

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

. She married Carl Richard Shaffer in 1956, and in 1958 they moved to California, where they raised two daughters, Morgan and Liz. She worked in the public libraries of San Anselmo, Larkspur, and San Rafael during her career. She also worked as an editor at

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...

, and as a bookseller at bookstores in Larkspur and Corte Madera. She began writing ''The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'' in the early 2000s, at the urging of her writing group. She died at her home in San Anselmo, California on February 16, 2008, shortly before the book was published.

References

1934 births 2008 deaths 21st-century American novelists American book editors American historical novelists American women librarians Writers from Martinsburg, West Virginia People from Romney, West Virginia Novelists from West Virginia 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers American women historical novelists People from San Anselmo, California Novelists from California Librarians from West Virginia {{US-novelist-1930s-stub