Historical

The Whalebone Theatre

The Whalebone Theatre

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  • Create Date：2022-10-05 08:21:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Joanna Quinn
  • ISBN：0593321707
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Summary

An utterly enchanting， immersive novel about an irrepressible young heroine who becomes an undercover agent during World War II--a sparkling debut， by turns heartwarming and heartbreaking。

One blustery night in 1928， a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel。 By law， all whales belong to the King， but twelve-year-old Cristabel Seagrave has other plans。 She and the rest of the household and their guests--her sister， Flossie （known affectionately as The Veg）; her brother Digby， the long-awaited heir to Chilcombe manor; Maudie Kitkat， maidservant; Taras， a hot-tempered visiting artist--build a theatre within the whale's skeleton。 Cristabel is an orphan， mostly ignored by her feckless step-parents and brisk governesses。 But within the Whalebone Theatre， she is fully at home and in charge， and her imagination comes to life。

As Cristabel grows into a headstrong young woman， chafing against expectations， World War II rears its head。 She and Digby become British secret agents working undercover in Nazi-Occupied France on separate missions--a more dangerous kind of play-acting， it turns out， and one that threatens to tear the family apart。

The Whalebone Theatre is a sweeping， transporting， completely irresistible novel， full of warmth and charm， humor and poignancy， passion and adventure--a story of love， bravery， lost innocence， and self-transformation。

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Reviews

Maine Colonial ，

I read a free advance digital copy， provided by the publisher via Netgalley。One of my favorite topics， in fiction and non-fiction， is Europe between the wars and into World War II。 Naturally， I jumped on this book， which follows Christabel Seagrove from toddler to veteran of WW2， having worked as a secret agent in France。Though Christabel is the main focus of the book， there is a huge cast， including her half-sister Flossie， cousin （but effectively brother） Digby， her father， stepmother， uncle W I read a free advance digital copy， provided by the publisher via Netgalley。One of my favorite topics， in fiction and non-fiction， is Europe between the wars and into World War II。 Naturally， I jumped on this book， which follows Christabel Seagrove from toddler to veteran of WW2， having worked as a secret agent in France。Though Christabel is the main focus of the book， there is a huge cast， including her half-sister Flossie， cousin （but effectively brother） Digby， her father， stepmother， uncle Willoughby， longtime servants， and the bohemian group that spends a summer living in the cottage near the family’s estate， Chilcombe， on the English southwest coast。 Then， as we move from Christabel’s childhood to the war years， there are her fellow agents and those she meets in the field， the German POW who works for Flossie at Chilcombe， the various servicemen Flossie interacts with， and so on。There is a lot of promise in this book， but it could use tightening up， and a more prominent thematic link for the whalebone theater throughout the story。 Some better fleshing out of the main characters would help， too。 The story would have been stronger with less time spent on the childhood years and more on the adult years。 The first 40% of the book is a bit of a slog， with a lot of emphasis on Christabel’s stepmother and uncle， who just aren’t that interesting and who aren’t a factor for the rest of the book。The story definitely has its moments， so it’s worth reading despite its flaws。 I could definitely see it being made into a miniseries。 。。。more

Henry_koin ，

A very nice book

Kim McGee ，

A charming and multi layered tale of a young girl who feels invisible until she finds the body of a washed up whale and incorporates the bones into a community theatre。 Cristabel and her siblings learn about life through the eyes and drunken musings of her step mother and the eclectic group of artist houseguests。 She and her brother Digby take this knowledge and put it to good use as British spies during WWII。 An imaginative tale that pays tribute to and condemns the lack of the usual British up A charming and multi layered tale of a young girl who feels invisible until she finds the body of a washed up whale and incorporates the bones into a community theatre。 Cristabel and her siblings learn about life through the eyes and drunken musings of her step mother and the eclectic group of artist houseguests。 She and her brother Digby take this knowledge and put it to good use as British spies during WWII。 An imaginative tale that pays tribute to and condemns the lack of the usual British upper class upbringing。 My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy。 。。。more

Susan ，

Source: Main Point Books

Hasanasil ，

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Muhammedali ，

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Tracey ，

Actual rating 3。5 stars。I'll admit when I realized that this book was nearly 600 pages， I had second thoughts about taking it on。 That's a lot to ask of anyone， but the premise was interesting enough to push past my reservations and see what Quinn had to offer in her debut。 The story spans two decades of a landed family in England， from the 1920s to post-WWII。 There was a lot going on， but the story was slow to grab me and make me want to keep reading。 The characters needed more flesh while at t Actual rating 3。5 stars。I'll admit when I realized that this book was nearly 600 pages， I had second thoughts about taking it on。 That's a lot to ask of anyone， but the premise was interesting enough to push past my reservations and see what Quinn had to offer in her debut。 The story spans two decades of a landed family in England， from the 1920s to post-WWII。 There was a lot going on， but the story was slow to grab me and make me want to keep reading。 The characters needed more flesh while at the same time the story on the whole needed a fair amount of slimming down。 The research was excellent， and Quinn is clearly a good writer， but this story needed a judicious amount of red pen to make it more engaging。 There were also a fair amount of editing issues which kept pulling me out of the story which are not the fault of the author as far as I can tell。My thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group， the author， and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Hebe Wayatt ，

Oh my goodness…。。It was so good！！！But the reason I gave it a four instead is a five was because of the second half of the book。The first was when it was about the kids， their friendship and the plays and their horrible parents and then when they grew older it became boring because they moved away from each other。And of course someone had to die…。

Lizanne Johnson ，

This is a lengthy book that followed Cristabel Seagrave from the age of three in 1920 through WWII。 Cristabel does not fit into the mold of females of the era。 Her stepmother is not much of a mother to any of the three children under her care。 She calls her daughter Flossie “Veg。” She prefers Digby， the heir。 However， all three children are neglected and allowed to run wild。 As the story progresses， slowly at times， the three put on p，and in the theater they created inside the bones of a whale。 This is a lengthy book that followed Cristabel Seagrave from the age of three in 1920 through WWII。 Cristabel does not fit into the mold of females of the era。 Her stepmother is not much of a mother to any of the three children under her care。 She calls her daughter Flossie “Veg。” She prefers Digby， the heir。 However， all three children are neglected and allowed to run wild。 As the story progresses， slowly at times， the three put on p，and in the theater they created inside the bones of a whale。 Their imaginative， self-reliant childhoods prepare them for their roles in WWII。 Detailed and atmospheric， this book will appeal to readers who appreciate a deep story with complex characters。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Jean Kolinofsky ，

Joanna Quinn presents a story in five acts that follows the life of Cristabel Seagrave， introducing her as a three year old in 1920 and following her through WWII。 An orphan， she lives with her stepmother’s family on the Seagrave estate。 In the second act she is twelve years old。 Accompanied by her half-sister Florence and her cousin Digby， the children find a whale on their beach。 Cristabel has always been adventurous with a child’s imagination and claims the whale。 When an artist moves into a Joanna Quinn presents a story in five acts that follows the life of Cristabel Seagrave， introducing her as a three year old in 1920 and following her through WWII。 An orphan， she lives with her stepmother’s family on the Seagrave estate。 In the second act she is twelve years old。 Accompanied by her half-sister Florence and her cousin Digby， the children find a whale on their beach。 Cristabel has always been adventurous with a child’s imagination and claims the whale。 When an artist moves into a cottage on the estate， Cristabel plans with him to put on plays with the artist providing scenery。 It is the whale that becomes a showpiece as its’ skeleton is exposed and becomes the frame of the theater。 With the artist’s children， the estate’s staff and guests playing parts it attracts the local villagers， but when word spreads the theater attracts an audience from growing distances。 The theater plays a major part in the children’s lives as they grow until war brings an end to life as they know it。By the third act Digby has enlisted and experienced the horror of Dunkirk。 Cristabel has acquired a position with the War Office and Florence has become a Land Girl。 The whalebone theater now contains a garden of vegetables to supplement food rations。 When Digby is trained and sent to France to aid the resistance， Cristabel pursues a similar path。 Fluent in French and German， she becomes a courier in France， where her experience with the theater helps her to survive。Quinn follows the lives of the Seagrave children through the war。 Florence grew up being called Veg by her mother and never feeling that she could succeed。 Having to run the estate in the absence of Digby and Cristabel， she learns how capable she is of controlling her life。 Digby was always praised by his mother but pushed by his father to give up the theater。 It takes his wartime experience to accept who he really is。 Cristabel has always been independent and has a strong connection to Digby， the brother she always wanted。 When tragedy strikes she must find an inner strength to carry on。 Through it all they are connected to their theater of bones。 From the imaginary play of children to the horrors of war， this is an emotional journey that you will hate to see end。 I would like to thank NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for providing this book for my review。 。。。more

Molly Moore ，

For a debut novel is pretty outstanding。 A massive family saga type book that spans 25+ years of he Seagrave family。 It mostly focuses on the 3 children Christabel， Flossie and Digby but the story does start with their parents although they are fairly quickly consigned to history and the crux of the tale is set in the second World War years with the book ending pretty much at the end of the war。Joanna Quinn is an excellent writer。 It is easy to visualise the places， the era， the clothes， landsca For a debut novel is pretty outstanding。 A massive family saga type book that spans 25+ years of he Seagrave family。 It mostly focuses on the 3 children Christabel， Flossie and Digby but the story does start with their parents although they are fairly quickly consigned to history and the crux of the tale is set in the second World War years with the book ending pretty much at the end of the war。Joanna Quinn is an excellent writer。 It is easy to visualise the places， the era， the clothes， landscape etc。 She does an amazing job of bringing it all alive enabling you to connect with the characters and become engrossed with their story however I do have some issues with it too。Mostly that the writer had too much story， too much detail and the result is that you are left wanting at times as characters appear， make an impact and then vanish again leaving their story incomplete。 Sophie and Hans are two such characters where they are just completely forgotten by the characters they had an impact on。 It just left some gib questions unanswered in my opinion and I have decided that the really big problem with this book is that it needed to be two books。The author obviously had an epic story to tell with numerous aspects too the 3 main characters。 By trying to pack it into one book it meant that some parts of the story are just abandoned in a way that I found disappointing。My only other slight criticism is that is yet another WWII book that really kind of romanticises the era。 It is a very nostalgic view of the time and there are some bits of the plot that I just couldn't get along with。 The idea that Digby could be living with his male lover in Nazi occupied Paris was just too far fetched。 They would have been too scared to do such a thing in case someone told on them。 If you love a WWII fiction and family sagas then this one will definitely tick some boxes for you and just to be clear despite my criticisms it is actually a great book that I enjoyed very much and seeing as it is a debut I have high hopes for further books by this authorSolid 4 stars 。。。more

Gail ，

I love reading stories that take place in England between the two world wars。 Life kind of goes back to the way it was before World War I， but there are subtle ways that you can sense that more major changes are on the way。 This novel starts at that point with the very dysfunctional Seagrove family。 The story centers mostly on the three children， Christabel， Flossie， and Digby。 They are all sympathetic characters， but I definitely loved Christabel。 She is a strong minded child， who grows into a I love reading stories that take place in England between the two world wars。 Life kind of goes back to the way it was before World War I， but there are subtle ways that you can sense that more major changes are on the way。 This novel starts at that point with the very dysfunctional Seagrove family。 The story centers mostly on the three children， Christabel， Flossie， and Digby。 They are all sympathetic characters， but I definitely loved Christabel。 She is a strong minded child， who grows into a strong woman。 The story moves along more quickly as World War II starts。 Christabel and Digby become part of the secret war， going into Occupied France to get information in and out that can help the Allies。 I think the story rambled on a bit too much and at points， there was a too much use of figurative language， but all in all it was a good story worth reading。 。。。more

Yvette ，

This is a great debut novel。 Primarily a story of siblings， the story centres around Chilcombe， the family home。 Christabel is the eldest child and she is the main protagonist。 There’s a dichotomy between the warmth of home even though the parents are not nurturing and the starkness of war as the book moves into WWII。 And a love for the power of stories。

Chelsie Jensen ，

There are scenes in this book that will stick with me for a long time…。 Images that are crystal clear。 This book is very long， but in a good way。 It’s not fast-paced， but it kept me coming back to see what happened next。The book spans decades。 It covers the time period leading up to WWI and concludes after WWII。 It mostly follows one spunky little girl who grows up in a world where hard decisions have to be made。 Interludes in her story follow some of her family members， and the lens is brutally There are scenes in this book that will stick with me for a long time…。 Images that are crystal clear。 This book is very long， but in a good way。 It’s not fast-paced， but it kept me coming back to see what happened next。The book spans decades。 It covers the time period leading up to WWI and concludes after WWII。 It mostly follows one spunky little girl who grows up in a world where hard decisions have to be made。 Interludes in her story follow some of her family members， and the lens is brutally honest。This is a story about hope and hardship and following your dreams， however fleeting。 There are pieces of love but mostly I think people are just trying to endure， and sometimes that looks like sharing quiet moments。Also， there are spies。 Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this book in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more

Samantha O'Loughlin ，

Loved this book， the descriptions are just absolutely beautiful and the detail provided creates a real world in the readers mind。 The characters draw you in and you are swept along on this extraordinary tale。

Rita Brutsch ，

The "go to" novel for readers of historical fiction this fall。 It's a long narrative with detailed， whimsical descriptions of landscape and people in the tradition of Rosamund Pilcher perhaps。 Settle in a comfortable chair on a rainy day and forget about the world around you。 The "go to" novel for readers of historical fiction this fall。 It's a long narrative with detailed， whimsical descriptions of landscape and people in the tradition of Rosamund Pilcher perhaps。 Settle in a comfortable chair on a rainy day and forget about the world around you。 。。。more

Kathleen Gray ，

Christabel， Flossie， and Digby， raised as but not entirely siblings， grow up on a slightly shabby estate in Dorset where they put on Shakespeare plays in a theater made of the bones of a whale which washed up on the beach in 1928。 Set both between the wars and during WWII， this is their story and it's largely told by Christa and Flossie， very different young women。 The children are almost feral， with the girls educated by a governess and Digby's tutor （and they live in the attic）。 Friends of the Christabel， Flossie， and Digby， raised as but not entirely siblings， grow up on a slightly shabby estate in Dorset where they put on Shakespeare plays in a theater made of the bones of a whale which washed up on the beach in 1928。 Set both between the wars and during WWII， this is their story and it's largely told by Christa and Flossie， very different young women。 The children are almost feral， with the girls educated by a governess and Digby's tutor （and they live in the attic）。 Friends of the family-a Russian artist， his wife， his children， his mistresses， a Colonel， an American-live on the estate and figure throughout。 It's all somewhat idyllic until WWII， when Digby enlists and Christa volunteers， leaving Flossie to run things at home。 Both Digby and Christa find themselves in the SOE and these sections are the most gripping。 This is an unusual novel- it's written very much like novels of an earlier age with major events happening in an understated way。 I'll admit I almost put it aside because I was tired of the childhood theatricals and honestly couldn't visualize the whale， but I'm very glad I didn't。 There are scenes that linger， scenes that are poignant and scenes that are tough， and scenes that are sweet。 This takes a bit of patience but it's very much worthy your time。 Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC。 An excellent read。 。。。more

Vicki Lehany ，

Wonderful period piece。 Downtown Abbey come spy thriller

Heather ，

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。This book was beautifully written， but got so caught up in being literary that it got a bit boring at times。 That's really all I can think to say about it。 It covered so many tropes: seeing the world as a child and a bildungsroman for all three children， surviving a war， finding your place， and the place of theater in the world。 I feel as though it tried to do too much at once by trying to focus on all of these I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。This book was beautifully written， but got so caught up in being literary that it got a bit boring at times。 That's really all I can think to say about it。 It covered so many tropes: seeing the world as a child and a bildungsroman for all three children， surviving a war， finding your place， and the place of theater in the world。 I feel as though it tried to do too much at once by trying to focus on all of these themes。 。。。more

Sara Downing ，

An absolute joy of a book， following the story of Cristabel， Florence and Digby starting in the 1920s through to 1945。 Joanna Quinn's writing is fantastic， the way she has mixed the writing style from text， to letters and diary entries which changes the flow of the story effortlessly。 An absolute joy of a book， following the story of Cristabel， Florence and Digby starting in the 1920s through to 1945。 Joanna Quinn's writing is fantastic， the way she has mixed the writing style from text， to letters and diary entries which changes the flow of the story effortlessly。 。。。more

Tricia ，

Excellent- beautiful evocative descriptions- interesting characters- wonderful。

Genevieve ，

This is the best book I’ve read so far in 2022。 I couldn’t put it down， but I didn’t want to end。 Gorgeous use of language。

Suzanne ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Een mooi verhaal waarin je het leven van Cristabel en haar familie volgt。 Van kinderlijke alwetendheid en fantasie naar de onmacht in een oorlog。 Fijn geschreven， leest vlot。

Rinske ，

3，5⭐️

Janette ，

This was a bit of a mixed bag。 I enjoyed it once the children were grown up and leading their own lives。 The first part didn't engage me at all though。 I think it's hard telling stories through the eyes of young children。 The young Christabel just didn't feel realistic to me。 This was a bit of a mixed bag。 I enjoyed it once the children were grown up and leading their own lives。 The first part didn't engage me at all though。 I think it's hard telling stories through the eyes of young children。 The young Christabel just didn't feel realistic to me。 。。。more

Kaitlin ，

“The Whalebone Theatre” was beautifully written and extraordinarily truthful about the tragic effects of childhood trauma and war， but without bad language or graphic details。 It felt old-fashioned in the best sort of way， sad and lovely with moments of poignant humor and enough references to classic stories to please the bookworm inside all of us。 I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story which reminded me of “I Capture the Castle” and “Madame Bovary” all at once， and that will make sense if you “The Whalebone Theatre” was beautifully written and extraordinarily truthful about the tragic effects of childhood trauma and war， but without bad language or graphic details。 It felt old-fashioned in the best sort of way， sad and lovely with moments of poignant humor and enough references to classic stories to please the bookworm inside all of us。 I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story which reminded me of “I Capture the Castle” and “Madame Bovary” all at once， and that will make sense if you read this engaging debut novel from Joanna Quinn。I received an arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review。 “The Whalebone Theatre” comes out on October 4th！ 。。。more

Carol Perreault ，

A rambling story of a woman with dreams confronted by the realities of life and war。

Ellis ，

The Whalebone Theatre is sprawling story of three siblings from childhood to service in WW2。 Though it wasn’t what I expected （I expected far more focus on the WW2 portion）， the narrative is so well-done that I almost didn’t care。 The descriptive power Quinn has is phenomenal， I really found myself transported to different times， joining the Seagrave children on their adventures。 I think we can all see a portion of ourselves in each child as they learn and grow。 This is the perfect story of the The Whalebone Theatre is sprawling story of three siblings from childhood to service in WW2。 Though it wasn’t what I expected （I expected far more focus on the WW2 portion）， the narrative is so well-done that I almost didn’t care。 The descriptive power Quinn has is phenomenal， I really found myself transported to different times， joining the Seagrave children on their adventures。 I think we can all see a portion of ourselves in each child as they learn and grow。 This is the perfect story of the way childhood wonder carries us to adulthood and shapes us。 。。。more

Gisell ，

An inspiring and heart wrenching novel of love， loss and finding oneself。 The main characters portray a love so pure and untainted that it gives the novel a rose colored tinge， even as it deals with setbacks， disappointment and tragedy。 Reminiscent of All the Light We Cannot See， this book will fill your heart， tear it apart and lovingly put it back together。

Dan ，

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Knopf Doubleday for an advanced copy of this work of historical fiction。Childhood is a time and a place that is both scary and wonderful， new but in numerous ways， but with a lot of old expectations that have to met or maintained。 Being left on one's own， or even own devices sounds wonderful， making stages out of whale bones， digging in the dirt to one's content， but can also make life as one grows older harder to understand， or to manage。 or quite p My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Knopf Doubleday for an advanced copy of this work of historical fiction。Childhood is a time and a place that is both scary and wonderful， new but in numerous ways， but with a lot of old expectations that have to met or maintained。 Being left on one's own， or even own devices sounds wonderful， making stages out of whale bones， digging in the dirt to one's content， but can also make life as one grows older harder to understand， or to manage。 or quite possibly it could give a young woman all the confidence she needs to go on， as the world goes darker。 The Whalebone Theatre， by Joanna Quinn， is a novel about dysfunctional family， life after wartime， and life during wartime as a First World War leads inevitably to a Second。The book opens on holiday season at the manor of the Seagrave family， who are running abound preparing for the master of the house to return with his new bride， his second。 We meet Cristabel Seagrave as she prepares to meet her new mother， who she presents with a nice pile of mud and some grass。 Cristabel is a girl with her own ideas and thoughts about what is right， what is wrong， and even when wrong， is always sure that she is right。 Her father is cold and distant， confusing her new stepmother who expected much more from life， until the war took all her boys she loved away， and making her world much darker。 A whale washes on shore and Cristabel decides the bones will be perfect to make a stage from， where she her new darling brother and the staff of the manor can perform on。 This acting helps later as both Cristabel and her brother joing the Special Operations during the Second World War， moving to France to become an agent with the resistance。There is a lot going on and happening in this book， which for a debut reads quite smoothly and never seems to lose the narrative。 Quinn has an interesting writing style， making different characters narratives subtlety different and really giving a nice feel to the story。 I really can't get over that it is a debut。 The characters all have a chance to not to shine， but to exist in the novel， with Cristabel being clearly the best and the one readers will have a good time with。 Cristabel has a good heart， and a better imagination， and her defying the way that women were thought to have to behave is fun。 A big sprawling book that goes to places I didn't expect and much more emotional then I would have thought。 A really great debut novel， that makes one wonder where Joanna Quinn will go from here。 For fans of big novels， with quirky characters and situations， like Charles Pallister or even readers of I Capture the Castle。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Whalebone Theatre

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Whalebone Theatre&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Whalebone Theatre&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0