The Whalebone Theatre

Quinn, Joanna

£14.99

‘Maudie, why are all the best characters men?’ Maudie closes the book with a clllump. ‘We haven’t read all the books yet, Miss Cristabel. I can’t believe that every story is the same.’ Cristabel Seagrave has always wanted her life to be a story, but there are no girls in the books in her dusty family library. For an unwanted orphan who grows into an unmarriageable young woman, there is no place at all for her in a traditional English manor. But from the day that a whale washes up on the beach at the Chilcombe estate in Dorset, and twelve-year-old Cristabel plants her flag and claims it as her own, she is determined to do things differently.

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Publish Date: 09/06/2022
ISBN: 9780241542835 Category: Tags: ,

Description

‘One of the books both Her Majesty and I love … The Whalebone Theatre stirs the imagination and takes you to a magical place’ JENNA BUSH-HAGER

***A JOINT BOOK CLUB PICK FROM THE QUEEN CONSORT’S READING ROOM AND READ WITH JENNA***

‘One of those writers who has her finger on humanity’s pulse. An absolute treat of a book, to be read and reread’ Sunday Times

Destined to become a classicElegantly written and totally immersive, Quinn’s debut is a wonderDaily Mail

‘One of those big chunky stories that swallows you whole – and it’s beautifully written too’ The Times

——–

‘Maudie, why are all the best characters men?’
Maudie closes the book with a clllump. ‘We haven’t read all the books yet, Miss Cristabel. I can’t believe that every story is the same’

Cristabel Seagrave has always wanted her life to be a story, but there are no girls in the books in her dusty family library. For an unwanted orphan who grows into an unmarriageable young woman, there is no place at all for her in a traditional English manor.

But from the day that a whale washes up on the beach at the Chilcombe estate in Dorset, and twelve-year-old Cristabel plants her flag and claims it as her own, she is determined to do things differently.

With her step-parents blithely distracted by their endless party guests, Cristabel and her siblings, Flossie and Digby, scratch together an education from the plays they read in their freezing attic, drunken conversations eavesdropped through oak-panelled doors, and the esoteric lessons of Maudie their maid.

But as the children grow to adulthood and war approaches, jolting their lives on to very different tracks, it becomes clear that the roles they are expected to play are no longer those they want. As they find themselves drawn into the conflict, they must each find a way to write their own story…

——–

‘A book that will be loved unreasonably and life-long‘ Francis Spufford, author of Light Perpetual

Utterly captivating … Written with great heart, humour and humanity, it’s the kind of book you want to escape normal life to read at every available opportunity‘ Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie

The Whalebone Theatre has all the makings of a classic … A wonderful debut. Actually, a tour de force‘ Sarah Winman, author of Still Life

Additional information

Weight 766 g
Dimensions 240 × 162 × 41 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

x, 547

Language

English

Edition

Hardback original

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K