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The Whalebone Theatre
A transporting, irresistible debut novel that takes its heroine, Cristabel Seagrave, from a theatre in the gargantuan cavity of a beached whale into undercover operations during World War II—a story of love, family, bravery, lost innocence, and self-transformation.
One blustery night in 1928, a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel. By law, it belongs to the King, but twelve-year-old orphan Cristabel Seagrave has other plans. She and the rest of the household, her sister, Flossie; her brother, Digby, long-awaited heir to Chilcombe manor; Maudie Kitcat, kitchen maid; Taras, visiting artist, build a theatre from the beast’s skeletal rib cage. Within the Whalebone Theatre, Cristabel can escape her feckless stepparents and brisk governesses, and her imagination comes to life.
As Cristabel grows into a headstrong young woman, World War II rears its head. She and Digby become British secret agents on separate missions in Nazi-occupied France, a more dangerous kind of playacting, it turns out, and one that threatens to tear the family apart.
One blustery night in 1928, a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel. By law, it belongs to the King, but twelve-year-old orphan Cristabel Seagrave has other plans. She and the rest of the household, her sister, Flossie; her brother, Digby, long-awaited heir to Chilcombe manor; Maudie Kitcat, kitchen maid; Taras, visiting artist, build a theatre from the beast’s skeletal rib cage. Within the Whalebone Theatre, Cristabel can escape her feckless stepparents and brisk governesses, and her imagination comes to life.
As Cristabel grows into a headstrong young woman, World War II rears its head. She and Digby become British secret agents on separate missions in Nazi-occupied France, a more dangerous kind of playacting, it turns out, and one that threatens to tear the family apart.
554 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2022
About the author
Joanna Quinn
2 books546 followersJoanna Quinn was born in London and grew up in Dorset, in the South West of England, where her debut novel The Whalebone Theatre is set.
Joanna has worked in journalism and the charity sector. She is also a short story writer, published by The White Review and Comma Press among others. She teaches creative writing and lives in a village near the sea in Dorset.
Joanna has worked in journalism and the charity sector. She is also a short story writer, published by The White Review and Comma Press among others. She teaches creative writing and lives in a village near the sea in Dorset.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,732 reviews
April 25, 2022
there is no bigger treat to me than a book in the middle of the "coming of age" "interwar period" "crumbling stately home" venn diagram, i have read many and consider myself a picky little connoisseur, but this delivered on basically every single level! the prose was evocative and lovely, it was charming and held delight but the characters felt real and were completely themselves, and despite fitting into a type i love it never ever felt like a pastiche or knock off which is SUCH an achievement. i was struck by the cinematography of the book, the way joanna quinn framed her images and her moments of action and stillness.
if i were being pedantic it was probably realistically a 4/4.5 or so because in its scope i don't think it stuck the landing as i'd hoped it would: it had less ambiguity than say the cazalet books and i think it could have used greater political depth, the war sections felt like they were driven by the course of history rather than the stories of the characters, and the ending felt slightly anticlimactic, not because it wasn't dramatic but because it just felt well-trodden and inevitable in where they ended up. the beginning felt so original that i was a little disappointed by that. and entirely subjectively a usual requirement of these books for me is romance which was dialled down – but having said all that, rounding up because i found it so wonderfully enjoyable as a reading experience and for the sheer novelty of being almost totally great regardless of these things. i will absolutely be reading whatever joanna quinn writes next!
if i were being pedantic it was probably realistically a 4/4.5 or so because in its scope i don't think it stuck the landing as i'd hoped it would: it had less ambiguity than say the cazalet books and i think it could have used greater political depth, the war sections felt like they were driven by the course of history rather than the stories of the characters, and the ending felt slightly anticlimactic, not because it wasn't dramatic but because it just felt well-trodden and inevitable in where they ended up. the beginning felt so original that i was a little disappointed by that. and entirely subjectively a usual requirement of these books for me is romance which was dialled down – but having said all that, rounding up because i found it so wonderfully enjoyable as a reading experience and for the sheer novelty of being almost totally great regardless of these things. i will absolutely be reading whatever joanna quinn writes next!
May 16, 2022
Joanna Quinn’s debut’s an interwar, family saga that runs from the 1920s through to the end of WW2. It follows the fortunes of an upper-middle-class, Dorset family, the Seagraves. It opens with the second marriage of stolid, middle-aged, widower Jasper Seagrave to much younger, frivolous socialite Rosalind, whose prospects of a better marriage were blighted by WW1. The narrative moves between Jasper, Rosalind, Jasper’s daughter Christa (Christabel), and her profligate uncle Willoughby – once his mother’s golden child. As time passes key characters die, family dynamics shift and two more children – Digby and Florence – are added to the mix. The family interact with displaced bohemian artists, encounter a wondrous beached whale, travel to London to see the Ballets Russes, and later take on active wartime duties. It’s a richly-detailed piece but the pace is extremely leisurely to the point of meandering, and the slender plot lacks momentum. In addition, I found the central characters a little too thinly-drawn to fully engage my attention, with the possible exception of Jasper who’s unexpectedly portrayed as someone whose outward appearance conceals a surprisingly complex, emotional interior. It’s a perfectly competent, well-researched piece with some vivid descriptive passages, and elements that play with narrative conventions and expectations – letters, scripts, lists. And it’s likely to be a satisfying read for avid fans of this kind of period recreation but, from my perspective, comparisons to books like The Chamomile Lawn, the Cazalet chronicles or to Nancy Mitford did it no favours. It doesn’t have the drama or the deft touch of Wesley or Howard and it lacks Mitford’s sparkling wit. I struggled to rate this one, it’s not a bad novel, it just didn’t really work for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Fig Tree for an ARC
Rating: 2.5
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Fig Tree for an ARC
Rating: 2.5
November 9, 2022
Welcome to Chilcombe, "a many-gabled, many chimneyed, ivy-covered manor house with an elephantine air of weary grandeur...it has huddled on a wooden cliff overhanging the ocean for four hundred years." At this Dorset estate in the year 1919, Cristabel Seagrave awaited the arrival of her new mother, Rosalind, "a poised London debutante." Jasper Seagrave, widower, sought a young wife to provide an heir for Chilcombe. After the Great War and a shortage of suitable husbands, Rosalind settled for Jasper.
Rosalind had no love for her firstborn, a daughter. "... it looks like a vegetable...but at least she will have a film star name...Florence." An heir was what everyone wanted...boys could drive motors...be interested in snails, maps and warfare. Finally, a son and heir...Digby.
The Seagrave children had far from an idyllic childhood. Cristabel provided adventures for her half-sister Flossie aka "the Veg" and cousin Digby. She would tell Digby and Flossie stories. By secretly borrowing books from the study, Cristabel entered the world of Shakespeare and Homer. History, romance and adventure were now at her fingertips! The creative children entertained themselves with sock puppet shows using cardboard backdrops.
"After a night of thunderstorms, the air is as fresh as clean laundry. The chilly mist...swept away, lifting like stage curtains to reveal the coastline in its spring colours...[Cristabel] discovered a dead whale washed up on the pebbles...[She ] has just turned twelve; there isn't much she doesn't know. She had read nearly all the books in the house...She admires things done in an adept manner...the feeling of being up in front on her own...high on her whale, looking down at Digby and the Veg." The Whalebone Theatre will soon be born. "Their most-loved books have been read so many times...But the worlds contained within the books do not remain between the covers, they seep out and overlay the geography of their lives."
The Chilcombe estate had hosted many guests including a Russian painter named Taras. "If the front of Taras is the artist-entertainer, the back reveals the lifter-labourer-the graft behind the artistry." With limited resources and a bit of ingenuity, the whale's bones were crafted into an outdoor theatre. Taras volunteered to paint stage sets. Costumes needed were made from repurposed items. Actors would include children, Rosalind, household staff and visiting guests. Cristabel wanted to perform The Iliad. Taras created "a Troy and a wooden horse...". The Seagrave Estate Presents "The Iliad" under the direction of Cristabel Seagrave. The audience has been seated. Quiet please!
Lessons learned from performing, during the ten year span before WWII, were of great assistance to the Seagraves. Cristabel, an undercover agent parachuted into France, was able to easily change identities as needed while helping the Resistance Fighters. Digby, on a different secret mission, was reported missing. The Veg aka Flossie, provided evenings of low key entertainment, morale boosters for troops passing through Dorset. Interlaced within the framework of the story were wartime letters between the siblings and newspaper reviews of Whalebone Theatre presentations from 1928-1938.
The pages of "Whalebone Theatre" by debut author Joanna Quinn are arguably an ode to the lifelong, uplifting healing power of books, theatre and music. This ambitious, captivating read of historical fiction is highly recommended.
Thank you Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rosalind had no love for her firstborn, a daughter. "... it looks like a vegetable...but at least she will have a film star name...Florence." An heir was what everyone wanted...boys could drive motors...be interested in snails, maps and warfare. Finally, a son and heir...Digby.
The Seagrave children had far from an idyllic childhood. Cristabel provided adventures for her half-sister Flossie aka "the Veg" and cousin Digby. She would tell Digby and Flossie stories. By secretly borrowing books from the study, Cristabel entered the world of Shakespeare and Homer. History, romance and adventure were now at her fingertips! The creative children entertained themselves with sock puppet shows using cardboard backdrops.
"After a night of thunderstorms, the air is as fresh as clean laundry. The chilly mist...swept away, lifting like stage curtains to reveal the coastline in its spring colours...[Cristabel] discovered a dead whale washed up on the pebbles...[She ] has just turned twelve; there isn't much she doesn't know. She had read nearly all the books in the house...She admires things done in an adept manner...the feeling of being up in front on her own...high on her whale, looking down at Digby and the Veg." The Whalebone Theatre will soon be born. "Their most-loved books have been read so many times...But the worlds contained within the books do not remain between the covers, they seep out and overlay the geography of their lives."
The Chilcombe estate had hosted many guests including a Russian painter named Taras. "If the front of Taras is the artist-entertainer, the back reveals the lifter-labourer-the graft behind the artistry." With limited resources and a bit of ingenuity, the whale's bones were crafted into an outdoor theatre. Taras volunteered to paint stage sets. Costumes needed were made from repurposed items. Actors would include children, Rosalind, household staff and visiting guests. Cristabel wanted to perform The Iliad. Taras created "a Troy and a wooden horse...". The Seagrave Estate Presents "The Iliad" under the direction of Cristabel Seagrave. The audience has been seated. Quiet please!
Lessons learned from performing, during the ten year span before WWII, were of great assistance to the Seagraves. Cristabel, an undercover agent parachuted into France, was able to easily change identities as needed while helping the Resistance Fighters. Digby, on a different secret mission, was reported missing. The Veg aka Flossie, provided evenings of low key entertainment, morale boosters for troops passing through Dorset. Interlaced within the framework of the story were wartime letters between the siblings and newspaper reviews of Whalebone Theatre presentations from 1928-1938.
The pages of "Whalebone Theatre" by debut author Joanna Quinn are arguably an ode to the lifelong, uplifting healing power of books, theatre and music. This ambitious, captivating read of historical fiction is highly recommended.
Thank you Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Read
June 20, 2022DNF.
After taking an age to get to 25%, I put this book aside. If you love period drama and quirky characters a à la Still Life by Sarah Winman, you might enjoy this book more than I did.
Downton Abbey meets Nancy Mitford (I know the author is not keen on the Downton Abbey comparison but it’s unavoidable), it needed an injection of pace, a good edit (it’s 546 pages) and a stronger plot. I love a chunky book but it’s got to hold my attention and this one didn’t - it put me in a slump. Perhaps just not my genre.
After taking an age to get to 25%, I put this book aside. If you love period drama and quirky characters a à la Still Life by Sarah Winman, you might enjoy this book more than I did.
Downton Abbey meets Nancy Mitford (I know the author is not keen on the Downton Abbey comparison but it’s unavoidable), it needed an injection of pace, a good edit (it’s 546 pages) and a stronger plot. I love a chunky book but it’s got to hold my attention and this one didn’t - it put me in a slump. Perhaps just not my genre.
December 1, 2022
Oh God. This is one of those books which makes me never want to write another novel, because what is the point when prose as beautiful as this exists? Joanna Quinn, I love you and hate you in equal measure.
October 18, 2023
A predictable but absorbing debut novel straddling the popular tropes of the family saga, the country house, putting on a show (or three) and WWII special operations activities. Plus a few creative writing hacks that add additional viewpoints and quirkiness and are fun to discover along the way.
Overall though - and in spite of its careful research and fine writing - ‘The Whalebone Theatre’ is a long road of uneven and unnecessary length that eventually detracts from the whole.
But there’s still plenty to enjoy along the way.
Overall though - and in spite of its careful research and fine writing - ‘The Whalebone Theatre’ is a long road of uneven and unnecessary length that eventually detracts from the whole.
But there’s still plenty to enjoy along the way.
November 25, 2022
What a truly fantastic book. Powerful, moving, beautifully written, so compelling, with such fantastic characterisation. Definitely a favourite of the year.
March 20, 2022
You know, I've never taken to the idea that books can be too white, too middle-class and too, well, sort of First World Problem-y. This is the novel to convert many like me, however, and in throwing a historical light on a certain sort of problem, it's even further removed from life as we know it. The first chunk concerns Rosalind, a second and younger wife to a landed gent down in SW England; we discover he lost his first wife, to whom he was perfectly suited, in childbirth, and now, immediately post-World War One, with suitable men low on the ground, Rosalind has had to settle for the lumpen codger. She's there (a) to present him with an heir, if not a spare as well, which she will eventually – oh, how eventually – stumble her way to doing, and (b) for us to see that upper class, society women of the time had surprisingly little autonomy, freedom and self-awareness. Tell us something we didn't know, then.
The second chunk is more looking at the daughter she finds in the household already, and the events of one hoity-toity, plummy summer, where the estate is riddled with the foreign and the potentially lesbian and the bohemian and the bed-swapping arty types, amidst which the girl – Cristabel – decides there are enough bohemian-minded drop-outs to help her present a play. Thus slowly – oh, how cussedly slowly – we get to the title construction finally being mentioned, a third of the way through this lumbering stodge. Oh, and then it becomes a war novel.
As a reviewer you can often end up exaggerating things, but when I have said "you can take any percentage you like, trim that from the book and it will not suffer" I mean it, and the same is true here. Using a present tense for familiarity and immediacy, and styles such as diary entries and a newspaper review montage to speed us across a whole decade, do kind of suggest the book wants to be shorter, but it's stuck in the stilted, yawnsome style of the time in which it's set. For all it might want to have a modern light on a timeless problem like feminism and individuality, it's back there and then, propped up by endless cushions against a drooping garden tree, silver spoon in its mouth and twenty servants hand-washing the flower blossoms needed for its foot massage – and moving at about the same pace.
Beyond the fact the characters are very unlikeable with their plumminess and lack of engaging qualities, and how many of the situations they get in are as fresh as last week's bread ration, it's bloody obvious our author can write – this debut has several flashes of fine phrasing – and research. Even bits of sentence that seem to be a waste of ink, such as one about consecutive station stops on a train journey having different names, are there to show the naivety of the young characters thinking this pointless thought. Bespoke layout, in a concrete poetry fashion, is also fresh and fancy, but ultimately nothing was enough to make me grateful for having picked this up. I came here for the theatre connection, and connected with it far too scantily.
The second chunk is more looking at the daughter she finds in the household already, and the events of one hoity-toity, plummy summer, where the estate is riddled with the foreign and the potentially lesbian and the bohemian and the bed-swapping arty types, amidst which the girl – Cristabel – decides there are enough bohemian-minded drop-outs to help her present a play. Thus slowly – oh, how cussedly slowly – we get to the title construction finally being mentioned, a third of the way through this lumbering stodge. Oh, and then it becomes a war novel.
As a reviewer you can often end up exaggerating things, but when I have said "you can take any percentage you like, trim that from the book and it will not suffer" I mean it, and the same is true here. Using a present tense for familiarity and immediacy, and styles such as diary entries and a newspaper review montage to speed us across a whole decade, do kind of suggest the book wants to be shorter, but it's stuck in the stilted, yawnsome style of the time in which it's set. For all it might want to have a modern light on a timeless problem like feminism and individuality, it's back there and then, propped up by endless cushions against a drooping garden tree, silver spoon in its mouth and twenty servants hand-washing the flower blossoms needed for its foot massage – and moving at about the same pace.
Beyond the fact the characters are very unlikeable with their plumminess and lack of engaging qualities, and how many of the situations they get in are as fresh as last week's bread ration, it's bloody obvious our author can write – this debut has several flashes of fine phrasing – and research. Even bits of sentence that seem to be a waste of ink, such as one about consecutive station stops on a train journey having different names, are there to show the naivety of the young characters thinking this pointless thought. Bespoke layout, in a concrete poetry fashion, is also fresh and fancy, but ultimately nothing was enough to make me grateful for having picked this up. I came here for the theatre connection, and connected with it far too scantily.
October 24, 2022
No words. It’s over. Thank God.
February 12, 2023
I picked this up without any expectations and came away feeling like I'd spent years with this vibrant fictional family. The coming-of-age section was my favorite, and Ms. Quinn did a wonderful job portraying the pains and pageantry of childhood on an English country estate. The war section felt very real and allowed the reader to see sides of the characters we'd never seen before. Ultimately, we're left with people who've been wounded by life but still believe in hope, love, and the magic of stories. Beautifully written but requires a patient reader willing to travel down forks in the road.
April 2, 2024
Absolute 5 star read. When someone asks, "What is your favorite type of book? What is your taste? What makes up a good book to you?" (*fill in the blank a question of that sort*) THIS is what I envision. Long, atmospheric, rich in characters and in plot, just dreamy-yummy-lush. In a way, I'm almost hesitant to recommend it. Not only is it near and dear to my heart now (#protective), but long, slow moving books are no longer sought out as much because we want fast-paced, action packed, 300-pagers that we can cruise through.
This is one you want to take your time with. I savored every second and felt like it was a cup of coffee that was always warm. Oftentimes, I pick up a book and think “hmmm I need to power through because if I sit it down it'll get cold (coffee metaphor continued) and I'll no longer enjoy it.” This one felt dependable. Always the perfect temperature. Always satisfying. I slowly chipped away at it and each and every time I cherished whatever brief moment I had with it.
The length is such that at one point it felt like it could be two separate books (specifically when WWII started around 65% of the way in), but I still enjoyed every second and wouldn't have cut anything.
If you love books with a strong sense of place, wonderful main characters (a cast of endearing siblings growing up in a large manor on the sea), echos of Joe March from Little Women, and a soothing ambience that makes you want to light candles and get under a 100 year old quilt, this book is for you.
-----
QUOTES I UNDERLINED:
There was another peculiar thought that niggled at Cristabel: none of them knew her. None of them knew her name. Even the guard on the train didn’t know her name, and she had rather expected he might.
Love inspires art, but not only love. Art inspires art. Anger, hatred, hunger—these can also inspire. But whatever it is, however it comes, there always is the work. The work of art is never done. Even when my hands are empty, I am still painting.”
His presence in her life like a dog sleeping on the end of your bed: a loyalty so fond and constant, you only notice it on the rare occasions when you wake up and it’s gone, and then all you want to do is get up and find it, so you can go outside and play.
She remembers how, when (REDACTED) was killed, it was at first a shock so immense that it seemed inconceivable. But now it is an old fact, a faded newspaper cutting. One absence of many. It is funny what you can get used to.
But his mind seemed unable to keep company with the fact he was dead. It was desperate, laughable, and in the face of such nonsense, his mind kept jumping up and scampering off to its favourite haunts. Even as he was walking behind his coffin with little Cristabel holding his hand, he was trying to remember the name of a lissom Italian actress he’d met in Covent Garden.
War might depend on people who don’t flinch, but humanity rather relies on those who do.”
This is one you want to take your time with. I savored every second and felt like it was a cup of coffee that was always warm. Oftentimes, I pick up a book and think “hmmm I need to power through because if I sit it down it'll get cold (coffee metaphor continued) and I'll no longer enjoy it.” This one felt dependable. Always the perfect temperature. Always satisfying. I slowly chipped away at it and each and every time I cherished whatever brief moment I had with it.
The length is such that at one point it felt like it could be two separate books (specifically when WWII started around 65% of the way in), but I still enjoyed every second and wouldn't have cut anything.
If you love books with a strong sense of place, wonderful main characters (a cast of endearing siblings growing up in a large manor on the sea), echos of Joe March from Little Women, and a soothing ambience that makes you want to light candles and get under a 100 year old quilt, this book is for you.
-----
QUOTES I UNDERLINED:
There was another peculiar thought that niggled at Cristabel: none of them knew her. None of them knew her name. Even the guard on the train didn’t know her name, and she had rather expected he might.
Love inspires art, but not only love. Art inspires art. Anger, hatred, hunger—these can also inspire. But whatever it is, however it comes, there always is the work. The work of art is never done. Even when my hands are empty, I am still painting.”
His presence in her life like a dog sleeping on the end of your bed: a loyalty so fond and constant, you only notice it on the rare occasions when you wake up and it’s gone, and then all you want to do is get up and find it, so you can go outside and play.
She remembers how, when (REDACTED) was killed, it was at first a shock so immense that it seemed inconceivable. But now it is an old fact, a faded newspaper cutting. One absence of many. It is funny what you can get used to.
But his mind seemed unable to keep company with the fact he was dead. It was desperate, laughable, and in the face of such nonsense, his mind kept jumping up and scampering off to its favourite haunts. Even as he was walking behind his coffin with little Cristabel holding his hand, he was trying to remember the name of a lissom Italian actress he’d met in Covent Garden.
War might depend on people who don’t flinch, but humanity rather relies on those who do.”
January 3, 2023
It didn't take me long to fall in love with the story and the main character. Heartbreaking moments but also ones that warm your heart. At the core I'd call it a family drama but there are so many elements that make it a unique read. A bit of an enchanting reading experience.
The story kicks starts off with a young girl, Cristabel in 1919 Dorset, England. Her father, Jasper Seagrave, has remarried after the death of Cristabel's mother and his new bride, Rosalind, will now be living with them at Chilcombe, the family's estate. As Cristabel grows up a whalebone theatre is constructed where she puts on productions and later on she helps with the war effort in a daring manner.
For me the heart of the story is when Cristabel is younger however there are some good moments in the last half of the book. Because I read so much WW2 historical fiction and quite frankly am a little bit burned out on that genre and era, my interest level wasn't as high when it came to the war portions of the story. Still though, the writing is good throughout and because the story covers so many years and follows different characters it remarkably does not feel like such a long read even though the book is over 500 pages.
Thank you to Knopf for sending me a copy of this book! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
The story kicks starts off with a young girl, Cristabel in 1919 Dorset, England. Her father, Jasper Seagrave, has remarried after the death of Cristabel's mother and his new bride, Rosalind, will now be living with them at Chilcombe, the family's estate. As Cristabel grows up a whalebone theatre is constructed where she puts on productions and later on she helps with the war effort in a daring manner.
For me the heart of the story is when Cristabel is younger however there are some good moments in the last half of the book. Because I read so much WW2 historical fiction and quite frankly am a little bit burned out on that genre and era, my interest level wasn't as high when it came to the war portions of the story. Still though, the writing is good throughout and because the story covers so many years and follows different characters it remarkably does not feel like such a long read even though the book is over 500 pages.
Thank you to Knopf for sending me a copy of this book! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
September 21, 2023
I made my way through this book rather slowly – not for lack of enjoyment, but rather because external circumstances made it hard for me to stay focused. This story has a setting I will always have a spot for: inter-war England and its complicated and precarious social circumstances. The tone of “The Whalebone theater”, however, varies greatly from other novels that have tackled that period (do not expect any Nancy Mitford wit or Ian McEwan drama here!).
It is far from badly written: Quinn has a lovely voice, and she drew up characters that may sometimes flirt with stereotypes, but who turn out to be much deeper than one would guess at first sight. In fact, I think this is one of this book’s greatest strength: introducing us to characters you think you know, but showing you a different side of them, a side they themselves were not aware of until the world pushed them around to an uncomfortable or unknown place.
The story follows the oddly structured Seagrave family, genteel aristocrats with a slowly failing estate and a brood of loosely related siblings who will inherit this mess and have to figure it out. But before they even get a chance to do that, WWII happens and will send them in unexpected directions.
The blub on my copy led me to believe the story would be about Cristabel and her beached whale, that there would be spying adventures, and some Nazi-punching. That wasn’t really what I got. I got the story of three kids who don’t fit in, who grow up in an eccentric household and who define themselves through this and through how they will live through the war. This is very interesting, and well executed as we follow Crista, her half-sister Flossie and “cousin” Digby through those few years.
I think my issue with the book was that I am not sure what Quinn was trying to convey, exactly. The characters were great, their lives interesting, but it felt a bit scattered, not united by a theme or a specific narrative thread.
Well worth checking out I you enjoy historical fiction about the era, but perhaps a bit convoluted.
It is far from badly written: Quinn has a lovely voice, and she drew up characters that may sometimes flirt with stereotypes, but who turn out to be much deeper than one would guess at first sight. In fact, I think this is one of this book’s greatest strength: introducing us to characters you think you know, but showing you a different side of them, a side they themselves were not aware of until the world pushed them around to an uncomfortable or unknown place.
The story follows the oddly structured Seagrave family, genteel aristocrats with a slowly failing estate and a brood of loosely related siblings who will inherit this mess and have to figure it out. But before they even get a chance to do that, WWII happens and will send them in unexpected directions.
The blub on my copy led me to believe the story would be about Cristabel and her beached whale, that there would be spying adventures, and some Nazi-punching. That wasn’t really what I got. I got the story of three kids who don’t fit in, who grow up in an eccentric household and who define themselves through this and through how they will live through the war. This is very interesting, and well executed as we follow Crista, her half-sister Flossie and “cousin” Digby through those few years.
I think my issue with the book was that I am not sure what Quinn was trying to convey, exactly. The characters were great, their lives interesting, but it felt a bit scattered, not united by a theme or a specific narrative thread.
Well worth checking out I you enjoy historical fiction about the era, but perhaps a bit convoluted.
January 19, 2024
*Heartbreaking*
I found the best part about this novel was the children’s characters. The first part was more focused on a widower who was not very good in social situations. Almost stereotypical of the Mr Darcy type character and his brother a fun loving womaniser. He remarries but is only wanting an heir. He currently has a daughter, then has another girl. When he departs the earth his brother steps in but marriage does not change his womanising ways even when he has an heir for the old Manor House by the sea they currently abide in.
Now the 3 children end up as firm friends with the usual teasing etc. one day a whale washes on a beach and the eldest child claims it and with much improvisation they decide to make an outdoor theatre using the whalebones. They create all sorts of entertainment to pass away the time.
The 3 children Christabel the eldest is strong and is not the type to sit at home whilst the men go to war.
Flossie a softer character with a warm heart.
Digby the only boy and heir wants to fight for his country
The sad part is that the adults rarely engage with them and they are mostly in the servants care.
Soon fiction is now reality as the war breaks out and each child grows beyond their years in their different roles during the war and they really grow to depend on each other.
I would say it is worth persevering as it turns into a beautiful and poignant story that becomes heartbreaking at how war has no favourites.
I found the best part about this novel was the children’s characters. The first part was more focused on a widower who was not very good in social situations. Almost stereotypical of the Mr Darcy type character and his brother a fun loving womaniser. He remarries but is only wanting an heir. He currently has a daughter, then has another girl. When he departs the earth his brother steps in but marriage does not change his womanising ways even when he has an heir for the old Manor House by the sea they currently abide in.
Now the 3 children end up as firm friends with the usual teasing etc. one day a whale washes on a beach and the eldest child claims it and with much improvisation they decide to make an outdoor theatre using the whalebones. They create all sorts of entertainment to pass away the time.
The 3 children Christabel the eldest is strong and is not the type to sit at home whilst the men go to war.
Flossie a softer character with a warm heart.
Digby the only boy and heir wants to fight for his country
The sad part is that the adults rarely engage with them and they are mostly in the servants care.
Soon fiction is now reality as the war breaks out and each child grows beyond their years in their different roles during the war and they really grow to depend on each other.
I would say it is worth persevering as it turns into a beautiful and poignant story that becomes heartbreaking at how war has no favourites.
June 12, 2022
Thank-you Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book, I have to apologize, as I cannot finish this book. I have been trying to get through this book for 30 days and every time I think about reading it, I find something else to do, even cleaning things that do not need to be cleaned. I am only 25% through the book and I am stopping. The storyline is way too slow, with no action whatsoever. I do not connect with the characters, there is no sense of "what is going to happen". I love WWII books, but I have not even gotten to the war, and I just do not have a sense of need to know what happens next.
April 28, 2022
British aristos with a complicated family find meaningful lives during WWII as a spy, another spy, and a Land Girl. It's perfect for Julian Fellowes to adapt. While it does have many moments of charm, and while the characters are very likable, the overall theme of the book is so well-tread at this point that I could predict events far in advance. Of course the heir is gay; of course he dies, nobly. Of course the Land Girl has a flirtation with a German POW; of course she marries the vicar. Of course the smart, brave spy survives terrible things and eventually returns home. The entire initial section about the various parents of the protagonists was incredibly obvious from the very first pages. And even the parts that were nominally more interesting, like the plays put on at the family estate, were unoriginal: setting Shakespeare against a fascist backdrop, with black and red flags? Old news. Women as Prospero? Old news. It's a bit of a shame, because the writing is clear and the descriptions are good and it's evocative as a whole; it's just that it's evocative of dozens of books and films and TV series that have come before.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2023
1.5 rounded up
A dysfunctional, rather unusual family. A large home on the coast. A whale washed up and turned into a theatre. A large cast of characters. A generational saga that takes the reader through the years between the wars, into World War Two and beyond.
I really wanted to like this book far more than I did. There was so much promise but the telling of the story was simple, predictable and there were many occasions where I was left wondering what was I reading and who was this aimed at - it almost felt like a children's story. The years dealing with WWII felt totally unbelievable. Somehow, despite the fact that this book spanned 500 plus pages, the plot and the characters remained superficial. The whole thing rambled along and could have done with a good edit. The potential was there, the telling, for me, was not.
A dysfunctional, rather unusual family. A large home on the coast. A whale washed up and turned into a theatre. A large cast of characters. A generational saga that takes the reader through the years between the wars, into World War Two and beyond.
I really wanted to like this book far more than I did. There was so much promise but the telling of the story was simple, predictable and there were many occasions where I was left wondering what was I reading and who was this aimed at - it almost felt like a children's story. The years dealing with WWII felt totally unbelievable. Somehow, despite the fact that this book spanned 500 plus pages, the plot and the characters remained superficial. The whole thing rambled along and could have done with a good edit. The potential was there, the telling, for me, was not.
Read
February 27, 2024We each react to a book in our own way. I tried this one, but found it wasn't for me, despite a high rating here on Goodreads. I gave it a good try, stopping at page 117.
The portion I read was an odd tale about children, basically raising themselves, due to disinterested, self-absorbed parents. The time frame was the 1920's, set in England. The characters were not well developed and I found the story to be dull.
The portion I read was an odd tale about children, basically raising themselves, due to disinterested, self-absorbed parents. The time frame was the 1920's, set in England. The characters were not well developed and I found the story to be dull.
May 19, 2022
Thank you to the publishers for sending me this novel in exchange for my honest thoughts.
I felt as if this novel was at a very slow pace. It also had a lot of first world problem vibes from Christabell growing up with a very odd family. The plot did intrigue me however it just did not live up to the expectations that was laid out from the initial plot.
I felt as if this novel was at a very slow pace. It also had a lot of first world problem vibes from Christabell growing up with a very odd family. The plot did intrigue me however it just did not live up to the expectations that was laid out from the initial plot.
January 30, 2023
And the award for most boring book I read in 2023 goes to...
Yes, I know it's only January. There's plenty more time for me to find a book even more dull than this one. But they will have massive competition in the form of The Whalebone Theatre.
I feel like I say this every time I give a book a low rating, but I really didn't go into The Whalebone Theatre expecting to hate it. I mean, who goes into any book hoping and expecting it will cause them misery? I don't know about you, but I pick up books because they sound intriguing, and I want to read them, hoping maybe it will be a new favorite. Unfortunately, such was not the case with The Whalebone Theatre. Its premise was intriguing--a sweeping historical fiction novel covering 20 years in the lives of a family of landed gentry--but ultimately, the novel couldn't live up to its own ambition. Joanna Quinn simply bit off more than she could chew in her debut novel.
I did give this book 2 stars, so before I get too mean, I will say that I don't think Joanna Quinn is an untalented writer. She has a strong command of language, and many of the sentences in this book were just a pleasure to read on a technical level. There were also some really strong scenes peppered throughout the novel that hinted at a stronger, more interesting story. I also liked the moments where Quinn diverged from the traditional prose structure of the book and threw in other formats--lists, newspaper clippings, letters. Those were fun. I don't doubt that Quinn has a good book in her, but unfortunately, some pretty sentences and a few compelling scenes and interesting gimmicks weren't enough to sustain this one.
The Whalebone Theatre is too disjointed and meandering to justify its 550-page length. It's not like there wasn't enough plot here--again, the book covers twenty years in the lives of this family and has a sprawling cast. Between the 1920s and 1940s, with as many characters came rotating through the story, Quinn surely could have justified this length. It has the scope of an epic well worth over 500 pages of your time, but at every turn that potential is squandered. Quinn is paradoxically both too interested and not interested enough in the lives of her characters. Certain sequences drag on forever, and then other major episodes are skipped over entirely. The World War II portion of the book illustrates this problem best--it was these elements that most intrigued me about the book when I read the summary and also proved the most dull. Some scenes, like Cristabel ~*waiting*~ to be assigned an operation as a spy, last chapters, and other elements are glossed over entirely (despite taking up a significant chunk of the book and being a plot point advertised in the summary, Quinn never seems all *that* interested in Cristabel and Digby's spy work and most of these scenes are passed over in a couple pages).
The plot also feels fragmented, like Quinn had two separate ideas, and rather make them their own individual book, decided to shove them together. The first half of this book, set in the 1920s but primarily in 1928 specifically, focuses on Cristabel, Flossie, and Digby's childhoods, the main event of which is their founding a little theatre on the estate, using the bones of a whale that washed ashore. The second half of the book, set during World War II, explores what each of the children--now adults--get up to during the war. As I mentioned previously, Cristabel and Digby become spies. Flossie, um,...joins the Land Army, and idk, finds herself or something. Flossie's storyline gets the least attention during the World War II era because it seems Quinn likes Flossie about as much as her mother does (which is to say, not much). It's not as though these two storylines are completely unrelated. Obviously, they follow the same characters, and during the war, Cristabel thinks often of her little theatre she's left behind, but I don't know. Those fond memories of the theatre during the World War II section always felt surface-level, not deep enough to justify these two fairly random, disparate storylines being linked together.
And in 550 pages, Quinn never manages to develop her characters beyond the barest stereotypes. Jasper Seagrave, the aging patriarch of the Seagrave clan, is an old fuddy-duddy. Rosalind, his beautiful, young second wife, proves to be an evil stepmother to Cristabel, Jasper's daughter from his previous marriage (Rosalind is also hideous to the child she has with Jasper, Flossie). Willougby, Jasper's younger brother, is dissolute and disreputable because, if you're not going to inherit the manor, what else can you do with your life but drink and sleep around? (Roguish younger brothers are, by law, required to be written into every historical fiction novel featuring the nobility and landed gentry.) Cristabel is a Forward-Thinking Woman Who Cannot Understand Why She Must Be Limited By Her Gender™ (look, obviously, there were empowered, feminist women throughout history, but I'm honestly kind of exhausted by female characters, in both historical fiction and fantasy, who very obviously muse on how silly it is they should be judged just for being ~girls~ in their internal monologues, so the reader can know how enlightened they are. Does that make me a bad feminist? Oh well). Flossie is unattractive and unlovable (at least according to her cruel mother). Digby is the heir who is not interested in coasting off his parents' wealth and privilege
At no point do these characters ever rise above their most obvious traits or get shaded in with more nuance. They are exactly who they are from page 1 to page 550, which makes for a deeply uninteresting read. Some of the side characters are slightly more interesting, although it's more by virtue of being quirky than by being well-developed--we have the Russian artist and his two paramours, the American poetess who's flirtatious and assertive, the stiff-upper-lip soldier. Most of the side characters feel forgotten about by novel's end, and while that could have felt like a purposeful choice to demonstrate the way people come and go from our lives--sometimes without fanfare--over a long period of time, it felt, again, like Quinn had just lost interest in them.
In the end, The Whalebone Theatre is both too much and not enough. Although there's enough content here to justify a 550-page book, Quinn wastes any dramatic potential by failing to combine the two distinct eras of her characters' lives in a meaningful way or to develop her characters in a way that reflects any growth or development over two decades. After twenty boring years, the Seagrave children are the same people they were as children. And that does not an interesting novel make.
Yes, I know it's only January. There's plenty more time for me to find a book even more dull than this one. But they will have massive competition in the form of The Whalebone Theatre.
I feel like I say this every time I give a book a low rating, but I really didn't go into The Whalebone Theatre expecting to hate it. I mean, who goes into any book hoping and expecting it will cause them misery? I don't know about you, but I pick up books because they sound intriguing, and I want to read them, hoping maybe it will be a new favorite. Unfortunately, such was not the case with The Whalebone Theatre. Its premise was intriguing--a sweeping historical fiction novel covering 20 years in the lives of a family of landed gentry--but ultimately, the novel couldn't live up to its own ambition. Joanna Quinn simply bit off more than she could chew in her debut novel.
I did give this book 2 stars, so before I get too mean, I will say that I don't think Joanna Quinn is an untalented writer. She has a strong command of language, and many of the sentences in this book were just a pleasure to read on a technical level. There were also some really strong scenes peppered throughout the novel that hinted at a stronger, more interesting story. I also liked the moments where Quinn diverged from the traditional prose structure of the book and threw in other formats--lists, newspaper clippings, letters. Those were fun. I don't doubt that Quinn has a good book in her, but unfortunately, some pretty sentences and a few compelling scenes and interesting gimmicks weren't enough to sustain this one.
The Whalebone Theatre is too disjointed and meandering to justify its 550-page length. It's not like there wasn't enough plot here--again, the book covers twenty years in the lives of this family and has a sprawling cast. Between the 1920s and 1940s, with as many characters came rotating through the story, Quinn surely could have justified this length. It has the scope of an epic well worth over 500 pages of your time, but at every turn that potential is squandered. Quinn is paradoxically both too interested and not interested enough in the lives of her characters. Certain sequences drag on forever, and then other major episodes are skipped over entirely. The World War II portion of the book illustrates this problem best--it was these elements that most intrigued me about the book when I read the summary and also proved the most dull. Some scenes, like Cristabel ~*waiting*~ to be assigned an operation as a spy, last chapters, and other elements are glossed over entirely (despite taking up a significant chunk of the book and being a plot point advertised in the summary, Quinn never seems all *that* interested in Cristabel and Digby's spy work and most of these scenes are passed over in a couple pages).
The plot also feels fragmented, like Quinn had two separate ideas, and rather make them their own individual book, decided to shove them together. The first half of this book, set in the 1920s but primarily in 1928 specifically, focuses on Cristabel, Flossie, and Digby's childhoods, the main event of which is their founding a little theatre on the estate, using the bones of a whale that washed ashore. The second half of the book, set during World War II, explores what each of the children--now adults--get up to during the war. As I mentioned previously, Cristabel and Digby become spies. Flossie, um,...joins the Land Army, and idk, finds herself or something. Flossie's storyline gets the least attention during the World War II era because it seems Quinn likes Flossie about as much as her mother does (which is to say, not much). It's not as though these two storylines are completely unrelated. Obviously, they follow the same characters, and during the war, Cristabel thinks often of her little theatre she's left behind, but I don't know. Those fond memories of the theatre during the World War II section always felt surface-level, not deep enough to justify these two fairly random, disparate storylines being linked together.
And in 550 pages, Quinn never manages to develop her characters beyond the barest stereotypes. Jasper Seagrave, the aging patriarch of the Seagrave clan, is an old fuddy-duddy. Rosalind, his beautiful, young second wife, proves to be an evil stepmother to Cristabel, Jasper's daughter from his previous marriage (Rosalind is also hideous to the child she has with Jasper, Flossie). Willougby, Jasper's younger brother, is dissolute and disreputable because, if you're not going to inherit the manor, what else can you do with your life but drink and sleep around? (Roguish younger brothers are, by law, required to be written into every historical fiction novel featuring the nobility and landed gentry.) Cristabel is a Forward-Thinking Woman Who Cannot Understand Why She Must Be Limited By Her Gender™ (look, obviously, there were empowered, feminist women throughout history, but I'm honestly kind of exhausted by female characters, in both historical fiction and fantasy, who very obviously muse on how silly it is they should be judged just for being ~girls~ in their internal monologues, so the reader can know how enlightened they are. Does that make me a bad feminist? Oh well). Flossie is unattractive and unlovable (at least according to her cruel mother). Digby is the heir who is not interested in coasting off his parents' wealth and privilege
At no point do these characters ever rise above their most obvious traits or get shaded in with more nuance. They are exactly who they are from page 1 to page 550, which makes for a deeply uninteresting read. Some of the side characters are slightly more interesting, although it's more by virtue of being quirky than by being well-developed--we have the Russian artist and his two paramours, the American poetess who's flirtatious and assertive, the stiff-upper-lip soldier. Most of the side characters feel forgotten about by novel's end, and while that could have felt like a purposeful choice to demonstrate the way people come and go from our lives--sometimes without fanfare--over a long period of time, it felt, again, like Quinn had just lost interest in them.
In the end, The Whalebone Theatre is both too much and not enough. Although there's enough content here to justify a 550-page book, Quinn wastes any dramatic potential by failing to combine the two distinct eras of her characters' lives in a meaningful way or to develop her characters in a way that reflects any growth or development over two decades. After twenty boring years, the Seagrave children are the same people they were as children. And that does not an interesting novel make.
December 20, 2022
Sweeping family saga covering decades and set in England and France. The Seagrave family owns a country manor in Dorsetshire. The story is focused on eldest sister Cristabel, and her half siblings, Florence and Digby.
I very much enjoyed the first half, which is focused on the siblings in their youth, the creation of the titular whalebone theatre, and the various plays they perform. The second half is completely different, and rather disappointing. It turns into a World War II espionage novel containing many scenes that stretch believability. It checks all the boxes of a contemporary story where independent women can act as they do today, without the limitations they would have faced in the 1940s.
I am not a big fan of historical fiction that strays far from what actually occurred. If you have read much non-fiction about WWII, you will spot several anachronisms and unlikely events. I loved the first half and disliked the second, so my rating is right down the middle.
I very much enjoyed the first half, which is focused on the siblings in their youth, the creation of the titular whalebone theatre, and the various plays they perform. The second half is completely different, and rather disappointing. It turns into a World War II espionage novel containing many scenes that stretch believability. It checks all the boxes of a contemporary story where independent women can act as they do today, without the limitations they would have faced in the 1940s.
I am not a big fan of historical fiction that strays far from what actually occurred. If you have read much non-fiction about WWII, you will spot several anachronisms and unlikely events. I loved the first half and disliked the second, so my rating is right down the middle.
January 12, 2024
Geweldige titel, prachtig uitgegeven en een prikkelende premisse: 'Het Walvistheater' had zomaar een meesterwerk kunnen zijn en in sommige hoofdstukken ís het dat ook.
Maar om een of andere reden zakt het verhaal soms als borrelend en bubbelend walvisvlees in elkaar. Om dan weer op te veren en de lezer mee te sleuren in een kleurrijk spektakel van roaring interbellum-decadentie en adellijk hedonisme.
De dreiging van de nakende wereldbrand doet het verhaal helaas stagneren om vervolgens veerkrachtig een vlucht te nemen op het slagveld. Verzet! Moon Squadron! Angst, pijn en foute liefde.
Pas helemaal op het einde - na 500 bladzijden - heeft Quinn je hélemaal te pakken, maar dan is het helaas te laat.
Iéts meer snijden in het vlees van het boek had hier wellicht soelaas kunnen brengen.
Want nu is het als met walvis op je bord: lekker.
Maar véél.
Maar om een of andere reden zakt het verhaal soms als borrelend en bubbelend walvisvlees in elkaar. Om dan weer op te veren en de lezer mee te sleuren in een kleurrijk spektakel van roaring interbellum-decadentie en adellijk hedonisme.
De dreiging van de nakende wereldbrand doet het verhaal helaas stagneren om vervolgens veerkrachtig een vlucht te nemen op het slagveld. Verzet! Moon Squadron! Angst, pijn en foute liefde.
Pas helemaal op het einde - na 500 bladzijden - heeft Quinn je hélemaal te pakken, maar dan is het helaas te laat.
Iéts meer snijden in het vlees van het boek had hier wellicht soelaas kunnen brengen.
Want nu is het als met walvis op je bord: lekker.
Maar véél.
June 6, 2024
This story starts in a Seagrave family estate by the English coast in the last years before the Second World War. Seagraves are a family held together by a patchwork of relationships, connections and obligations not necessarily resulting from blood connections. The oldest daughter Cristabel’s mother died in childbirth. Cristabel’s father married again and had a child with his new wife, but unfortunately also died leaving his young first daughter in the care of her stepmother, who subsequently married her deceased husband brother, that is Cristabel’s uncle, and had with him another child.
All three children grow up together in Seagraves estate. Cristabel is a creative free spirit and a leader for her two younger “siblings”. While her stepmother and uncle are deeply absorbed by their social obligations, she and the other children roam the estate. One day a whale washes up on their beech and by lucky turn of events is not claimed by his lawful owner (His Majesty The King). The bones of the mighty creature provide a magnificent and characteristic element for their special, unique milieu where the whole family will work on setting up their theater productions.
Time passes, children grow up and the world plunges into a global conflict. All the young people become engaged in the war effort, two of them as operatives behind the enemy lines and one on the home front. The story diverges to follow of their separate fates. When the war is over only two of them will return home.
The story covers a little over forty years. It is no small achievement to make the narrative invariably engaging and fill it with well drawn, vivid characters, that aren’t easily forgotten. I am very impressed, and since this is the author’s debut novel I can’t wait to see what she can achieve in the future!
All three children grow up together in Seagraves estate. Cristabel is a creative free spirit and a leader for her two younger “siblings”. While her stepmother and uncle are deeply absorbed by their social obligations, she and the other children roam the estate. One day a whale washes up on their beech and by lucky turn of events is not claimed by his lawful owner (His Majesty The King). The bones of the mighty creature provide a magnificent and characteristic element for their special, unique milieu where the whole family will work on setting up their theater productions.
Time passes, children grow up and the world plunges into a global conflict. All the young people become engaged in the war effort, two of them as operatives behind the enemy lines and one on the home front. The story diverges to follow of their separate fates. When the war is over only two of them will return home.
The story covers a little over forty years. It is no small achievement to make the narrative invariably engaging and fill it with well drawn, vivid characters, that aren’t easily forgotten. I am very impressed, and since this is the author’s debut novel I can’t wait to see what she can achieve in the future!
February 16, 2022
If you’ve enjoyed Mary Wesley’s and Nancy Mitford’s novels, then you are going to love ‘The Whalebone Theatre’. Telling the story of a landowning family with the habit of collecting bohemian hangers-on over the first half of the twentieth century, at the centre of the narrative is Christabel Seagrave, an ‘odd’ little girl who becomes a teenage amateur theatre director and then a ‘Clerk Special Duties’ during WW2.
Alongside her story are also woven the lives of her half-sister and brother, although the latter is no blood relation. Joanna Quinn gives detailed depictions of their Chilcombe estate, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Blitz in London to name a few settings as she takes us through the decades. Some of her figurative language is particularly memorable; the London bombings are perceived as ‘…a production set, and the scenery keeps changing. It is a production set, and the cast are here one day, gone the next. Only the sky is lit up, criss-crossed with movie-star searchlights while air raid warnings slide up and down the scale.’
A perceptive child, Christabel learns that, ‘if you find a way to give people what they want, they let you in…’. The theatre allows her to be admired for her unique strengths and to develop as a strong-minded, thoughtful young woman, despite an emotionally inauspicious start in life. The author is clearly championing feminist ideals whilst also acknowledging that all individuals need to find their own particular place in the world. ‘The Whalebone Theatre’ gives us a cast of memorable eccentric characters; however, there are moments when Quinn relies heavily on stereotypes to the detriment of the story.
A long read, you may well enjoy losing yourself in the life and times of the Seagrave family. This story is a strong debut and it’s not difficult to imagine it repackaged as tv drama in the future.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK – Fig Tree for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.
Alongside her story are also woven the lives of her half-sister and brother, although the latter is no blood relation. Joanna Quinn gives detailed depictions of their Chilcombe estate, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Blitz in London to name a few settings as she takes us through the decades. Some of her figurative language is particularly memorable; the London bombings are perceived as ‘…a production set, and the scenery keeps changing. It is a production set, and the cast are here one day, gone the next. Only the sky is lit up, criss-crossed with movie-star searchlights while air raid warnings slide up and down the scale.’
A perceptive child, Christabel learns that, ‘if you find a way to give people what they want, they let you in…’. The theatre allows her to be admired for her unique strengths and to develop as a strong-minded, thoughtful young woman, despite an emotionally inauspicious start in life. The author is clearly championing feminist ideals whilst also acknowledging that all individuals need to find their own particular place in the world. ‘The Whalebone Theatre’ gives us a cast of memorable eccentric characters; however, there are moments when Quinn relies heavily on stereotypes to the detriment of the story.
A long read, you may well enjoy losing yourself in the life and times of the Seagrave family. This story is a strong debut and it’s not difficult to imagine it repackaged as tv drama in the future.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK – Fig Tree for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.
January 21, 2023
This book is possibly one of the most atmospheric I've read in a long time. It is beautifully written. The prose is LYRICAL. But if you expect to read it in a weekend, you're going to find it impossible for three reasons.
1. The writing itself will enchant you and slow down your reading just to breathe in and feel the descriptive narrations. I found myself closing my eyes and envisioning the places Quinn was creating. Every single word was exactly right and the visual imagery she is able to draw with words is astounding.
2. It's a long book, which isn't a problem unless you have a pile of books to read and you don't want to feel the pressure to finish this one. Because THIS is a book you want to take your time with, you want to allow yourself to fall in love with it. It's a big story that covers years.
3. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and each one of them is complicated because, well, PEOPLE are complicated.
This book isn't going to be for everyone, but if you have put it on your TBR list, you should bump it to the top. Seriously. Find a time when you have the time and read this book and you'll remember why you fell in love with reading. Debut book? I'm astounded. Because if this is what Joanna Quinn does the first time out, I can only imagine what else she's got in the wings.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
1. The writing itself will enchant you and slow down your reading just to breathe in and feel the descriptive narrations. I found myself closing my eyes and envisioning the places Quinn was creating. Every single word was exactly right and the visual imagery she is able to draw with words is astounding.
2. It's a long book, which isn't a problem unless you have a pile of books to read and you don't want to feel the pressure to finish this one. Because THIS is a book you want to take your time with, you want to allow yourself to fall in love with it. It's a big story that covers years.
3. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and each one of them is complicated because, well, PEOPLE are complicated.
This book isn't going to be for everyone, but if you have put it on your TBR list, you should bump it to the top. Seriously. Find a time when you have the time and read this book and you'll remember why you fell in love with reading. Debut book? I'm astounded. Because if this is what Joanna Quinn does the first time out, I can only imagine what else she's got in the wings.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
December 6, 2022
Words can not adequately express my love for this book. I was a little intimidated by it at first, but I quickly fell in love with these characters and this story as I quietly turned the pages.
This book had been described to me as Scout Finch meets Downton Abbey and I wholeheartedly agree. Christable Seagrave is a child/woman ahead of her time - she is confident, brave, and speaks her mind. As a child, running the halls of Chilcombe Manor with her siblings/cousins, Flossie and Digby, she grows into a mature and strong-willed woman during WWII. The story goes back and forth between different narrators and will just capture your heart.
This is definitely the kind of book you want to hug as you turn the last page. When I finished and looked back at all the pages I read I was both happy and sad - happy that I was given the opportunity to experience such a lovely story and sad that it was over. This book is a triumphant debut.
This book had been described to me as Scout Finch meets Downton Abbey and I wholeheartedly agree. Christable Seagrave is a child/woman ahead of her time - she is confident, brave, and speaks her mind. As a child, running the halls of Chilcombe Manor with her siblings/cousins, Flossie and Digby, she grows into a mature and strong-willed woman during WWII. The story goes back and forth between different narrators and will just capture your heart.
This is definitely the kind of book you want to hug as you turn the last page. When I finished and looked back at all the pages I read I was both happy and sad - happy that I was given the opportunity to experience such a lovely story and sad that it was over. This book is a triumphant debut.
March 19, 2023
This is a story of three children, Cristabel, her half-sister Flossie and Digby, their cousin and cousin/half-brother respectively, who live in a big house in Devon in the 1920s. Charismatic, orphaned Cristabel, is their leader and the centre of their world of play and make-believe; she is strong, self-sufficient, imaginative. The first half of this novel is an engaging, vivid narrative around children and adults (rich, bohemian, intelligent, silly...) which is quite a delight to read. The Whalebone Theatre of the title is constructed before our very eyes - a whale comes to die at the beach and this image of death and regeneration (the dead animal becoming the literal bones of their theatre) is meant to have a resonance throughout the novel.
Alas, I was not convinced by the second, the adult WW2, narrative to the same extend. And whilst the childhood story was for me compelling and original, the siblings' WW2 exploits didn't engage me or presented me with an original perspective - I had "already read" so to speak, similar stories and was impatient about developments, which were without exception predictable - ie I predicted what was going to happen, and it did happen. Whilst the first part was detailed enough to give you a textured panorama, the adult part was far more general, even generic. It was far too long for me, I didn't care what happened to the characters.
As an exploration of actual emotions (loss, vulnerability) and social circumstances (plight of women, class) it had its moments, especially in the first part (there are two novels in one, for me). I might not be the intended audience, as some of the fine writers commenting on the novel seem to think this is going to become a classic like I Capture The Castle. I am unsure.
Alas, I was not convinced by the second, the adult WW2, narrative to the same extend. And whilst the childhood story was for me compelling and original, the siblings' WW2 exploits didn't engage me or presented me with an original perspective - I had "already read" so to speak, similar stories and was impatient about developments, which were without exception predictable - ie I predicted what was going to happen, and it did happen. Whilst the first part was detailed enough to give you a textured panorama, the adult part was far more general, even generic. It was far too long for me, I didn't care what happened to the characters.
As an exploration of actual emotions (loss, vulnerability) and social circumstances (plight of women, class) it had its moments, especially in the first part (there are two novels in one, for me). I might not be the intended audience, as some of the fine writers commenting on the novel seem to think this is going to become a classic like I Capture The Castle. I am unsure.
June 19, 2023
Wow! Some of my book club friends were finding this book boring, so I approached it with trepidation. I needn’t have. I loved every moment of this dreamily-written book.
The beautiful prose transported me into what should have been a magical childhood home. However, the complete lack of parenting meant that these three children grew up in a world of their own making. And make one they did. The minor characters brought so much delight to this story that I hesitate to describe them as minor. The bizarre building of a stage from whale bones, the influence of the artist Taras, the discovery of the old woman in Paris…so many intriguing details made this story truly spellbinding to me.
This book was really a little something different and unexpected for me. I loved it.
The beautiful prose transported me into what should have been a magical childhood home. However, the complete lack of parenting meant that these three children grew up in a world of their own making. And make one they did. The minor characters brought so much delight to this story that I hesitate to describe them as minor. The bizarre building of a stage from whale bones, the influence of the artist Taras, the discovery of the old woman in Paris…so many intriguing details made this story truly spellbinding to me.
This book was really a little something different and unexpected for me. I loved it.
May 8, 2024
This epic tale of a family is phenomenal, I loved its different strands of stories and how you would discover tiny secrets in a chapter that make previous ones even more shocking or heartbreaking.
Beautifully written and a stunning story.
Beautifully written and a stunning story.
July 24, 2022
3.5 rating. The title of this book and where it comes from in the story was the intriguing story line for me. That’s because I loved the character of twelve-year-old Christobel Seagrave, an odd and quirky but intuitive girl. When a whale washes up on the beach near to Chilcombe Estate in Dorset 1920’s Christobel plants a flag and claims it as her own, fighting off the idea it belongs to England. With her half siblings Flossie and Digby, they spend their time, creating their own plays and stories. The bones of the whale literally become their theatre, a place where they can dress up and become other people. Soon they are somewhat of a sensation as they present plays for their hamlet to great applause.
I loved the first half of the novel which was an enchanting, vibrant narrative around children and adults with all of their wealth, secrets and desires laid out in the crumbling estate. I was completely engaged in the clean descriptions, the spot-on dialogue and this entranced me completely.
Unfortunately, the second half of the novel dragged a bit. Nothing new about WWII that we haven’t already read was offered as the children grew into adults and the Second World War erupted. I couldn’t wait for them to return to Dorset, to reintroduce the funny and quirky moments the family antics presented. Yes, there ends up being tragedy, but for me, the ending fizzled more than it wrapped up.
Overall, this is a good read with a fresh premise of the children’s creativity, especially around the dead whale.
Release date, October 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for this ARC.
I loved the first half of the novel which was an enchanting, vibrant narrative around children and adults with all of their wealth, secrets and desires laid out in the crumbling estate. I was completely engaged in the clean descriptions, the spot-on dialogue and this entranced me completely.
Unfortunately, the second half of the novel dragged a bit. Nothing new about WWII that we haven’t already read was offered as the children grew into adults and the Second World War erupted. I couldn’t wait for them to return to Dorset, to reintroduce the funny and quirky moments the family antics presented. Yes, there ends up being tragedy, but for me, the ending fizzled more than it wrapped up.
Overall, this is a good read with a fresh premise of the children’s creativity, especially around the dead whale.
Release date, October 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for this ARC.
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