The Whalebone Theatre
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3.8 • 19 Ratings
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- £9.99
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
Brought to you Penguin.
'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...
© Joanna Quinn 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022
Customer Reviews
*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 rolls 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.
The Whalebone Theatre
Beautifully written. I really enjoyed the book.