The Whalebone Theatre (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780593321706)

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER - A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK - A transporting, irresistible debut novel that takes its heroine, Cristabel Seagrave, from a theatre made of whalebones to covert operations during World War II--a story of love, family, bravery, lost innocence, and self-transformation.

"Absolute aces...Quinn's imagination and adventuresome spirit are a pleasure to behold." --The New York Times

"Utterly heartbreaking and joyous." --Jo Baker, author of Longbourn

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.

Author: Joanna Quinn
ISBN-10: 0593321707
ISBN-13: 9780593321706
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Language: English
Published: 10/04/2022
Pages: 576
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.93lbs
Size: 9.49h x 6.55w x 1.37d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 05/01/2022 pg. 1
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2022
Publishers Weekly 08/29/2022
Booklist 10/15/2022 pg. 32