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Published on 3 August 2023 by Penguin Books Ltd in the United Kingdom.
They raised themselves on stories. The Whalebone Theatre will feel like a much-loved book even if you're reading it for the first time' Red Magazine'Pure heaven, from first word to last' Sunday Times But as the children grow to adulthood, another story has been unfolding in the wings. I can't believe that every story is the same. 'One of the books both Her Majesty and I love . 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. 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'This is a book that will be loved unreasonably and life-long, I believe, like I Capture The Castle' Francis Spufford, author of Light Perpetual'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--------'Maudie, why are all the best characters men? Elegantly written and totally immersive, Quinn's debut is a wonder' Daily 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?
Hardback | 560 pages163 x 243 x 47 | 736g
- Dimensions 162 x 240 x 41mm | 766g
Reviews
Alexandra Carey
To me, the first half felt like a mixture of I Capture the Castle, The Pursuit of Love and Swallows and Amazons. I just can't put down the book it's very good. Also, there is a strange lack of focus which had the effect of distancing me from some of the characters. The sequences involving the growing independence of the eldest, Cristabel, the sensitive but resilient Digby, and their cousin/sister the put-upon Flossie are wonderfully found - in fact the best the book has to offer.
RP FRAZER
That it does and in a a novel and exciting way, is a joy. I was gripped by the events Cristabel and Digby got up to during the war, despite knowing - through movies and other books - the by now almost clichéd terrain. Interestingly and unusually, this change is often manifested through the children. This book is such a joy to read.
alison Sarah carroll
I loved this book. I think that the whalebone theatre is a masterpiece and a moving piece of literature.
Ms. M. Glover
It's hard to see how the house, Chilcombe, can find a purpose for itself (yes, it's almost as if the house has a mind and character of its own! Very reminiscent of "I Capture the Castle" by Dodi Smith.
But this saga begins when WW1 ends and everything the Seagraves once took for granted is about to change. At its heart the story she tells is of an ancient landed family whose members have for generations performed the roles expected of them from their large, increasingly ramshackle house, with servants, nannies, governesses, dogs and horses. Often, and disappointingly, not at all.
This first novel from Joanna Quinn is an enviable achievement. Is it too early to reread it again? She can evoke a sound, a sight, with the minimum of words which I would recognise on a visceral level. People come and go and I wondered how important they might prove to be later on.
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