The Whalebone Theatre Audiobook By Joanna Quinn cover art

The Whalebone Theatre

A Novel

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Whalebone Theatre

By: Joanna Quinn
Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.75

Buy for $24.75

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

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.©2022 Joanna Quinn (P)2022 Random House Audio
20th Century Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

A Best Book of the Year: New York Times Notable, Washington Post, Sydney Morning Herald, Vox, Book Riot, Geek Girl Authority • A Best Gift Book: Seattle Times, Broadway Direct • A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK, in collaboration with the Queen Consort Camilla’s Royal Reading Room

“What’s remarkable, especially for a first novel, is Quinn’s deft way of depicting this lost world—whether a subsiding seaside aristocracy or a training school for British agents or a Parisian theater in wartime . . . Her vision is so fine and fully realized that it’s hard to imagine her doing anything else—and hard to have to wait to see what that might be.”Washington Post

“An immersive, capacious delight . . . The pages fly by . . . The Whalebone Theatre is a supremely accomplished feat of storytelling. . . Quinn excels with the nuts and bolts of her craft—characterization, pace, plotting, and well-calibrated humor and suspense—and brilliantly depicts the rugged beauty of her county ‘on the crumbling bottom edge of England.'”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Beautiful Writing • Compelling Characters • Historical Depth • Vivid Descriptions • Imaginative Storytelling
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
It got off to a slow and somewhat strange start. But it really grew on me.

Captivating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Good story and narration. An especially interesting look into the breakdown of class distinctions during WWII, though it’s not pedantic about it or anything. It just feels true.

Highly recommend

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I love the story, the setting, and the orator is phenomenal. Wish there was a series - I listened & could not put it down. Xox I

Absolutely amazing!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is such a great tale of a family that really could have been. The childhoods into adulthoods, in a time of huge loss and change spanning decades between World Wars. The story weaves in and out through war, intrigue, love, loss. It is so wonderful. The world so vivid. Sure, there's a bit that goes off the rails - back and forth in/out of war missions; our heroine's character makes an uncharacteristic judgement error that has to be there to perhaps move the story along.

So enjoyable!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A literary tour de force - family saga, love, sacrifice, and loss.
The narrator was perfection.
I loved it so much I bought the print copy too.

Best book I’ve listened to this year

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I loved & savored every single chapter! I didn't want their story to end.

Great Writing & Narration!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This was an interesting read for a first time author. I loved the characters and was sad when the last chapter ended. And although I could feel what was about to happen to Digby in Paris, I wanted to run away from that event. The narrator was outstanding. I could have listened to her for another hour.

Very original

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I really enjoyed this novel . The characters are well developed and I feel like I really got to know them . Time we’ll spent !

Great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Good story, wonderful writing, very good performance. I recommend this book to any historical fiction lover!

Wonderful Writing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I purchased it based on reviews and description. Although it seemed to drag on at times. The narrator was good.

Not my normal

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews