Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Whalebone Theatre
- Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
Buy Now for £16.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
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 12-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....
More from the same
What listeners say about The Whalebone Theatre
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- joanna
- 10-06-22
So glad i took a chance on this one!
Beautifully written story and outstanding narration , A compelling and easy listen, best book ive listened too in a long time!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- pinkpen
- 16-06-22
2nd time listening and enjoyed it even more
This book is awesome! The descriptions are beautiful and the characters so good that I don’t want to leave them behind.
I read it when it first came out but decided to listen again, this time I seemed to enjoy the characters even more and really appreciate the incredible description throughout. It’s the best book I’ve read for a long time!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Linton Edwards
- 15-03-23
Patchy
Some attractive writing in the first half of this book. Childhoods in idyllic settings etc. The writer gets tired of her characters and bumps them off or simply leaves them out of the text, after that. The story is over long and does not hang together. It is really a story about being in France in WW2 as an undercover agent and includes some very graphic writing about killing a man and ditching his body. This came as literally a horrible surprise since up till then there was no gratuitous gruesome stuff. I dont know why the hero has to be so perfect either. The theatre idea is nice to begin with but again, author just forgets about it apart from some quick references. It is nothing to do with whales or theatres really. It's rather posh people doing what they always do.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mrs. Susannah C. Lester
- 16-06-22
Ohh! I loved this book!
A jewel of an enchanting book. Tender and funny. Sad and imaginative. I think I loved Flossie best.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alicia070901
- 14-01-23
Most tedious book in a while!
I saw this book in the queen’s reading room (Camilla) she recommends some good ones. The book starts really well and I thought it was going to be a modern classic family saga. However, as soon as the children are born, it quickly turns into a “children’s story” incredibly boring about their performances in their own theatre. Very pedantic too…I’ve never in my life seen young children discussing Homer or ballet. I think it tries to be clever and put the family across as eccentric, but in my opinion the author fails to achieve this and the book is as tedious as it gets. I haven’t warmed to any of the characters. I’ve given up after 3 hours of listening, life’s too short, just annoyed I’ve wasted my monthly credit on this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alice Little
- 14-09-22
Not what I expected...
I just didn't fall in love with this book. I couldn't ever quite decide whether it was one story or another. The narration was too monotonous for me, too. I stuck with it but only because of my own sheer stubbornness 🤣
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MRS. LUCINDA LEWIS
- 28-06-22
The best family saga in years
I cannot believe this is a first novel. The characters develop so individually over the long stretch of years that you want to know what happens to each of them.
Beautifully read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Linds71
- 29-06-22
Be prepared for late nights
Due to the unputdownable story and the fabulous narrative. Kept me gripped and so enjoyed something a bit different for a change. Bought this ready for my holiday but now have to start another search as I couldn’t stop listening……
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rosie
- 01-09-23
Heaven
I loved this book from the first page. Such lovely characters and soothing to listen to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S. McGrath
- 31-08-23
A brilliant and engrossing book
This is now one of my all time favourite books, rich in characters and scenes delivered with extraordinary, evocative writing. The narration is wonderful too.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful