The Whalebone Theatre /
An utterly enchanting, immersive novel about an irrepressible young heroine who becomes an undercover agent during World War II, a sparkling debut, by turns heartwarming and heartbreaking. One blustery night in 1928, a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel. By law, all whales belong t...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Alfred A. Knopf,
[2022].
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| Edition: | First American edition. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | An utterly enchanting, immersive novel about an irrepressible young heroine who becomes an undercover agent during World War II, a sparkling debut, by turns heartwarming and heartbreaking. One blustery night in 1928, a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel. By law, all whales belong to the King, but twelve-year-old Cristabel Seagrave has other plans. She and the rest of the household and their guests-her sister, Flossie (known affectionately as "The Veg"), her brother Digby, the long-awaited heir to Chilcombe manor, Maudie Kitkat, maidservant, Taras, a hot-tempered visiting artist, build a theater within the whale's skeleton. Cristabel is an orphan, mostly ignored by her feckless stepparents and brisk governesses. But within the Whalebone Theatre, she is fully at home and in charge, and her imagination comes to life. As Cristabel grows into a headstrong young woman, chafing against expectations, World War II rears its head. She and Digby become British secret agents working undercover in Nazi-Occupied France on separate missions, a more dangerous kind of play-acting, it turns out, and one that threatens to tear the family apart. The Whalebone Theatre is a sweeping, transporting, completely irresistible novel, full of warmth and charm, humor and poignancy, passion and adventure, a story of love, bravery, lost innocence and self-transformation. |
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| Item Description: | "A Borzoi book" Odd numbered pages. |
| Physical Description: | xi, 553 pages ; 25 cm. |
| ISBN: | 9780593321706 0593321707 |