The Whalebone Theatre

The Whalebone Theatre (2022) is the debut novel of British author Joanna Quinn. A work of historical fiction, the narrative covers a period of time ranging from 1919 to 1945. Narrated in the third person, the story recounts the changing fortunes of the upper-class Seagrave family, who collectively own a Dorset country estate named Chilcombe. The novel’s narrative complexities focus primarily upon the lives of Cristabel, Flossie, and Digby Seagrave and encompass their social development from their childhood experience of constructing the titular Whalebone Theatre to their later experiences in World War II.

A teacher of creative writing and a resident of Dorset, Joanna Quinn has enjoyed significant success with her debut novel, which became an immediate bestseller in both the UK and the United States upon its publication in 2022. The Whalebone Theatre was subsequently named the Waterstones Book of the Month in August 2023 and has also been short-listed for a variety of literary honors.

This guide refers to the Penguin 2022 e-book edition.

Content Warning: Both the source material and this guide contain descriptions of genocide, violence, and anti-gay bias.

A Note on Spelling: In order to maintain consistency with the novel’s title, this guide uses the standard British spelling of “theatre” rather than the Americanized version.

Plot Summary

The Whalebone Theatre is divided into five “acts” (which this guide has named Parts 1-5) that represent different stages of the Seagrave family’s evolution. The text utilizes a range of narrative formats, including letters, diary extracts, and scripts of plays.

In Act 1, which takes place from 1919 to 1920, Jasper Seagrave brings new wife Rosalind back to the Dorset family estate of Chilcombe. Jasper has remarried primarily because he is conscious of his “duty” to produce an heir, but he still misses his first wife, Annabel, who died giving birth to Cristabel, their only child. Likewise, Rosalind has married Jasper out of desperation, for most eligible young men have been killed in World War I. Three-year-old Cristabel is neglected by her father and stepmother. She sleeps in an attic room, and the kitchen maid, Maudie Kitcat, teaches her how to read. Because of these challenging family dynamics, Cristabel grows to be an adventurous child who enjoys traditionally masculine activities, and when Maudie reveals that Rosalind is pregnant, she hopes for a brother. When Jasper’s younger brother, Willoughby, returns to Chilcombe, he and Rosalind become intimate. In 1920, Rosalind gives birth to Cristabel’s half-sister, Flossie. Soon afterward, Jasper dies in a riding accident.

Act 2 covers the events between 1928 and 1938. By 1928, Willoughby and Rosalind are married and now have a six-year-old son named Digby. Although Digby and Cristabel are really cousins, Cristabel thinks of him as the brother she always wanted. When a dead whale washes up on Chilcombe’s beach, Cristabel claims it. However, Willoughby’s friend, Perry Drake, informs her that the king owns everything found on English shores.

Because Willoughby is a serial adulterer who is often away in his airplane, Rosalind masks her unhappiness by hosting extravagant parties with bohemian guests. Russian artist Taras Kovalsky moves into a cottage on the Chilcombe grounds, bringing along an entourage that includes his wife, his lovers, and his children from various relationships. The eldest child is Leon, and he and Cristabel develop a combative friendship. Taras recognizes Cristabel’s creativity and insists that she has the soul of an artist. Soon, Cristabel proves Taras right by directing a production of The Iliad at Chilcombe that stars family members, guests, and servants. The outdoor play soon becomes an annual event, and the rib cage of the dead whale is transported to Chilcombe to create a unique theatrical space. Although Digby is the best actor, Willoughby discourages his son’s artistic temperament. Soon, Digby is packed off to boarding school, and Cristabel is sent to a Swiss finishing school.

Act 3 covers the years of World War II, from 1939 to 1941. When war breaks out with Germany, Willoughby expects his son to take a high-ranking position in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Instead, Digby enlists in the army as a private. Meanwhile, Cristabel joins the Women’s Auxiliary Airforce (WAAF), and Flossie remains at Chilcombe and turns The Whalebone Theatre into a vegetable garden. Soon, Digby is sent to fight in France. By June 1940, British troops are in retreat from German forces. With thousands of other soldiers, Digby and his close friend Groves wait at Dunkirk to be evacuated. Digby is rescued by a British fishing boat, but Groves drowns. Digby returns to England. When Willoughby leaves Chilcombe to live in Ireland, Rosalind retreats to London and is killed when a German bomb hits the Café de Paris.

Act 4 covers the years from 1942 to 1943. By 1942, German prisoners of war are now living and working on the Chilcombe estate, and Flossie soon falls in love with a prisoner named Hans Krause. However, the two are forced to part when Flossie enlists in the Women’s Land Army (WLA) and Hans is redeployed. Meanwhile, Digby trains as a secret operative and is sent back to France, and Cristabel begins a sexual relationship with Taras Kovalsky’s son Leon, who is now employed as the driver of Willoughby’s friend, Perry. When Leon reveals that women are being recruited as secret operatives, Cristabel asks Perry (who now works at the War Office) to recommend her. During training, she shares a room with the only other female trainee, Sophie Leray.

In her new role as an operative, Cristabel parachutes into France, posing as a French literature student named Claudine Beauchamp. She is a courier whose role includes distributing messages and provisions to the French Resistance. However, when the Gestapo catches the wireless operator that she works with, Cristabel is flown back to London, where she learns that Digby is now under suspicion because he has failed to contact his superiors.

Act 5 focuses on events in 1944 and 1945. During this time frame, American troops are posted at Chilcombe, and Flossie hosts musical evenings to entertain the soldiers. She soon becomes friendly with George, a Navy chaplain. Meanwhile, Cristabel returns to France, where she is reunited with wireless operator Sophie Leray. When an informant betrays them, Sophie is captured by German officers. Cristabel escapes capture by jumping from a moving train, but she injures her ankle. Once recovered, she travels to Paris to collect information for the recently arrived Allied forces.

Hoping to find Digby, Cristabel tracks down Madame Aubert, the mother of her French governess. Madame Aubert offers Cristabel the opportunity to rent an apartment on the block where Digby recently lived. At the apartment, Cristabel encounters a Schutzstaffel (SS) officer. When he asks to see her papers, she stabs him to death.

Cristabel visits the local theatre and finds Digby working as a stagehand. He is romantically involved with a leader of the French Resistance, Jean-Marc, and insists that he does not want to return to England or inherit Chilcombe.

As Allied troops prepare to liberate Paris, Digby, Jean-Marc, and Cristabel occupy the police headquarters. German soldiers shoot at them, and Jean-Marc is injured. Cristabel returns fire, unaware that a sniper has her in his sights. Digby saves her but is fatally shot.

In the aftermath of the war, Cristabel and Flossie prepare Chilcombe to welcome its first lodgers. Cristabel moves into the cottage so she can work on the theatre. Maudie, who has always loved Willoughby, travels to Ireland to break the news of Digby’s death and relinquishes her role as a servant; she never returns to Chilcombe. Flossie and Chaplain George become a couple, and Cristabel stages a new play to celebrate the war’s end.