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Reading lists

Books that feel like a warm hug

Joanna Quinn

Destined to become a classic . . . Elegantly written and totally immersive, Quinn's debut is a wonder

Quinn creates a world so rich with observation, detail, humanity and heart that you are incapable of doing anything but drinking it in with greedy delight

A crumbling old country manor, three unconventional siblings and the looming threat of war makes for a classic coming-of-age tale, as imaginative Cristabel, sweet Flossie and charismatic Digby attempt to find their roles in life. Brimful of charm, and wonderfully immersive, this is a captivating read

My book of the year. I adored this beautifully compulsive story with serious Cazalet vibes. Wild and wilful Cristabel was the perfect heroine

In classic English Country House novel style, [The Whalebone Theatre] focuses on the younger generation amidst a backdrop of scandalous adult misbehaviour. This is a chunky novel to get lost in, full of pacy plotting and luscious language

The Whalebone Theatre is absolute aces ... Quinn's imagination and adventuresome spirit are a pleasure to behold

I was swept away by this compelling, beautifully written debut and its plucky heroine

One of those big chunky stories that swallows you whole - and it's beautifully written too

Written with heart and humour

[A] brilliant debut ... A truly immersive read. The plot unfolds gradually, allowing you to really connect with the characters, all of whom are very real with their fears and foibles ... Fascinating

A pedigree stretching from Charles Dickens to Lemony Snicket ... What's remarkable, especially for a first novel, is her 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 - convincingly enough to let us see it simply as a setting for the unfolding drama. 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

This is a book that will be loved unreasonably and life-long

Francis Spufford, author of 'Light Perpetual'

Utterly captivating ... 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.

The Whalebone Theatre has all the makings of a classic. And Cristabel Seagrave is the most gratifying hero. The war scenes often left me breathless: they are as good as you will ever read. A wonderful debut. Actually, a tour de force'

So immersive and joyous and glorious. I was completely entranced

Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Write It All Down

Quinn's story passes like a fabulous pageant, richly coloured and packed with incident, taking us from the lonely and unorthodox Dorset childhood of the extraordinary Christabel to the poignant aftermath of her heroic Second World War. Quinn has a sublime touch: Cristabel and her troupe are unforgettable, as riotous in comedy as they are heart-breaking in tragedy'

Frances Liardet, author of We Must Be Brave

Magnificent. As capacious, surprising and magical as the whale that lends its bones to Cristabel's theatre: a tale of intertwined lives and braided fates as deftly managed and heartbreaking as a Dickens' novel.

Rebecca Stott, Costa-winning author of The Days of Rain

Breathes fresh, bracing air into the lungs of the multi-generational saga - and the very form of the novel itself. Few people writing today can match Quinn for the energy and precision of her prose...

Susan Elderkin, author of The Story Cure: An A-Z of Books to Keep Kids Happy, Healthy and Wise

I defy any reader not to fall in love... it transported me wholesale to another time and place and while I wandered its pages, I forgot the world for a while

Utterly heart-breaking and joyous ... I just disappeared into THE WHALEBONE THEATRE and didn't want to leave

Quite simply brilliant ... The kind of story you sink into, getting totally wrapped up in the characters and their world ... The Whalebone Theatre is a book to treasure

Well Read with Anna Bonnet, My Favourite Books of 2022

Far and away my favourite novel of the year ... A gorgeous book, following the lives of three half-siblings from the '20s and through World War II, the same canvas Kate Atkinson has used to such great effect. Love, grief and comedy in perfect balance: it's hard to believe that this accomplished novel comes from a first-timer

Deservedly a surprise bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic ... Absorbing the best parts of Kate Atkinson, Evelyn Waugh and Elizabeth Jane Howard, this is a book to sink into and be propelled along by its brilliant storytelling. Few debuts have been as assured as this; Quinn is a frighteningly talented writer

Elegantly written and totally immersive. Helmed by fierce, imaginative Cristabel, it follows the fate and fortune of the three Seagrave siblings as they stage a theatrical production in their crumbling Dorset manor, and cope with the darkness of World War II and the long shadow it casts over their ramshackle, but golden, childhoods

Daily Mail, the best of the year's novels

This book is dislocate-your-jaw-and-swallow-it-whole glorious

This is the story of an old English manor house by the sea, with crumbling chimneys, draping ivy and a library full of dusty hardbacks. It's the story of the three children who grow up there, and the adventures they create for themselves while the grown-ups entertain endless party guests: the worlds they imagine from books they aren't supposed to read, and the lessons they learn from eavesdropping through oak-panelled doors. 
 
This is the story of a whale that washes up on a beach, whose bones are claimed by a twelve-year-old girl with big ambitions and an even bigger imagination. An unwanted orphan who grows into an unmarriageable young woman, chafing under the confines of her traditional upbringing and fiercely determined to do things differently. 
 
But as the children grow to adulthood, another story has been unfolding in the wings. And when the war finally takes centre stage, they find themselves cast, unrehearsed, into roles they never expected to play. 
 
They raised themselves on stories. Now it's time for them to write their own...

Joanna Quinn

Praise for The Whalebone Theatre

Destined to become a classic . . . Elegantly written and totally immersive, Quinn's debut is a wonder

Quinn creates a world so rich with observation, detail, humanity and heart that you are incapable of doing anything but drinking it in with greedy delight

A crumbling old country manor, three unconventional siblings and the looming threat of war makes for a classic coming-of-age tale, as imaginative Cristabel, sweet Flossie and charismatic Digby attempt to find ...

Destined to become a classic . . . Elegantly written and totally immersive, Quinn's debut is a wonder

Quinn creates a world so rich with observation, detail, humanity and heart that you are incapable of doing anything but drinking it in with greedy delight

A crumbling old country manor, three unconventional siblings and the looming threat of war makes for a classic coming-of-age tale, as imaginative Cristabel, sweet Flossie and charismatic Digby attempt to find ...

Destined to become a classic . . . Elegantly written and totally immersive, Quinn's debut is a wonder

Quinn creates a world so rich with observation, detail, humanity and heart that you are incapable of doing anything but drinking it in with greedy delight

A crumbling old country manor, three unconventional siblings and the looming threat of war makes for a classic coming-of-age tale, as imaginative Cristabel, sweet Flossie and charismatic Digby attempt to find ...

Articles featuring Joanna Quinn

Books that feel like a warm hug

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