A tour de force Sarah Winman author of Still LifeThis is the story of an old English manor house by the sea with crumbling chimneys draping ivy and a library full of dusty hardbacks. Its the story of the three children who grow up there and the adventures they create for themselves while the grownups entertain endless party guests.This is the story of a whale that washes up on a beach whose bones are claimed by a twelveyearold girl with big ambitions and an even bigger imagination. An unwanted orphan who grows into an unmarriageable young woman 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 its time for them to write their own...One of those big chunky stories that swallows you whole The TimesBeautifully compulsive ... The Whalebone Theatre will feel like a muchloved book even if youre reading it for the first time Red MagazinePure heaven from first word to last Sunday TimesInstant Sunday Times bestseller September 2023