This is a great book, and I haven't enjoyed reading anything this much since I finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It's so good that I wanted to start recommending it to people before I had even got to the end, and when I take it back to the library, I will be sorely tempted to point it out to another reader so they don't miss out. It's exactly the kind of book I wish I could write myself.
It begins in 1919 in a large county house in Dorset where we meet three year old Cristabel wandering around in the woodland surrounding her house. She is hiding from her nanny her time until her new mother arrives, and she knows that will be soon, as all the uniformed members of staff are assembled outside to welcome home the master of the house with his young bride.
Cristabel doesn't remember her real mother, as she died on the day Cristabel was born, but the new mother will soon become the lady of the house and one of the maids has suggested that soon there may be a little brother or sister for her to play with. She hopes that it will be a brother to take on adventures with her and he would not be afraid to run about in the woods or climb over the rocks at the beach.
The big house is a perfect setting for all the glitz and glamour of the roaring twenties, and once the new mother, Rosalind, has got used to the idea of moving out of London and leaving behind all it's social attractions, she begins hosting her own parties that go on until dawn. The cast of characters in the book includes Cristabel's rakish Uncle Willoughby who can fly an aeroplane and teaches her how to hold a sword, and an uninhibited Russian artist who comes with his entourage to live in a cottage in the grounds. The artist, Taras, is married and he and his wife have a collection of savage children, but he spends his nights with two wealthy young women who have followed him from London and and are thrilled to find their friend Rosalind living next door.
The Whalebone Theatre came about after Cristabel found the body of a dead whale on the beach, and promptly claimed it as her property. Staff from the house were tasked with constructing an outdoor stage framed with some of the whale bones, and not long afterwards that they began putting on shows for families they knew from surrounding villages. The performers are a mix of family, friends and staff, and although the first play is rough and ready, Rosalind spots the potential for making the theatre a local attraction, and by the time the next show goes on they have proper lighting and many more seats.
Cristabel has a clear vision of how she wants to produce and direct plays, and would have happily made a life working on her theatre if the country had not gone to war in 1939. By this time she is a young woman with a brave heart and a practical nature so it is not long before she signs up for service and finds herself in uniform. The story follows the family through the war and perfectly describes the leveling effect the conflict has on the English social classes.
If I was still giving out star ratings for books, then I would have given this book top marks as the quality of writing is so good, I found myself transported into another time and place. Excellent from start to finish, and not surprisingly it is a Sunday Times Bestseller.
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