5 Top british literature books like The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

Cover of The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna   Quinn

The Whalebone Theatre

By: Joanna Quinn

4.06

Format: 558 pages, Hardcover

A transporting, irresistible debut novel that takes its heroine, Cristabel Seagrave, from a theatr…

"Without passion we are only machines."

-Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre

"A place where exiles gather to talk of passion."

-Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre

"A place where exiles gather to talk of passion."

-Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre

"The men repeatedly request that she play Elgar’s “Nimrod"

-Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre

If you liked the british literature plot in The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn , here is a list of 5 books like this:

1. The Painter's Apprentice: A Novel of 16th-Century Venice

By: Laura Morelli

4.75

Format: 140 pages,

Would you rather sacrifice your livelihood, your lover, or your life? When the Black Death comes kn… read more

Similar categories in Laura Morelli's The Painter's Apprentice: A Novel of 16th-Century Venice book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

Cover of Go as a River by Shelley Read

2. Go as a River

By: Shelley Read

4.28

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

A sweeping, heart-stopping epic of a young woman's journey to becoming, set against the harsh beaut… read more

Similar categories in Shelley Read's Go as a River book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • literary fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • audiobook
"Women endure. That’s what we do."

-Shelley Read, Go as a River

"Loss has nothing to do with what you do deserve and don’t deserve."

-Shelley Read, Go as a River

"I learned from their subtle relations... that love is a private matter, to be nurtured, and even mourned, between two beings alone. It belongs to them, and no one else, like a secret treasure, like a…"

-Shelley Read, Go as a River

"Try as we might to convince ourselves otherwise, the moments of our becoming cannot be carefully plucked like the ripest and most satisfying peach from the bough. In the endless stumble toward oursel…"

-Shelley Read, Go as a River

Cover of Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

3. Tom Lake

By: Ann Patchett

3.99

Format: 309 pages, Hardcover

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again prov… read more

Similar categories in Ann Patchett's Tom Lake book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • audiobook
"You can’t pretend this [Covid] isn’t happening,"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"In the summer the pear trees were fine. In the summer, all that is hideous about a pear tree is hidden by leaves and pears. But once those disguises were removed they were nothing but acres of murder…"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"Hazel, listen to me. I'm going to tell you something important, you need to be brave.' I then explained to the dog how I have told myself for so many years that my career fell apart because I wasn't …"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"It's as if someone bought all the diamonds at Tiffany's, and crushed them into dust, then spread that dust across the water so that it sifts down evenly, filtering through the shards of light that cu…"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

Cover of The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

4. The List of Suspicious Things

By: Jennie Godfrey

4.29

Format: 464 pages, Hardcover

'What if we decided to try and find him?' 'What on earth are you on about?' she said. 'How are w… read more

Similar categories in Jennie Godfrey's The List of Suspicious Things book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • audiobook
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
Cover of You Are Here by David Nicholls

5. You Are Here

By: David Nicholls

4.08

Format: 368 pages, Hardcover

Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way . . . Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his… read more

Similar categories in David Nicholls's You Are Here book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • british literature
  • fiction
  • audiobook
"It’s true I do have time and freedom and I love it, sometimes. But the notion that I should be “making the most of it"

-David Nicholls, You Are Here

"You were traumatised.’ ‘I wonder if people use that word too much.’ ‘It’s the right word for something traumatic.’ ‘But it wasn’t war. People get beaten up every Friday night.’ ‘And are traumatised b…"

-David Nicholls, You Are Here

"she went on a solo trip to Italy, role-playing a character in a Forster novel. In Florence, she read performatively in cafés and sat in the cool of exquisite churches, straining for some kind of spir…"

-David Nicholls, You Are Here

"Books saw her through the pupal stage of thirteen to sixteen, frowning at Kafka and Woolf, then tearing through John Irving and Maeve Binchy, widely read in the proper sense, making no distinction be…"

-David Nicholls, You Are Here

Cover of The Romantic by William  Boyd

6. The Romantic

By: William Boyd

4.15

Format: 451 pages, Paperback

Set in the 19th century, The Romantic is the story of life itself. Following the roller-coaster for… read more

Similar categories in William Boyd's The Romantic book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • literary fiction
  • british literature
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • novels
  • audiobook
Cover of In Memoriam by Alice Winn

7. In Memoriam

By: Alice Winn

4.53

Format: 382 pages, Hardcover

A haunting, virtuosic debut novel about two young men who fall in love during a time of war. It'… read more

Similar categories in Alice Winn's In Memoriam book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • literary fiction
  • historical
  • war
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • audiobook
"It’s intimate."

-Alice Winn, In Memoriam

"Call me Sidney,"

-Alice Winn, In Memoriam

"Where’s the rest of it?"

-Alice Winn, In Memoriam

"Do you believe in magic?"

-Alice Winn, In Memoriam

Cover of North Woods by Daniel       Mason

8. North Woods

By: Daniel Mason

4.15

Format: 372 pages, Hardcover

A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those … read more

Similar categories in Daniel Mason's North Woods book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • novels
  • audiobook
Cover of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James   McBride

9. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

By: James McBride

4.00

Format: 385 pages, Hardcover

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new housing de… read more

Similar categories in James McBride's The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • audiobook
Cover of The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna   Quinn

10. The Whalebone Theatre

By: Joanna Quinn

4.06

Format: 558 pages, Hardcover

A transporting, irresistible debut novel that takes its heroine, Cristabel Seagrave, from a theatr… read more

Similar categories in Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • british literature
  • historical
  • war
  • world war ii
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • novels
  • audiobook
"Without passion we are only machines."

-Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre

"A place where exiles gather to talk of passion."

-Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre

"The men repeatedly request that she play Elgar’s “Nimrod"

-Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre

"It pleases her immensely that she has created this. It reminds her of playing with the cardboard theatre in the attic, how her favourite part was lying on the floor, doing the voices, making the char…"

-Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre

Cover of Long Island (Eilis Lacey, #2) by Colm Tóibín

11. Long Island (Eilis Lacey, #2)

By: Colm Tóibín

3.82

Format: 294 pages, Hardcover

From the beloved, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author comes a spectacularly movi… read more

Similar categories in Colm Tóibín's Long Island (Eilis Lacey, #2) book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • literary fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • audiobook
Cover of The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

12. The Bee Sting

By: Paul Murray

3.96

Format: 656 pages, Hardcover

From the author of Skippy Dies comes Paul Murray's The Bee Sting, an irresistibly funny, wise, and … read more

Similar categories in Paul Murray's The Bee Sting book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • audiobook
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • novels
"It is for love. You are doing this for love."

-Paul Murray, The Bee Sting

"We all have problems. But often instead of accepting the truth about ourselves, we cover it up. We try to make ourselves the way we think we’re expected to be."

-Paul Murray, The Bee Sting

"Maybe every era has an atrocity woven into its fabric. Maybe every society is complicit in terrible things and only afterwards gets around to pretending they didn’t know. When the kids ask, tell them…"

-Paul Murray, The Bee Sting

"Maybe that’s how it will go – instead of one definitive cataclysm, a series of ‘anomalies’, each time lasting longer, with the stretches of what you call normal life becoming further and further apar…"

-Paul Murray, The Bee Sting

Cover of The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

13. The Marriage Portrait

By: Maggie O'Farrell

4.01

Format: 355 pages, Hardcover

An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here. The author of award-winning Hamnet… read more

Similar categories in Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • novels
  • audiobook
"May I keep this?"

-Maggie O'Farrell, The Marriage Portrait

"Was there no hope? the tigress seemed to be asking her. Will I always remain here? Will I never return home?"

-Maggie O'Farrell, The Marriage Portrait

"The animal was orange, burnished gold, fire made flesh; she was power and anger, she was vicious and exquisite;"

-Maggie O'Farrell, The Marriage Portrait

"Is it possible for a woman to be so unsettled in spirit that a child will have no hope of taking root within her?"

-Maggie O'Farrell, The Marriage Portrait

Cover of Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

14. Shrines of Gaiety

By: Kate Atkinson

3.85

Format: 439 pages, Hardcover

London 1926. Roaring Twenties. Corruption. Seduction. Debts due. In a country still recovering … read more

Similar categories in Kate Atkinson's Shrines of Gaiety book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • british literature
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • audiobook
"The library had not been a career choice. After all, who would choose to be a librarian?"

-Kate Atkinson, Shrines of Gaiety

"His head was always in the clouds. 'I'm writing a novel,' he told her. As if that was something to crow about. As if there weren't enough novels in the world already."

-Kate Atkinson, Shrines of Gaiety

Cover of The Maiden by Kate   Foster

15. The Maiden

By: Kate Foster

4.05

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

Inspired by a real-life case and winner of the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect Award, Kate Foster's T… read more

Similar categories in Kate Foster's The Maiden book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • literary fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • audiobook
Cover of Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain

16. Absolutely and Forever

By: Rose Tremain

3.90

Format: 177 pages, Kindle Edition

A piercing short novel of thwarted love and true friendship from one of our greatest living writers… read more

Similar categories in Rose Tremain's Absolutely and Forever book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • literary fiction
  • british literature
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • novels
  • audiobook
Cover of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

17. Demon Copperhead

By: Barbara Kingsolver

4.50

Format: 560 pages, Hardcover

"Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose." Set in t… read more

Similar categories in Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • novels
  • audiobook
"A kid is a terrible thing to be, in charge of nothing."

-Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead

"I can still feel in my bones how being mad was the one thing holding me together."

-Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead

"Counting on Jesus to save the day is no more real than sending up the Batman signal."

-Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead

"life is a wild, impetuous ride. There could be good shit up ahead, don’t rule it out."

-Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead

Cover of Weyward by Emilia Hart

18. Weyward

By: Emilia Hart

4.07

Format: 416 pages, Paperback

I am a Weyward, and wild inside. 2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackl… read more

Similar categories in Emilia Hart's Weyward book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • audiobook
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
" Altha . A strange name. Soft and yet powerful. Like an incantation."

-Emilia Hart, Weyward

"It took skill, Violet thought, to make even your handwriting look angry"

-Emilia Hart, Weyward

"She named me Altha, after all. Not Alice, meaning noble woman, nor Agnes, lamb of God. Altha. Healer."

-Emilia Hart, Weyward

"I thought he loved me for myself. But you were right. To him I am but an animal, like those he hunts and puts on display"

-Emilia Hart, Weyward

Cover of The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4) by Richard Osman

19. The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)

By: Richard Osman

4.49

Format: 421 pages, Hardcover

Shocking news reaches the Thursday Murder Club. An old friend in the antiques business has been … read more

Similar categories in Richard Osman's The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4) book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • fiction
  • audiobook
"His authentic indifference seems to delight them."

-Richard Osman, The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)

"I think Psychopaths wear lipstick too,' says Joyce."

-Richard Osman, The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)

"I love you,' he says. Because what else is there to say?"

-Richard Osman, The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)

"Sure,' says Ron. 'She wants to kill me. Bake her some scones."

-Richard Osman, The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)

Cover of The House of Fortune (The Miniaturist, #2) by Jessie Burton

20. The House of Fortune (The Miniaturist, #2)

By: Jessie Burton

3.87

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

Alive with the magic of Amsterdam, the enchanting new historical novel from the author of the sensa… read more

Similar categories in Jessie Burton's The House of Fortune (The Miniaturist, #2) book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • novels
  • audiobook
"The road in front is empty: it is behind them that something waits."

-Jessie Burton, The House of Fortune (The Miniaturist, #2)

Cover of The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page

21. The Book of Beginnings

By: Sally Page

4.24

Format: 384 pages, Paperback

From the author of the phenomenal bestseller The Keeper of Stories, comes the next uplifting story … read more

Similar categories in Sally Page's The Book of Beginnings book and Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre

  • fiction
  • audiobook

20 must-read fiction books like The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

Transform Your Habits

Go as a River

Shelley Read

4.28

Transform Your Habits

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett

3.99

Transform Your Habits

The List of Suspicious Things

Jennie Godfrey

4.29

Transform Your Habits

You Are Here

David Nicholls

4.08

View all the books

20 Best fiction books like Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

Transform Your Habits

Trust

Hernan Diaz

3.83

Transform Your Habits

Old God's Time

Sebastian Barry

3.85

Transform Your Habits

Homecoming

Kate Morton

4.07

Transform Your Habits

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett

3.99

View all the books

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