The Whalebone Theatre

July 1942

Flossie describes laughing with Hans and teaching him the songs from The Wizard of Oz. She starts selling her vegetables to a greengrocer in Dorchester. However, on the journey into town, Flossie is shocked by the hostile reception that Hans receives.

August 1942

One evening, Flossie has the house to herself and shows Hans around. She plays the piano for him, and they hold hands as they walk to the beach. Hans runs into the sea naked, and Flossie follows in her underwear. Hans removes her headscarf, and they kiss.

September 1942

Cristabel breaks her wrist, and Perry arranges for her to return to Chilcombe on leave. Cristabel notices Flossie’s new confidence and is surprised to see her half-sister laughing with a German prisoner. Cristabel views all Germans as the enemy. Digby is also home and is about to depart for special training. When asked about his role, he is evasive but admits that he will likely be sent to France. No one has heard from Willoughby, who did not return from Ireland to attend Rosalind’s funeral.

September 18, 1942

Digby writes to Cristabel, revealing that he is at a top-secret location in the English countryside. His training has taught him how to disguise himself and withstand Nazi interrogation.

A piece of paper left in Digby’s room appears blank until it is held up to steam. The message that appears is from Rufus Hendricks, Digby’s instructor. Hendricks explains that he burned the letter that Digby hid under the floorboards before anyone else saw it.

September 1942

Realizing that he is being followed during a training exercise, Digby hides in a pub cellar. A barmaid discovers him and calls the police. Rufus Hendricks rescues Digby. The instructor suggests that Digby is not ruthless enough to make a good secret agent, but Digby insists on pursuing this line of work.

Flossie enlists in the Women's Land Army, known as the Land Girls. She is told that the work involves living in lodgings with other women in Dorchester. Meanwhile, other Land Girls will be sent to Chilcombe, and the German prisoners of war will be redeployed. Flossie did not anticipate that Hans would be sent away. She often imagines a world where they could be together all the time.

Maudie calls from Weymouth after speaking to Bill Brewer. She warns Flossie that she and Hans will suffer if other people find out about their relationship. When the Germans leave Chilcombe, Flossie runs to say goodbye to Hans. When Hans is sent to another location, he keeps Flossie’s headscarf in his pocket. Mr. Brewer tells Flossie that the estate has been running at a loss for some time. She agrees to buy the village pub as an investment.

October 1942

Digby and another secret agent are flown over the English Channel, ready to be dropped into occupied France.

December 1942

Cristabel has not heard from Digby for two months and is worried about him. Now on leave, she returns to Chilcombe. Leon awakens her in the night. When she tells him that she wishes she could go to France in Digby’s stead, Leon reveals that women are being recruited as secret agents. He suggests that she talk to Perry about it. Cristabel and Leon spend the night together.

Cristabel and Leon drive to London to meet Perry. Leon reveals that one of his brothers has died and another is missing. He does not know if his mother has survived, as she was in Europe when the war began. Leon has nothing but scathing words about his father, with whom he has no contact. Cristabel and Leon meet Perry, who tells Cristabel that female secret agents do not officially exist. However, he agrees to recommend her for this type of work.

January 1943

Cristabel meets Captain Ebenezer Potter to discuss her suitability for undercover work. She tells him that she is fluent in French and has spent much of her childhood in France with her governess, Mademoiselle Aubert.

March 1943

Cristabel is sent to a training school for the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The school is located at a country house in Surrey. She shares a room with the only other female trainee, Sophie Leray. Sophie has a French father and an English mother and is bilingual. Cristabel immediately likes her. SOE training includes completing physical endurance tests, learning codes, and practicing firing a gun. Cristabel is a capable student but finds close combat lessons challenging as she is unaccustomed to bodily contact with other people. The recruits continue their training in a remote house in Scotland. Cristabel enjoys the camaraderie as they are taught to kill silently and use a stiletto blade.

June 1943

Cristabel’s departure for France is repeatedly postponed due to cloudy conditions. Her new identity is Claudine Beauchamp, a French literature student. She wears an appropriate costume for the role and is given false identity documents, French currency, a pistol, and cyanide pills. Cristabel will be a courier and will answer to her area organizer, Pierre. She will be dropped in France with weapons to distribute to the French Resistance.

Finally, Cristabel receives the go-ahead for her departure and unexpectedly sees Leon before leaving. When their plane reaches the drop zone, Cristabel and another agent, Henri, parachute out. A group of French Resistance members greets them.

Meanwhile, Flossie enjoys working with the other Land Girls. Her new friends admire the photograph of Rosalind that she keeps by her bed. However, Flossie no longer wishes to be like her mother.

Cristabel and Henri are taken to an isolated farmhouse. The next day, they take trains to different areas (circuits). Cristabel’s train stops unexpectedly, and German SS officers climb aboard, along with Gestapo members (the Nazi secret police). Cristabel pretends to be reading a French poetry book. When one of the officers asks which poem is her favorite, her mind goes blank. Fortunately, the SS officer is distracted by something in the next carriage.

Cristabel arrives at a town full of German soldiers. Many Frenchmen have escaped to the countryside and joined the Resistance. Cristabel meets Pierre in a hotel room. He explains that Cristabel is a replacement for the last courier, whom the Germans discovered. Cristabel spends her days cycling hundreds of miles, carrying messages, and distributing weapons, food, and money. She sleeps in barns and wine cellars. She carries a knife but leaves her gun and cyanide pill with Pierre, fearing that they could incriminate her.

October 1943

Cristabel’s circuit collapses when the Gestapo catches the wireless operator. New agents are flown in a week later, and she is transported back to London. Cristabel is told that the collapse of a crucial circuit in Paris has exposed agents in other areas. The SOE believes that Digby (codename Gabriel) may be responsible, as he failed to make contact. Cristabel has not heard from Digby for months, and she realizes that her superiors’ suspicion of him also implicates her by association.

November 1943

Back at Chilcombe, Cristabel sorts through the theatrical props and costumes in the barn. A young boy named Norman passes by and shows interest in the items. Norman’s mother is Betty’s sister, Joyce. Joyce suggests that Cristabel’s theatrical expertise would be helpful for the upcoming village pantomime at Christmas. Norman asks her to stage a play with “creatures that eat people” (397). Cristabel thinks about how she can fulfill Norman’s request. She considers producing a shadow puppet performance.

December 1943

Although the other bedrooms are empty, Cristabel sleeps in the cold attic. She rarely sees Betty and Mr. Brewer, and Flossie only occasionally returns from Dorchester. Cristabel feels isolated from her family because she cannot tell anyone about her role in France or share her anxiety about Digby. She is also resentful that her service has ended because of Digby’s actions.

American troops have arrived in the village and are camped on the Ridgeway, waiting to invade France. Cristabel goes to the village hall and offers to help with the Christmas production, but the women on the committee are uncomfortable with the suggestion. Flossie shows Cristabel the larder full of preserves and the wine she has made for Christmas. Cristabel is surprised at Flossie’s resourcefulness and the easy familiarity she shares with the Brewers. She writes to her superiors, pleading to be sent back to France.

On Christmas Day, Cristabel is alone in the house. She spends the day in the barn making sock puppets and drinking brandy. When Flossie returns from lunch with the Land Girls, they celebrate together, drinking homemade wine. Cristabel falls asleep and dreams about the whale.

Boxing Day, 1943

Cristabel writes a letter that she cannot send to Digby. She states that she is always thinking of him.