After being abandoned by their thespian parents, Whimsy and Woe Mordaunt are left in the care of their austere Aunt Apoline.    Forced to work in Apoline’s boarding house, slaving at the beck and call of outlandish and demanding guests, and sharpening the thorns of every plant in the poisonous plant garden, Whimsy and Woe lose all hope that their parents will ever return. Until one day, quite by accident, the siblings stumble upon a half-charred letter that sets them on a course to freedom and finding their parents.    Richly illustrated by award-winning illustrator Sonia Kretschmar, this first book in an exciting new series by talented debut author Rebecca McRitchie is filled with mischief, monocles, mystery and mice.