AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEROPTIONED FOR TELEVISION BY BRUNA PAPANDREA, THE PRODUCER OF HBO’S BIG LITTLE LIES“A tour de force of original thought, imagination and promise … Kline takes full advantage of fiction — its freedom to create compelling characters who fully illuminate monumental events to make history accessible and forever etched in our minds.” — Houston ChronicleThe author of … history accessible and forever etched in our minds.” — Houston Chronicle
The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train returns with an ambitious, emotionally resonant novel about three women whose lives are bound together in nineteenth-century Australia and the hardships they weather together as they fight for redemption and freedom in a new society.
Seduced by her employer’s son, Evangeline, a naïve young governess in early nineteenth-century London, is discharged when her pregnancy is discovered and sent to the notorious Newgate Prison. After months in the fetid, overcrowded jail, she learns she is sentenced to “the land beyond the seas,” Van Diemen’s Land, a penal colony in Australia. Though uncertain of what awaits, Evangeline knows one thing: the child she carries will be born on the months-long voyage to this distant land.
During the journey on a repurposed slave ship, the Medea, Evangeline strikes up a friendship with Hazel, a girl little older than her former pupils who was sentenced to seven years transport for stealing a silver spoon. Canny where Evangeline is guileless, Hazel—a skilled midwife and herbalist—is soon offering home remedies to both prisoners and sailors in return for a variety of favors.
Though Australia has been home to Aboriginal people for more than 50,000 years, the British government in the 1840s considers its fledgling colony uninhabited and unsettled, and views the natives as an unpleasant nuisance. By the time the Medea arrives, many of them have been forcibly relocated, their land seized by white colonists. One of these relocated people is Mathinna, the orphaned daughter of the Chief of the Lowreenne tribe, who has been adopted by the new governor of Van Diemen’s Land.
In this gorgeous novel, Christina Baker Kline brilliantly recreates the beginnings of a new society in a beautiful and challenging land, telling the story of Australia from a fresh perspective, through the experiences of Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna. While life in Australia is punishing and often brutally unfair, it is also, for some, an opportunity: for redemption, for a new way of life, for unimagined freedom. Told in exquisite detail and incisive prose, The Exiles is a story of grace born from hardship, the unbreakable bonds of female friendships, and the unfettering of legacy.
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Wonderful. Story about women exiled to Australia from England for minor.crimes. Two women, two different stories. So well written.
This novel put faces on women in the British penile system in the 1800’s, both the lies that got them there and the ugliness and dangers of the Transport as they were shipped to Van Dieman’s Land (Tasmania ) to the penal colonies. These were women who each had a life worth living back in England, but through the jealousies of others, they were wrongly convicted of theft and attempted murder and their lives were changed forever. However, there were frequent moments of caring and love among the women convicts, and one shipboard doctor. Most important is the resilience of these women, the use of their knowledge of human nature and the healing herbs, and their patience to wait for the System to play out and they could be free. Excellent suspense at the end, and resolution of the characters’ lives. All based on true stories.
Never really thought about the women convicts who were transported to Australia in 1840 and what they must have experienced. A real eye-opener. Really tragic.
Love the author but this was not my favorite book of hers. I Wasn’t as invested in the characters as I was in Orphan Train or A Piece of the World. Looking forward to her next novel!!
Loved this book! Her writing is excellent—very emotionally provoking! And it ended happily which is always satisfying!
This was so heartbreaking and realistic. I loved this book. It was one of those books where you can’t wait to get back to it again. The characters were brave and unbowed, despite humiliations and setbacks. A wonderful read.
This book was a page turner from the beginning to the end! It will stay with me for a long time! The characters are so strong and unforgettable.
It was a wonderful wonderful book!!!!
I was disappointed in the depth of the story. I have read other books based on the early settlement of Australia but this one didn’t go into the background and realities of life there. Characters were not realistic to me.
The Exiles by Christine Baker Kline is historical fiction that takes place in the 1840s, primarily in Australia. The book follows the interconnecting lives of 3 women. Evangelina, a sheltered woman who becomes the governess of a two children in a wealthy family only to be seduced and pregnant by an older son, she is accused of stealing and sentenced to 14 yrs., Hazel, a teenager who, Evangelina meets on their prison transport ship also sentenced to prison for stealing a spoon, and Mathinna, an indigenous girl who is forcibly removed from her family at the whim of a wealthy, white woman. Based on historical fact, this story is devastating in it’s depiction of the deprivation and cruelty these women suffered but also beautiful in the their strength, determination and the tenuous bonds they form with each other.
I’m particularly drawn to books that offer a glimpse into a cultural event or historical period that I have little knowledge of. The Exiles is such a book. While I knew that the British used Australia as a prison in the 1900s I was not aware that this extended to women as well and the detail described regarding the transport ships and the prison conditions. A heartbreaking but beautifully written book with a satisfying ending.
While I enjoyed this book and the writing, it was quite tragic what these people lived through. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be in exile anywhere at any time. I did enjoy it.
Loved, loved, loved this book!
This is a book you will recommit your friends. Wonderful!
i loved this book. never knew about
British prisoners being sent there. very
informative. happy ending!
I’ve read 3 other books by Christina Baker Kline and heard her speak
I enjoy historical fiction
The Exiles: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline takes place in 1840s England, Australia and at sea. Based on historical facts, the heartrending novel captures the hardship of women convicts and the oppression of a child caught up in adult whims.
Mathinna, 8, is an orphaned Aboriginal girl living on Flinders Island, Australia. Governor Sir John and Mrs. Franklin visit the “natives” and Mrs. Franklin decides to take Mathinna home with them. It would be interesting, she thought, to see if Mathinna could adapt to “civilized ways.” They return home to Hobart Town, Van Diemen’s Land, Australia.
Evangeline, 21, well educated but naive, serves as governess to the children of a wealthy family, the Whitstones, in St. John’s Wood, London. She is accused of stealing a valuable ring belonging to Cecil Frederic Whitstone. Although Cecil gave her the ring, he currently is not at home and cannot vouch for her. In addition, she tussles with the maid who found the ring and Evangeline accidentally pushes the maid down the stairs. To make matters worse, Evangeline is pregnant with Cecil’s child. She’s sent to prison, then finally sentenced to 14 years for theft and attempted murder, and exiled to Australia. She travels by sea with other women prisoners on the filthy slave ship, Madea, enduring four months of rough passages, sweltering sun and icy rain.
Hazel, 16, a fellow prisoner, has been in and out of trouble most of her life, as had her mother. However, from her mother, she did learn the skill of midwifery and herbal remedies. Hazel is a tough girl, but she and Evangeline form a friendship advantageous to both.
The Madea arrives at Hobart Town, Van Diemen’s Land, Australia and the passengers taken to prison. The women’s prison is abhorrent and the women treated badly. Eventually, some are assigned jobs working in the community as “convict maids.”
I found The Exiles an engaging novel. The author interlaces the characters’ individual stories into a captivating historical chronicle, all connecting at some point in surprising ways.
I have recently developed an interest in Australia’s history (am watching a lot of movies and TV shows set there). I knew, of course, about people being transported to Australia for seemingly insignificant offenses. There were surprising elements in the book related to the characters as well as the assumption that the indigenous people were incapable of learning, lacked morals, were without feelings, etc. This was another example of how those who in control took advantage of those who lacked power. Interestingly, an apparently recent development has been that some Aborigines are attempting to reclaim their heritage.
This book came highly recommended by a few book forums I follow. I flew through it in a few days. The writing flows well and is easy to digest. There’s a twist I didn’t see coming that I thought was very well done and true to the setting/year this book takes place in. The summary of this book has a line that summarizes very succinctly the feeling you get after completing this story about Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna, “while life in Australia is punishing and often brutally unfair, it is also, for some, an opportunity: for redemption, for a new way of life, for unimagined freedom.” You feel for all three of these women and the hand that fate has dealt them, mostly because while this is a fictional depiction of women’s lives in nineteenth-century Australia, it’s probably fairly accurate to what life was like at that time.
Prior to reading this book, I had no knowledge of the penal colonies of Australia. This is a compelling story of betrayal, strength, and survival. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, I would definitely recommend this book.
This book was unlike any I think I have read in a long time. I LOVED it. I loved the characters. I cried, I was constantly thinking about them and that does not happen often but when it does, you know it’s a great book. There were so many profound statements in this book. I took pics of a few pages so I could go back and write down the statement. I have not read anything else from this author, but if all her books are this good, I will be reading them all and waiting for the next!!!
A gripping tale with unforgettable atmosphere in dingy prisons and wind-whipped ships. AND our book club learned things about British colonialism and the criminal transports we didn’t know before. A lot of them were women!
This book is perfect for bookclubs that love well-paced and researched historical fiction.