The Exiles

A Novel

By: Christina Baker Kline

Narrated by: Caroline Lee

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

OPTIONED 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 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.

Tragic

Although "Exiles," has a good ending, I found the whole book to be terribly depressing. There is no doubt in my my mind that it is an accurate description of the cruelty and unfairness of that time. The story is very well written with wonderful characters that you genuinely care about and your heart breaks for them. I just find it hard to truly enjoy a story that is so tragic.

Caroline Lee is my all time favorite narrator. She could read the dictionary and make it sound fascinating.

Moving and insightful

This was a heart wrenching story that was difficult yet rewarding to read. A great book club read a it has alot of parallels to today.

English Prisoners shipped to Australia

This historical (and true) novel is heavy, with no end in site. Much grief. Although, many people don’t know about this historical practice, so in that is some benefit.

Deeply moving and insightful

So moving.
Historical fiction is so insightful.
Circumstances change, context change but the underlying message can be applied to our current world.
Perhaps a movie so more will gain an understanding of our world, how it works and how things must change.
Critical race theory, critical economic theory, critical sexism … only acknowledging the history will allow others to be more aware and seek change.

Interesting and inspiring

Interesting history of Australia and the convicts who helped to settle there. A good portrayal of strong women who overcame so much difficulty and the prejudices they faced. Excellent narration.