User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I have to add this to my own bookshelf, don't you think?
Rating: really liked it
I learned about things I had little or no knowledge of. I cried because the story of the women depicted here was heartbreaking and especially so because it tells of things that really happened. I was also inspired because the strength of these characters allowed them to rise above their dire circumstances. Christina Baker Kline, though provides a realistic picture and not all of the characters can escape their fate. With her exceptional story telling and meticulous research, as well as beautiful writing, Kline brings to life two pieces of Australian and British history that occurred under the British colonization in the 1840’s - the “convict women” and the horrific treatment of Aborgines, the indigenous people of Australia.
Mathinna, a little Aboriginal girl, taken in by the wife of the governor of Van Diemen’s Land, as if she was a thing, losing her home, her family and her sense of belonging had my heart from the beginning. Evangeline, a governess for the children of a wealthy family in London is taken advantage of and falsely accused of stealing. Hazel, a sixteen year old girl, with such a sad life steals a silver spoon and had nothing good to take from her previous life except her knowledge of herbs, home remedies and her midwife skills. You can learn more about the plot in the book descriptions and other reviews that will give more of an account of the horrific treatment and conditions for women in a prison in England in 1840 and the awful details of their time on a ship as they are sent to Australia. Better yet, I recommend you read this book for yourself to get to know these women and girls who have suffered losses, are victimized. As sad and heartbreaking as it is, there is beauty in this story in the connections they make with each other, in the bonds formed. There is goodness where you least expect to find it in the tenacious, but good hearted convict, Olive. And there is the good Dr. Dunne, the only one on their side on the ship and later in Australia. The ending, what to say about it, except it’s perfect.
My only criticism of the book is the loose end around Mathinna’s story. While Kline ties this up in her acknowledgments at the end of the book, I felt that Mathinna, being the real character deserved her story be told. The treatment of the Aborigines was gut wrenchingly reminiscent of the treatment of Native Americans in my own country. In spite of my one criticism, I have to give this five stars . It’s a fantastic piece of historical fiction that had me looking for more information about the convict women and the Aborigines.
I received a copy of this book from William Morrow through Edelweiss.
Rating: really liked it
“She was about to learn what it was like to be contemptible.” 4.5 stars The Exiles is a historical novel that takes place primarily in 19th century Australia about the fate of two women sentenced to be transported to a life of servitude, and a young indigenous girl who is forcefully taken from her people and her land to become an object in the Governor’s home.
Evangeline, a governess, Mathinna, a young aboriginal girl, and Hazel, a thief: three characters with little in common except all are forced into exile, brought together by circumstance, struggling to survive in a strange new world.
The narrative is split between the three characters. Each perspective offers something new on gender dynamics, class, social status, colonization, objectification, and race in the 19th century.
All three characters have compelling and unique voices. They had me cringing and crying frequently, but never did I give up hope for them, even when it was too late. This book destroyed me. It is well-written and researched, but, at times, very hard to read due to the severe circumstances these characters have to deal with. Several moments left me distraught and feeling destroyed. I still have not recovered from the scene with Waluka--that incident broke my heart. I did lower my review by half a star because, in the end, I felt Mathinna’s character was given short-shrift and simply faded away. Despite this element, I highly recommend
The Exiles for those who enjoy historical fiction and strong female characters.
Rating: really liked it
A fine example of what historical fiction should offer: well-developed characters, some historic figures, the feel of the times, places and events, and a plot that keeps you interested.
Stories of female exiles, interior and exterior, for whom fate did not deal the best of cards ... The main female characters are strong and have the courage to stand up against the male brutality during the voyage and later on in Australia and Tasmania. Ms Kline offers us a terrific insight into the transportation conditions and what awaited convicts at the destination.
The tale of Mathinna, an indigenous girl who is forced to leave her family and as a kind of an experiment, become 'civilized' in the house of Mr John Franklin, is most poignant ...
I listened to The Exiles and recommend this version if you enjoy audiobooks as Ms Lee does a fantastic job.
Rating: really liked it
Be sure to visit Bantering Books to read all my latest reviews.4.5 starsResilience. Survival. Freedom.These are just a few of the profound themes woven into
The Exiles, Christina Baker Kline’s gorgeous novel of the British colonization of nineteenth-century Australia.
Admittedly, this is a historical time period about which I previously knew nothing. So you can imagine my horror when I learned of Britain’s forcible seizure of the Australian land from its Aboriginal people. It was also equally appalling to discover that the British government would sentence female convicts to disproportionate prison terms in order to exile them to Van Diemen’s Land, an Australian penal colony, where the women were then made to labor off their time, while enduring poor treatment and foul living conditions.
And Kline’s story of three such exiles – British convicts, Evangeline and Hazel, and Mathinna, an orphaned Aboriginal child – captures this brutal history with incisiveness and emotion.
The Exiles is riveting. It’s heartbreaking, but hopeful. And it’s written beautifully, with prose elegant enough to rival poetry.
It was almost a five-star read based on enjoyment alone. But I cannot overlook the fact that Kline fails to ever break the surface of the story. She only skims the exterior, resulting in the characters, history, and setting not feeling fully fleshed.
Had the story been richer, with a greater depth and more rounded characterization,
The Exiles would have been
epic. One day, it may have even been considered a classic work of historical fiction.
But it’s not. And it won’t ever be. Yet I loved it, nonetheless.
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Rating: really liked it
5 exquisite stars for this beautiful book!
This novel follows several brave and inspiring women on a journey that weaves their lives together in unexpected ways. It is a story about the strength, determination and endless drive found deep within a woman’s soul. It is a powerful depiction of how women hold each other up in this world.
Told through multiple perspectives, I was invested in every character from start to finish. I loved what each character brought to the storyline, each narrative added a deeper layer of intensity and detail which all brilliantly weaved together in unexpected ways. These characters will stay with me a long time.
The elegant and beautiful writing pulled me in completely. Many powerful sentences made me stop and think. This is one of those books that I so thoroughly enjoyed reading that I didn’t want it to end. I truly cherished and enjoyed the experience of reading every single word.
Orphan Train, by this author, is one of my favourite books and while this was not an intense as Orphan Train, it was equally impactful. It is a quiet but captivating story. Not gripping or suspenseful, but beautifully unique and unforgettable.
This novel has confirmed my love for this authors writing. I absolutely must read A Piece Of The World soon.
Thank you to Edelweiss for my review copy! Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan!
Rating: really liked it
Ever since visiting Australia in 1995, I have been fascinated by this country and its people, from the native Aborigines and their intriguing culture, to the convicts who were forcibly transported and made to settle in this strange, unforgiving land.
I was blown away by how Christina Baker Kline brought these historic experiences to life! She doesn't sugarcoat
anything, from the horrendous living conditions in London's Newgate Prison, the long, arduous journey by ship, to finally landing and living in harsh circumstances within the penal colonies throughout Australia (specifically Tasmania). She also depicts the barbaric treatment and attempted genocide of the Aborigines.
Five stars:
1. for developing the main (and secondary) characters with such conviction, that you can't help but feel empathy, disdain, fear, compassion, anger (you pick the emotion!) towards them;
2. for involving
all of my senses with her vividly descriptive scenes - I felt like I was right alongside the main characters as the story evolved;
3. for a well-paced plot from start to finish;
4. for her carefully-chosen authentic vocabulary;
5. for a well-researched piece of literature;
6. for including an Old World glossy color map of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania); and,
7. for showing; not telling!
If you enjoy heart-wrenching, jaw-dropping, outstanding historical fiction with unexpected plot twists and strong characters, then I
highly recommend this book! It is going on my "Favorites" bookshelf, and I will definitely be reading more of her work!
Rating: really liked it
In school I had little interest in history and this is why I have come to love historical fiction as an adult.
I had no knowledge of this part of Australian/British 19th century history and their penal system.
This novel follows two young English women (wrongly accused) sent by an overly crowded slave ship to Australia’s Newgate prison, and also follows an eight year old Aboriginal girl adopted by white colonists just as a “curiosity” and an attempt to “civilize” her.
The bravery of these three throughout all the injustices done to them was astounding!
This has been optioned for a tv series!
Loved it!
Rating: really liked it
4+ It was no surprise to learn in the acknowledgments that Christina Baker Kline’s father is a historian or that her mother was a women’s studies professor. Kline’s appreciation of history and the skillful way she communicates the lives of marginalized women are on display in this unique story of the exiled. It feels raw and gritty, sad and hopeful, but true to the place and time about which she writes, 1840s Australia and London. It is the historical details that give the story conviction but it is the characters that give it life.
Growing up as a vicar’s daughter, Evangeline had been in a protected bubble. She’d learned little of the world that didn’t come from books. When her father dies, thanks to all that book learning, she is able to become a governess to two children in London. Through unfortunate circumstances, Evangeline will find herself accused of crimes that she did not commit and thrown into Newgate Prison. Without a male protector and without friends or any social support, she, like many women of that era, is faced with the challenge of daily survival. Her plight reminds me of the women in Hallie Rubenhold’s book, 'The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper.' Falling to the worst of the low, as an inmate of Newgate Prison, Evangeline learns feelings she’s never experienced before, what it’s like to evoke disgust in others and feel debased and disgraced by what she has become (in the eyes of others).
Hazel is not introduced until over one hundred pages in, but she’s worth the wait. A pale, young girl with copper hair, she is one of many women convicts who, along with Evangeline, are being sent to Australia. Her crime, the theft of a silver spoon. Hazel’s story is as sad as Evangeline’s, or perhaps sadder, for Hazel’s mother had fallen on hard times and began to push her daughter to commit acts of thievery. However, Hazel did learn midwifery and the healing art of herbs from her mother. These are skills that would play large in Hazel’s future. On the slave ship, the Medea, Hazel and Evangeline become friends, united in a violent struggle against a sailor, an ex-convict, who will figure significantly in their lives.
The last character to mention is Mathinna, an Aboriginal girl adopted by Lady Jane Franklin and her husband, Governor John Franklin. Eight years old and an orphan, they take her in to see if she can be civilized, but Mathinna will soon come to feel as though she is only part of one of their many collections. After all, they have shelves lined with Aboriginal skulls and artifacts. Although this is a fictionalized account, the story of Mathinna is a real one, but don’t read the true account until after you’ve finished this book. There are too many correlations that might spoil the story for you. Some may feel that Mathinna’s story is untethered at the end. For me it was a hanging thread that spoke volumes, leaving a sort of haunting dissatisfaction that lingered in my mind.
The theme of the exile and marginalized women are foremost in this novel, but Kline also shows the resilience of the human spirit and how relationships and connectivity are essential elements for survival. The other book that I’ve read by this author is ‘A Piece of the World’ and it is a world of difference away from this one, but equally well-written and interesting. Kline’s prose is straight forward without a lot of flourishes or metaphors. It is grounded and striking for enveloping the reader in a sense of history and the lives of everyday characters, who could easily be us, but for some trick of time and fate.
Rating: really liked it
“The Exiles” was a tremendous historical fiction novel.
In South Whales, a state in southeast Australia, was founded by the British as a penal colony in 1788. Over the next 80 years, more than 160,000, (32,000 women), convicts were transported to Australia from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Whales, in lieu of being given the death penalty.
Common crimes committed by convicts were petty theft, burglary, stealing, military offenses, and prostitution.
The convicts were employed to work for the free settlers who moved to Australia.
Today, most penal colonies have been abolished.
Christina Baker Kline, whose historical fiction books “The Orphan Train”, and “A Piece of the World”, were ‘both’ outstanding, emotional, exquisitely written, researched, and simply gripping with detailed gorgeous prose.....does it again, in “The Exiles”.
This epic masterly-mesmerizing novel is a memorable achievement....
Christina’s best to date!
It doesn’t surprise me one iota, that “The Exiles” is optioned for television by the same producer, ( Bruna Papandrea), of HBO’s ‘Big Little Lies”. This book is ‘that’ visual-in-scope.
*Evangeline Stokes*, was 20 years old when her clergyman father died....an only daughter....with no other living relatives alive. Her vicar father and she had spent many nights and hours studying together. Evangeline was educated primarily - and diligently - by her father. She was knowledgeable in Greek, Latin, philosophy, math, science, literature, and Shakespeare.
Evangeline was also beautiful.... but with only a small inheritance from her father, and no eligible men in her village fighting for her hand, she didn’t have many options at the time of her father’s death.
She was shy like her father which was often mistaken for being aloof and snobby. This personality trait followers her in the next year....not to her detriment.
Evangeline’s best option was an offer (20 pounds a year, plus room and board), to become a governor to two children, (Beatrice and Ned), for a wealthy family.
Like a shakespearean comedy of errors....(absurdity, and nonsense)....but in Evangeline’s case, (pure bogus deviating tragedy), the crimes she was accused of - were a sham, false, and delusory!
A maid, named Agnes, was jealous of Evangeline’s academic skills, and beauty. Agnes created a hogwash nightmare accusatory tale - that sent Evangeline -to Newgate prison - in the city of London- then eventually to a penal colony in Australia.
A judge sentenced Evangeline to 14 years at the penal colony, ( on the Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania, in Australia). It took the jury all of 10 minutes to find her guilty.
Evangeline and other prisoners were transported to Australia on a slave ship— called ‘Medea’. The voyage was treacherous; ghastly conditions due to the elements themselves, horrible sickness, and disgusting uninviting crew members.
There was actually one kind crew member on the slave ship - a doctor - Dr. Caleb Dunne - who helped everyone when needing medical help.
A young teenager, *Hazel Ferguson*, from Glasgow, daughter of a midwife, orphaned, like Evangeline- was skilled in midwifery and knowledgeable with healing herbs— she had a snappy harsh-in-your-face-personality- disposition.....but proved to be quite helpful assisting Dr. Dunne.
Hazel was sentenced to seven years in prison stealing a silver spoon.
The British convict women in prison in Australia - employed in factories - faced extreme difficulty in achieving freedom, or respect. Many were regarded as prostitutes. The women in the ‘female factories’ who were either waiting for their assignment, pregnant, or undergoing punishment, were expected to work for free doing laundry, needlework, and chores in disgusting environments of filth, smells, and brutal cruelty with the very minimal basic needs provided.
AWFUL!!! INHUMAN!!!! The punishments were way beyond the petty crimes ( often completely innocent women).
You just had to cry...it was sooooo FU#KING WRONG....Sooooo SAD!!!!
It gets worse:
*Mathinna*, was an 8 year old indigenous Australian girl, (born Mary), -daughter of an Aboriginal Chief- was born on Flinders Island. Her family was captured by a British builder who was appointed chief protector of the Aborigines....
but then later she adopted governor of Tasmania ....( John Franklin and his wife Lady Jane). HER SOUL WAS RAPED....HER SPIRIT ABANDONED....
The way this young girl was treated was utterly obliterated—broken - shredded in pieces.....
This poor lonely girl, with only her pet possum, and a family necklace, was treated like a hollow showpiece -like a black princess of sorts - a laughter/display performer for the white family, and their community friends.
My god — the way this young girl was treated was SHAMEFUL!!!
....This book is extraordinary.....
....Painful to read at times....
....Yet....we get soooo invested in the characters: main and supporting characters.
....The history will haunt me ...[the penal colonies, the slave ship cruelties, the Aborigines mistreatments, the unfairness, the horrible hardships, brutal conditions, and racial discrimination]....
....However....
....I’m glad I read it....[the storytelling flow - development and pacing were top notch; the strength of the women were undeniable]....
Kudos to author Christina Baker Kline. She held my heart with her raw unapologetic exquisite intoxicating historical narrative storytelling.
Rating: really liked it
Compelling characters, vivid descriptions and a wonderful, heartbreaking story of courage and bravery. The 19th century and women accused of breaking crimes are sentenced to transport, headed for Australia. One for stealing a spoon, one betrayed by a son if the house accused if stealing a ring, it really didn't take much. We learn about the horrors of Newgate, the crude treatment on the ship, the details are extraordinary, impressive. Yet, these women, in some cases banded together, watched out for each other and fought for each other. Evangeline, Olive and Hazel., characters I will long remember.
In an alternate story we have the Franklins, John and Jane, and boy has my impression of them changed. John, appointed Governor of Van Diemans Land, their treatment of the aborigine and his wife's habit of taking a native child in and trying to civilize the child. Mathinna is one such child and we hear her story. Link to read more about her. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathi... Her story is heartbreaking but she is dropped from the story before books end which I found disconcerting. which is why I didn't give this novel five stars. The ending though, I loved. Perfect!
There is one very good man, a Doctor who will figure prominently and one very bad man among many others. Blended history, well told, about a time I knew little. Once again, massive unfairness, cruel treatment toward an original people and defenseless women.
The narrator is Caroline Lee and I found her delivery impressive.
ARC by Netgalley audio.
Rating: really liked it
The Exiles explores a part of history I had no idea about. Christina Baker Kline brings us a well-researched powerful, emotional story that weaves history, real-life people, and fiction as she captures the hardship of four women set in 19 century Australia.
The story centers around three English female convicts being transported to a prison in Australia by boat and an orphaned Aboriginal girl Matthina. An English governor's wife takes her in out of curiosity to see if she can turn a savage into a proper lady.
It's all about the strong female characters here as we follow them as they struggle to leave behind their old lives and adapt to the new ones that are forced on them. There are many well-layered themes of social justice, oppression, survival quietly weaved into the beautiful story. At first, I struggled a bit with the story, and I needed to quiet my mind to focus on the themes. Once I shut the noise in my head, I was consumed with the journey of these unforgettable women. My heart broke for them with vivid details of the conditions they lived under, and at times I had to look away and let my mind skim over it. It's not all dark as there are themes of hope, friendship, motherhood, and loyalty.
The story explores social justice here for women, at a time in history when women were seen as "less than" and a society that was entitled to discriminate against indigenous people. We don't see much of Matthina's story, but she captured my heart and pulled at my heart strings with the way she was seen and treated.
The story takes a brave, bold, and sudden turn that left me thinking did that just happened, and I almost didn't believe it did. I had to go back and reread it, and Christina Baker Kline shows just how talented she is by pulling off that turn to the story.
It's inspiring stories like this that remind us how strong women were at a time when they were grounded by men and a society that viewed them as lesser. They faced fear and survival not by looking away but by facing it head-on. It's an empowering story that celebrates women's strength, courage, and resilience that we can carry over today. I highly recommend it.
I read this one with my reading sister Lindsay and you can find both reviews here
https://travelingsistersbookreviews.c...
I received a copy from the publisher on EW.
Rating: really liked it
I love when historical fiction takes me to remote places and teaches me history I was unaware of. When stories are fictional but based on reality, it can be shocking but satisfying when it’s well written and researched.
19th century Australia.
3 females whose lives are dramatically turned upside down. All ending up on Van Diemen's Island. Young Mathinna, an aboriginal, who is taken from her tribe to appease some English woman’s fantasy of taming a brute.
Evangeline, a young woman, seduced by her employer’s son, then framed for theft and is sent on a ship on the other side of the world to serve her time. Hazel, who is also a criminal for stealing a silver spoon for her mother and is banished too. A friendship emerges.
Women who are used, abused and deceived. Women who have courage and strength to survive after much darkness and pain. These lives become entwined to form lifelong relationships.
5⭐️
This is my first Baker Kline and I’m thrilled to know there are at least 2 other ones I own I get to indulge in.
Rating: really liked it
“When you cut down a tree, you can tell how old it is by the rings inside. The more rings, the sturdier the tree. So . . . I imagine I’m a tree. And every moment that mattered to me, or person I loved, is a ring.” She put the flat of her hand on her chest. “All of them here. Keeping me strong.”
Again, CBK has educated me on a piece of history I was unaware of... Britain’s colonization of Australia by the transporting of convicts and the “relocating” of the Aboriginal people. I felt every ounce of what these women felt through Klines mesmerizing storytelling. My only complaint with the story was that I wish Mathinna’s story had had more closure. I grew attached to her and hated that her story ended so abruptly. Still a wonderful educating novel that I highly recommend. 4.5 stars.
Rating: really liked it
5 haunting stars
This story is still haunting me a few days after I’ve finished it, I devoured it in just two sittings. One of my favorite things about good historical fiction is that I learn things and it helps put the world into context for me. One new item for me was learning there were transports of female criminals to Australia from England when I thought it was just men. A large chunk of this book chronicles one such transport from London to Van Diemen’s Land/Tasmania. It’s also very interesting to think about the legacy of these transports, both in terms of present-day residents of Australia and the aboriginals that were displaced. I also thought some of the prison terms were horrible, seven years for stealing a silver spoon!
The book opens with Mathinna (based on a real person), then a child and one of the few remaining aboriginals, and then alternates with Evangeline in London. Mathinna catches the eye of the wife of the new governor of Van Diemen’s Land and she decides that she must “have” Mathinna for her own. Mathinna is plucked away from her family and everything that is familiar to her.
Evangeline grew up sheltered by her father (a pastor) and his untimely death forces her to seek employment as a governess for a wealthy family. The older son in the family is captivated by Evangeline and you can guess what transpires. Naïve Evangeline is sent away to Newgate Prison for her transgressions and ultimately sentenced for transport. She befriends a few other female prisoners on the ship as well as the ship’s doctor, and it is evident that she will give birth at some point on the voyage.
This book was obviously well researched and is atmospheric, I felt like I was in the horrible prison conditions along with the women and on the ship for the long voyage. It is fascinating to think about how the island of Tasmania has developed as when the prisoners were finally released, they wanted to make a fresh start and build a new life.
This is my third book by this author, Christina Baker Kline, and she is firmly on my “favorites” list. I will anxiously await whatever she writes next and I want to read some of her older titles while I wait.
Fate seems to be telegraphing to me that I need to visit Tasmania (post COVID) as I’ve read all of these books recently set on the island: “Vanishing Falls”; “An Unusual Boy”; this one; and now “The Survivors.” I’m excited to discuss this one on BookBrowse.
