The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
London, 1840. Evangeline, pregnant and falsely accused of stealing, has languished in Newgate prison for months.
Ahead lies the journey to Australia on a prison ship. On board, Evangeline befriends Hazel, sentenced to seven years’ transport for theft. Soon Hazel’s path will cross with an orphaned indigenous girl. Mathinna is ‘adopted’ by the new governor of Tasmania where the family treat her more like a curiosity than a child. Amid hardships and cruelties, new life will take root in stolen soil, friendships will define lives, and some will find their place in a new society in the land beyond the seas.
'Master storyteller Christina Baker Kline is at her best in this epic tale of Australia’s complex history – a vivid and rewarding feat of both empathy and imagination. I loved this book.’ Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife
'Filled with surprising twists, empathetic prose, and revealing historical details, Kline’s resonant, powerful story will please any historical fiction fan.' Publishers Weekly
CHRISTINA BAKER KLINE is the author of seven novels, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Money, More, and Psychology Today, among other publications. She lives in New York City and on the coast of Maine.
christinabakerkline.com. @bakerkline
Review
I adored this book, plain and simple. I am reading much more historical fiction at the moment and books of this quality will keep me going on this road. It was heart-breaking but also heart-warming, real but also fanciful, shows the depredations and patriarchal bias but also the feminism of determined women who never give up. It’s writing just took me straight into the scenes, I could visualise it so easily. It actually read in my head like a movie it was that strong in this aspect.
When people hear you say you studied history at university I think they expect you to know about everything but alas that is not the case. This is what a good piece of historical fiction is all about - it sends you looking up information, as you want to learn more about the subject and issues that have been raised. It’s teaches you things. I knew that there were many scandals regarding the transportation of both convicts and children, but ‘The Exiles’ made it personal, gave it a face, an edge of humanity to the facts. The subject was also dealt with very sympathetically and it’s clear that the author knows her stuff! The statistics provided at the end of the book were eye-opening about how much of the Australian population who can trace their roots back to transportation. I might also read some of the books which Christina says she used to get a feel for the period. I’m such a history geek!
One of the hardest things to swallow in this book is when the governor of Tasmania is over on Flinder’s Island and his wife deicides that she wants one of the native girls to take home as a project. This is the character Mathinna in this book. However, what horrified me is how this is actually based on an event which took place during this time period. First of all, the indigenous population had already been misplaced from Tasmania onto the island and then this girl was just picked to go have Western values imparted onto her! Sorry if I sound mad here but this is what is wrong with the idea of colonialism to me. The colonists believe they know best, that their version of society, culture and religion is the preferred and only option. Imagine being that girl. Mathinna becomes such a lost soul it’s terrible. I really felt for her through the novel.
Out of all the characters I fell in love with Hazel, probably as soon as I saw she was from Glasgow which is my home town! She shows such a strengthen of character to come through first her childhood, being sent on the voyage to the colonies and then into the prison there. She really did shine off the page for me.
As stated above I loved this book. I wish there was more to read about the characters I feel for a lot of them their story is just beginning! But this is an excellent piece of historical fiction, it felt spot on for me! An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review!
