The Exiles: A Novel Kindle Edition

‘The Exiles’ is a delightful book, a big fat shiny five stars. The subject matter is so relevant, even today. The penal colonies of Australia are a repugnant blotch in England’s expansive history, although many other nations can credit themselves with their own disgusting pages in their own histories. The 1840’s, the particular period of this novel, was a flourishing time for the fortunate, but for the unfortunate masses that polite society deemed different for whatever petty reason, life presented a daily struggle to survive, a varied version of hell on earth. But my purpose is to review this wonderful book, not to pass judgement on any nation’s failing.Evangeline is a delightful character and I felt a connection with her right away. Pressured into an affair resulting in pregnancy, she is accused of stealing a gift from her lover. Fourteen years transportation. Prison in Australia. A lot has been said about Evangeline’s naivete and her surprising story arc. I believe she was no more naïve than most girls her age, facing similar circumstances. I also commend Kline for making such a bold move in Evangeline’s story. The nerve! Difficult to read but grittily real in its happening. And then there was Mathinna, the aboriginal young orphan. I felt for her as well, enduring the bigotry of the colonial English rulers. Her story arc was also amazing and at the same time, realistically distressing. But all the characters were very credible, some, like Hazel and even Olive, were inspirational. The dialogue was spot on. The prose was beautiful, yet at times as rugged as the locale. Kline expertly places the reader on the high seas aboard a slave ship, then in the dark, dank, Hades-like prison known as The Cascades. I felt a link, albeit safe, with the convicts as they endured the hell of their days spent in solitary. The blunt hopelessness of their dreadful day to day lives.Kline provides a moral of a sort. A lesson to be learned. “Hazel had made a life for herself that would not have been possible in Great Britain, where the circumstances of her birth would’ve almost certainly determined the story of her future.” The hardships that people endure to achieve a better life, for themselves and their children, always makes such a great story. Kline tells it splendidly.

Having completed the entire series by William Stuart Long about how Australia was birthed, when someone suggested I might enjoy this book I ordered it immediately. I have never read anything written by Christina Baker Kline before and this book is very well written. The historical facts are well documented and you find yourself being pulled into the story of Evangeline, a young governess who finds herself being jailed for thief of a ruby ring. Discovering Evangeline is pregnant by the son of her employee, Cecil Frederic Whitestone, her sentence of being shipped to Van Diemen’s Land, the penal colony in Australia. The hardships Evangeline has while on the slave ship, but the friendship she forms with Hazel, adding to the storyline. Hazel a young Irish girl who stole a silver spoon, however a skilled mid-wife helps many along the way.Meanwhile on Flinders Island in Australia, the eight year old daughter Mathinna of a Lowreenne tribe Chief Towterer and mother Wanganip is adopted by the newly appointed governor John Franklin and his wife Lady Jane and their daughter Eleanor. The way Mathinna was treated is horrible, but the reader must remember, the natives of Australia were not treated well by the English during this time.The story intertwines with the story of Evangeline, Hazel, Dr. Dunne, and Mathinna. It’s a great read and looking forward to reading more of Ms. Kline’s books.

Ordered this to read for my Book Club. Wonderful story and great writing by the author. Everyone at book club loved the book ~ and that's not usually the case! :)

This hist fiction novel centers around the colonization of Australia. I found the story to be engaging and tragic. I knew some of the basic facts about the convicts ships and how minor the infractions could be that sent people to Australia. The backdrop to the character interactions was well plotted and made me think about the situation vs morals of a decision on multiple occasions. I highly recommend this hist fiction book

Excellent story. Really enjoyed it.

Loved it, so interesting to know this part of history pertaining to women....a great read, you will not be disappointed

I am still reading this my second book by this author; I'm really enjoying it but like to swap between my kindle and audible as a rule. Frustratingly, I'm unable to do this in the UK but would be able to in the US. Please Amazon, can you make the 2 available at the same time please? I thought about delaying reading this and maybe should have done so.I have now finished this. It is an excellent and thoroughly researched novel about women exiled to a penal colony in Van Diemen's Land in 1840 and to a lesser degree, the impact of British colonialism on the native people of Australia. I found it both gripping and interestingly detailed about every aspect of convict life in Hobart Prison.

I really enjoyed this book. Heart-wrenching and so hard to put down. The ending felt like the story had just begun. Well done.

I enjoyed this but it was somehow lacking in depth of characterisation! I couldn't fully connect with the main characters. They were a little empty and so didn't quite give the subject matter the oomph it deserves!!I was drawn to this by the title because back in the early 80's as a young teenager my mum and myself read a book called The Exiles by Vivian Stuart, the first of The Australians series of, I believe, 6 books! About a young girl who ends up in Newgate prison and is shipped off on the convict ships!I still have that battered, dog eared book that my long gone mum bought 2nd hand from a market stall back in about 1981. It still is probably my most favourite, or at least in the top 3 of my best books ever!!!My Mum read the series but I was new to the adult section in the library and wanted to read EVERYTHING hahaha! How I wish we had bought them all back then, as they now cost a fortune as 2nd hand copies! That gave the subject matter the justice it deserves and I still remember it today.Maybe that is why I can't quite give this book a better review! However I have read some of the blurbs on her other titles and have saved them to my, to read list, hence the 4* because it may not have lived up to what I wanted it to, but I did enjoy her writing!