Taking place in the mid-1800s, this book is focused on the transport of prisoners from Great Britain to Australia. We are immersed with characters that find themselves in situations they couldn’t imagine, while thrown in with people never suspected they would end up being around.

The book is full of tragedy, and feelings of punishment that is unjust. It is a scathingly look at colonialism and British superiority, along with class and disregard for human life if anyone steps beyond the bounds of their station or duties.

It is well written, engaging, captivating, and a quick read.

THE EXILES by Christina Baker Kline
Evangeline, a young governess, is arrested on a false charge and “transported” to Australia. Her lover does not rescue her and she bears his child on the ship.
In the 1840’s Britain sent thousands of “undesirables” to exile in Australia. Kline’s book tells the story of jailing and transport from the viewpoint of an educated young woman fallen on hard times and her child. Even after transport, the exiles were still jailed and then “rented out” during the day in what amounted to slave labor until their sentences were served. The hardships of jail life and transport are set forth in detail. A parallel story is the true experience of Mathinah, a young Aboriginal woman taken from her ancestral home and “adopted” by the British governor and his wife. Hers is a sad tale sympathetically told by Kline.
This finely detailed and riveting book tells a little known side of British “transport,” a cost saving solution that also sent thousands of criminals to the present day state of Georgia. Beautifully written and well researched, this book deserves your time.
5 of 5 stars

A fictional book set in the early days of Australia, backed with much research and an expanded true account of an Aboriginal child who was taken in by wife of the governor.A very absorbing, quick and chilling read

This historical novel about the transportation of convicts from England to Australia presents a good introduction for those wanting to learn more about Australian/Tasmanian history. In addition to illustrating how England sent convicts (even for minor cases) to Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania) and conditions in women's prisons there. Many of the characters in the novel work in private homes in the area during the day, just as in actual history. Infants born to prisoners are eventually sent on to the Orphanage.

Other topics covered include treatment of the aboriginal population, class differences, and early feminisim in the medical profession.

With all these interesting topics, my main problem was that I felt readers didn't really get to know the characters very much. The most development is with Hazel. An incident around the middle of the book seems to come out of nowhere and I couldn't understand why this storyline was even included. However, it does eventually affect what happens in the rest of the book, so I was able to come to grips with it.

I do recommend the book to those enjoying historical fiction.

This is a very moving telling of women being transported to the British colony of Australia in the 19th century. Kline examines the lives of four British citizens and one indigenous girl. The novel is very descriptive and emphasizes the power of women who support one another.

It is so obvious that the author did such extensive research for this book which made the story even more intriguing. The main character, Evangeline, reflects English society at the time where so-called criminals were sent to Australia to do so-called penance to society. The details of the horrific trip by ship were recounted by the women who made that journey. Perhaps this book is fiction but the strong prose easily makes it believable.
The plight of the Australian aborigines was defined so well.
Some elements of the story seemed a bit too contrived as did the ending. Yet, the horror of what transpired and the message of redemption was so well defined. A fascinating read!

This is an amazing story of strength and adaptability in a new land, taken over by British and populated with prisoners. It tells the story of Evangeline, a wrongly accused governess sentenced to transport for fourteen years for theft and attempted murder; Hazel, a midwife and thief, sentenced to transport for seven years for theft; and Mathinna, an Aboriginal girl forcibly adopted by the British governor and his wife.

circumstances, and each much discover what they’re willing to do to survive in Christina Baker Kline’s latest novel of adversity and resilience.

The novel’s narrative is shared between Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna, with each of them essentially telling different parts of the story. Whereas many novels use multiple points of view to tell a continuous story through the eyes of different narrators, Kline mainly uses this technique to continue the story—where one character’s point of view ends, another’s picks up the story. When she does overlap the narratives, it’s only briefly and not until much later in the book. While this use of multiple points of view may seem strange, the characters’ circumstances naturally create this sort of narration; while Evangeline and Hazel are together on the convict ship, Mathinna is far away in Australia, so individual points of view are needed to share the separate stories. Kline also uses the three points of view to highlight the drastically different treatment of the three women at the hands of the British government. Evangeline, despite being a convict and an unwed soon-to-be mother, is educated and formerly of the middle class, so while she is still treated as a prisoner, she often receives special attention or is given preference by those in charge. Hazel, a thief of no social standing, is seen as a true criminal and is often treated cruelly or abusively by others, but once she proves her knowledge and skills as a midwife, she begins to earn the respect and trust of those in power. Mathinna, despite being the daughter of a former chieftain, is seen as a savage by the British settlers, and although she is intelligent and curious, even the slightest hint or reminder of her Aboriginal identity is enough for her to considered uncivilized. The implied importance of education is indicative of the classist and racist beliefs of past British culture and the idea that learning is a mark of civilization, with both individuals and groups of people who are less learned seen as less-than.

The treatments of Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna are also a reminder that Britain was a major global power during the nineteenth-century, and many native civilizations were lost as they fell under the rule of the island nation. By including Mathinna’s story, both as the true story of one individual and as a representative of all the children lost to their families and their tribes at the hands of the British, Kline shares a little-known piece of history. Likewise, although many are familiar with the British settlement of Australia as a penal colony, few are likely as familiar with the stories of women sent there to serve out their prison sentences. The descriptions of Newgate Prison, the convict ship, and the convict stations in Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania, bring the harsh realities of these women’s lives to light. The atmosphere of oppression, selfishness, and sadness woven throughout the narrative help the story to feel realistic, even when that realism makes the story more tragic. Kline isn’t afraid to write unhappy endings for her characters, which adds an additional layer of authenticity, as many of the women convicts ended up leading sad lives even if they managed to survive.

Because the overall nature of the story is bleak, the small moments of hope and joy shine all the brighter. Despite their stories only just overlapping, the three women each learn about the importance of inner strength and carrying on whatever the circumstances: the past is always carried with you like the rings of a tree, and both the good and the bad make you stronger. It’s a surprisingly positive outlook, one with which the main characters find varying degrees of success. However, it seems reflective of the attitude of many of the women convicts upon their release as they learned to make the best out of any situation and move on. In fact, reality shares a similar outlook: while some modern-day Australians are ashamed of their ancestor’s criminal behavior, many find it to be a point of pride as those freed convicts helped found a prosperous and upstanding country. As the story follows Hazel into her life as an ex-convict, her inner strength comes to serve her time and again as, like the women convicts after whom she’s modeled, she makes a name for herself and helps make her new home country a better place.

The Exiles can’t be described as a happy story, but it is inspiring and thought-provoking. By exploring a largely unknown piece of history, Kline creates a unique look at the treatment of those outside of the strict rules and regulations of nineteenth-century British culture. Furthermore, the three points of view tell three distinct stories that intertwine to create a larger picture of friendship, survival, and hope. The Exiles is a fascinating tale that will appeal to readers with a taste for well-researched historical fiction and female friendships that can’t be broken.

THE EXILES by Christina Baker Kline (The Orphan Train) is another wonderful work of historical fiction, offering the story of the beginnings of Australia through the eyes of two convicts, Evangeline and Hazel, and those of Mathinna, daughter of an indigenous chief. The novel begins in London with Evangeline, a young, naïve governess, who is unfairly sent to Newgate Prison and weaves in the story of Hazel, sentenced for stealing a spoon. The two are exiled to Australia and much of the novel concerns their difficult ocean passage, circa 1840. Readers will feel both anger and compassion for the young women who are transformed by their circumstances. Kline describes Evangeline by saying, "She'd learned that she could withstand contempt and humiliation – and that she could find moments of grace in the midst of bedlam." Mathinna, too, struggles with separation from her tribe and draws on inner strength and memories of her deceased mother who told her, "You carry the people and places you cherish with you. Remember that and you will never be lonely, child." Kline does an excellent job of drawing in readers – not just to the time and place, but also to issues of women's rights and social justice. In the author's notes, she explains, "three disparate strands of my own life history [helped] to tell the story: a transformative six weeks in Australia in my mid-twenties; the months I spent interviewing mothers and daughters for a book about feminism; and my experience teaching women in prison." THE EXILES received a starred review from Kirkus.
4.5 stars

Great historical novel that does not get bogged down in historical background material, but instead focuses on the day-to-day lives of its characters. Emotional but not treacly. A wonderful book!

The Exiles was a well written book by Christina Baker Cline. You meet three women-Evangeline who lived a sheltered life, Hazel, a hard life from the start, and Mathinna, an Aborigine, who is taken from her island home and her people and raised to be British. The Exiles shows what it was like to be a female prisoner during the 19th century around 1840 in Britain and the way they colonized Australia. Tasmania, which was called Van Diemen's land, was the main place where convicts were sent. Once there, these convicts men or women had a hard life until they earned their release. This is a story of exile. What it is like to be exiled from what you know and how dealing with that exile will change you. There is hardness in the land and the people and for some despair. I highly recommend this book as it was one I couldn't put down.

I'm sorry I forgot to leave my thoughts earlier! I found this book to be very interesting - I was fascinated with character subject after hearing about it at LJDOD this spring. There were some very surprising twists, some not so much... while there is a lot of cruelty on the pages, I really appreciated the hope that is found there too.

Sixteen-year-old Hazel nicked a silver spoon; former governess Evangeline is accused of stealing a ring–both are sentenced to transportation to "the land beyond the seas." In the fledgling colony, the orphaned Mathinna, an aboriginal chief's daughter, is "adopted" by the governor's wife. Kline’s powerful storytelling and meticulous research give voice to the exiled and oppressed in 1840s Australia.

A British governess is sentenced to be transported to Australia after being accused of stealing a family ring. An Irish woman is sentenced to be transported to Australia for the charge of stealing a single silver spoon. A single indigenous girl is plucked from her home on Flinders Island and taken by the family of a British official to be trained like a pet. These women are beaten down by life and ripped away from everything familiar as they are expected to begin new lives in Australia and try to figure out where they might belong.

This fascinating historical tale highlights the origins of modern Australia and the role that women played in it. The paths that Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna must take to make their way and build a new life in this developing society are fundamentally different. Christina Baker Kline does a wonderful job of displaying the hardships as well as the joys experienced by these compelling characters. Kline doesn't shy away from the horrors of imprisonment, poverty, or the cultural and literal genocide of the indigenous populations of Australia as she weaves her tale. I learned a lot about the origins of of the country but enjoyed the novel so much that it didn't really feel like learning at all.

Thank you Harper Collins and Netgalley for the gifted e-copy.

Wow. This book was so much more than I expected. I wanted to read it because I didn't know much about how English convicts were exiled to Australia to serve their sentence. Now I want to do more research and find out more about this!

We start following Evangeline, a governess that gets convicted of theft and attempted murder. She gets thrown in prison after her employer finds a family ring in Evangeline's possession and "doesn't believe" that her son was the one that gave it to her. (spoiler alert, he did, and she's also pregnant with his kid). After months in the disgusting conditions of the prison, she gets thrown on a ship to be exiled to Australia. On the ship she meets a young girl named Hazel, arrested for stealing a silver spoon. Their lives become entwined, and Hazel's story picks up when Evangeline's ends. We also get the story of Methinna, one of the aboriginal children that gets "relocated" to the home of the governor of the settler's island.

All three of the stories are connected, and as I read, I found myself feeling so many things for these characters. I was horrified by the way the prisoners were treated and the conditions of the prison. I was sad for them, and heartbroken by certain events. But I ended up being hopeful that there might be a happy ending in store for Hazel. The author painted such a clear picture, I felt like I was right there in the prison and on the ship, smelling the awful smells and seeing the horrible things to which these women were subjected.

Recommended to historical fiction fans.

Beautiful and heartbreaking. I love historical fiction and this was something I didn't know much about going into it. Really enjoyed this and will definitely recommend it to others!

This is an emotionally powerful book that should be one everyone’s to be read.list. Well researched and beautifully written, this is the story of three women, Evangeline, Hazel and Mathinna, Two are British convicts sent to Australia; one an Aboriginal girl taken from Tasmania to Australia as an experiment to see if she could be “civilized.” These women search for identity in a new society, for redemption, and for freedom. This will have you thinking about these women and their lives of resilience long after you have finished the last page.

I highly recommend this historical fiction set in Australia. It is very well written with great strongly conceived characters. Kline delivers a tightly researched novel that I believe historical readers will love.

This is an interesting novel written by a talented author. There was a great amount of research done to present this part of nineteenth century history. Friendships were formed to endure extreme cruelty as these women convicts were transported from Great Britain to Australia. This was a part of history that I knew little about and found very informative. #TheExiles #ChristinaBakerKline #NetGalley

This amazingly emotional novel is the story of three young women who are exiled form their own homes and families. Parson's daughter Evangeline becomes a governess, but an ill fated love affair leads to pregnancy and an arrest for theft and attempted murder. Sentenced to 14 years transport to Australia, she will give birth aboard ship and be drawn to another young convict, Hazel. Mathinna is the daughter of an Aboriginal chief, who becomes a show piece object for Governor Franklin and his wife. Already having lost her parents and her tribe's home, she is now paraded around in Western clothing and taught English and French. The stories of these three women illustrated the hardships and perseverance of the women who shaped their new homeland. Highly recommended!