I have to add this to my own bookshelf, don't you think?

The Exiles is truly a work for these times, about the abuse of power and how the voices of the less powerful will not be ignored. Original, meticulously researched, and perfectly crafted. One of the best books I've read all year.

What a treat to get an early read of this one! more when I have a minute, but loved loved loved!

This novel highlights that the mid-19th century was not kind to women. A naïve vicar’s daughter is seduced by a wealthy cad, falsely accused of several crimes, and goes from the infamous Newgate prison, to her sentence as a convict transported to Australia. An aboriginal orphan amuses the wife of an Australian governor, and is taken into their home. She’s dressed up and shown off until she no longer amuses them, then is sent away without another word. The convict women being transported suffer a...

I was lucky enough to read an early draft of this magnificent book. It's a sweeping historical love story with women at its center--just fantastic!

I was so excited to have received an advanced copy of this as Christina Baker Kline is one of my favorite authors. Once again she has created a literary sensation. Ive noticed that there is not a lot of contemporary historical fiction set in Australia, so I was thrilled to read about both the plight of prisoners exiled from England, as well as the aboriginal people. Kline is an exquisite writer who paints pictures of both the well-drawn characters and the harsh settings, which include the portra...

Christina Baker Kline is an incredible storyteller. She knows how to make you forget the world you currently are in and carry you off into the lives of her characters. I did not want this book to end. It's compulsively readable, but it's also somehow larger than itself the way certain soulful songs are. That is, it's haunting -- it's quickly paced, it has stunning but not frilly language and it has sharp details, and an ambitious scope that made me want to read very fast and very slow at once. A...

Such a powerful read. I couldn't stop. The women who narrate The Exiles are unforgettable characters and Christina Baker Kline has inhabited this world so fully with her lush prose. Kline is a marvelous writer. I knew almost nothing about the history of women prisoners sent to Australia from Great Britain before The Exiles. The book comes out in September, I was lucky to read it in advance of publication. Definitely on my list of favorites for 2020!

When I started The Exiles, I realized how much I've hungered for a great story well told. I have savored the moments. With incredible, powerful writing, Christina Baker Kline has written a fabulous yarn. It's fabulously orchestrated and the historic details all feel so right. And the story reveals the real life of being a female prisoner in Australia in the 1840s much in the same way as Colson Whitehead does in The Nickel Boys. The writing is vivid, visual, and real. And gut-wrenching. I haven't...

This historical fiction book begins in 1840 in Tasmania when Mathinna, an Aboriginal child, was taken from her stepfather to live with the British Governor and his wife. About the same time, Evangeline, a young governess in London, was accused of stealing a ring that had been given to her by the adult son of her employer. Evangeline reacted to the accusation by pushing another servant down the stairs. So she was tried and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in Tasmania. She and several other wome...

I've so rarely seen 19th-century Australia settings in historical fiction, so this was really unique and interesting! Full review to come closer to publication.

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline is an excellent historical fiction novel that takes place mostly early 1840s and focusses on the transport of female “convicts” from England to Tasmania. I knew about the transport of prisoners to North America and Australia in general, but not about the female population to Tasmania. It was fascinating and heartbreaking to see women that were unjustly imprisoned, falsely accused, and excessive punishments for minor infractions ripped away from their lives, fa...

A naive governess in love is thrown into Newgate Prison for stealing an heirloom ring. Pregnant and alone she is then sentenced and put on a convict ship bound for Australia. The women who befriend her, the doctor who does his best and a crew member who has it in for her all shape her story. Meanwhile, a young aboriginal girl is taken from her island home to live with the Governor and his wife as a social experiment. The appalling lack of humanity the British had for the native population and th...

A quick read and very engaging. One more reason to despise colonialism. However, one main character, the Aboriginal girl treated as a pet by the British governor’s wife, basically disappears from the story. Very disheartening, but, sadly, hardly surprising.

I won an Advanced Readers’ edition paperback copy of this book at LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. (Thank you to LibraryThing and to the publisher William Morrow!) I received it more promptly than I’d expected on 7/16. I read it from 7/19-7/23 early morning hours. Publication date is scheduled to be on 8/25. It was fun reading this book in advance of publication. It was gratifying reading a paper edition of a book given that I’ve been mostly reading e-editions during the last sever...

“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...

For fans of The Orphan Train, you won't want to miss Christina Baker Kline's latest well researched novel, The Exiles: A Novel. Numerous strong female characters struggle to overcome gender and racial discrimination in nineteenth century Britain and Australia. Lack of opportunities for education or even menial employment helped to feed Britain's prison system which provided free day labor for the colonial empire. Author Baker Kline provides details of prison life (both enroute to Australia on th...

An interesting premise, to be sure. I didn't know anything about any of the historical aspects of this book--the sending of English convicts to Tasmania in the mid 1800s and the forcible removal of Australian aborigines from their homes for the sake of civilizing them. Or, in the case of this book, keeping them as a fun trinket to show off, until the novelty wears off and then kicking them to the curb. Fascinating, cruel, and shockingly true. The problem with this book is that it's almost too mu...

Christina Baker Kline has done it again- given us a beautifully written historical novel that reveals the often unspoken history of oppressed people. This time, set in the 1840s between Britain and Australia, The Exiles portrays the heartache people endured as a result of Britain’s colonization of Australia. Social injustices, loss, and survival through sheer hope and grit. The novel hints to ask, ‘What life are you meant to live?’ as well to ponder the responsibilities when much has been given

I received an advanced copy of this book and therefore my review is more of a review written for that purpose. Please don't read it if you haven't read the book! There are spoilers! I truly appreciate a good historically accurate novel. I will start by saying the history (and the accuracy of the history) was my favorite part of this book! I enjoyed the personal stories that, when fact checked, involved real people. I loved 'discovering' the real portrait of Mathinna in her red dress. I enjoyed t...

Tragic, heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful, Christina Baker Kline attempts to bring to life the experiences of British female prisoners who were put onto slave ships and sent to work prisons in colonial Australia and Tasmania. Told through the lives of three women, two convicts and one an indigenous Tasmanian girl, this story is pulled from real history and brings all the emotion, hardship, and hopefulness these women must have felt together. She also very purposefully shines light on classis...

Heartbreaking, and more so with every turn of the page, but beautifully written. Everything was so unfair! Not surprising, but still horrifying to think everything it’s based on is true and really happened. Damn those British colonizers. [Spoilers now] I’m so relieved everything worked out for Hazel in the end, she suffered so much pain but her misfortunes led her to a better life than she probably would’ve had back home. I genuinely shocked when Evangeline died - I (naively) expected the start

After receiving an advance reader’s edition of "The Exiles", with a request that I submit a review, I wanted to love this novel. Sadly, I couldn’t get there. The novel showcases brilliantly the author’s ability to generate an interesting historical narrative from scrupulously researched material, and within this context, develop a cohesive story line. Sadly, this technical prowess is the best aspect of the reading experience. The novel lacks passion and real empathy for the characters. They are

Reminiscent of Colleen McCullough, which had I not read Morgan's Run, this entry into Australian historical fiction might have gotten a 5 star rating. CM is truly the master of this subject IMHO. This excellent foray into the struggles of a time past was heart breaking and heart warming all at the same time. The characters were honest and real and if someone had told me this was non fiction and not just based on true events I might have believed them.

One of the best books I’ve read this year! This is a meticulously researched historical fiction based on the lives of three women convicted of petty theft in England. They are shipped to the convict colony of Australia never to return to their home country. We also meet a young Aboriginal girl who weaves through this story like a phantom. There are aspects of Les Miz and The Forgotten Garden in this beautiful book. I simply adored it.

Christina Baker Kline has done it again. A beautifully written, thoroughly researched historical fiction novel that transports the reader completely in time and place. This was one of those books that 10 minutes into it, I already knew I never wanted it to end ( yet, I couldn’t read it fast enough!)I personally love historical stories that take place on ocean crossings, describing the daily life and hardships they must endure. This book did not disappoint. The lives of the women prisoners were s...

I read The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline in an advance reader's edition, and it's one of the few titles that I simply could not stop reading. The settings (London and Tasmania) are expertly wrought and the characters developed with skill. Although portions of the book are difficult to read due to the cruel circumstances in which these women are forced to exist, the story never dissolves into melodrama, and readers learn so much from the difficult detail. I was also fascinated with the Acknowle...

If you liked Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline like I did, you'll want to read The Exhiles as well. I totally got caught up in the lives of Evangeline, Hazel, and the orphaned Aboriginal girl Mathinna. This is a beautiful but heart-breaking story. I loved learning the history of this time and it's made me want to research more of it.Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Note: This book will be published September 15; I read an advance readers' edition.Christina Baker Kline is a master of historical fiction and I love her books Orphan Train and A Piece of the World. The Exiles is an excellent book as well, well written and very clearly well researched. Set in the mid-1800s in Van Diemen’s Land, Australia (now known as the island of Tasmania), it details the lives of female prisoners shipped to the penal colony from England and a young aboriginal girl who is take...

review to come...