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

“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 fre...

I was aware of the penal colonies that Britain had established in Australia and the fact that Britain's criminals were sent there to work off their sentences. I, however, never thought that women criminals also were sent to work as servants and do other jobs to work off sentences imposed on them.Ms Kline takes us there through her character of Evangeline, a young naive girl who is seduced and becomes pregnant by the youngest son of the affluent house she worked in. He pledges his admiration with...

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 livi...

Admittedly, this historical fiction starts off on a time worn trope - the governess seduced by the young master of the house. But once you get beyond that, it’s an appealing and informative work. Kline does a wonderful job of painting the different scenes, whether in Newcastle prison, the Madea or Australia. I felt like I could picture each of the various scenes. The story is told from the perspective of three characters - Evangeline, the governess accused of theft; Hazel, a pickpocket and Mathi...

“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...

“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 for...

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 th...

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 em...

Well, this was a punch to the gut. Be prepared to be sad. And hopeful. And angry. And sad some more. I listened to this on audiobook and I highly recommend that if you like audiobooks - there's a lot of accents in the characters of this book and even a little bit of singing and the narrator carries it all off seemingly effortlessly.As for the plot of the book itself - it focuses on several women and what leads them to Australia under less than ideal circumstances to say the least. I didn't cry (...

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...

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...

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

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.

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...

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

British Empire over the period of 80 years, 1788-1868, exiled more than 160,000 criminals to the penal colonies in Australia. The majority of convicts were transported for petty crimes. Approximately 1 in 7 convicts were women, which had an extremely tough life in Australia. “The guards who were volunteers seemed to be driven by exceptional sadism.”Flinders Island, Australia, 1840. Mathinna (true character), eight-years-old, despite being a daughter of the chieftain, has been growing up living w...

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 app...

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 i...

5 haunting starsThis 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 intere...