Book: The Exiles
Author: Christina Baker Kline
Pages: 370
Read on: Kindle
Read in: 3.5 hours
Plot Summary: Seduced by her employer’s son, Evangeline, a naïve young governess in early nineteenth-century London, is discharged when her pregnancy is discovered and sent to the notorious Newgate Prison. After months in the fetid, overcrowded jail, she learns she is sentenced to “the land beyond the seas,” Van Diemen’s Land, a penal colony in Australia. Though uncertain of what awaits, Evangeline knows one thing: the child she carries will be born on the months-long voyage to this distant land.
During the journey on a repurposed slave ship, the Medea, Evangeline strikes up a friendship with Hazel, a girl little older than her former pupils who was sentenced to seven years transport for stealing a silver spoon. Canny where Evangeline is guileless, Hazel -- a skilled midwife and herbalist – is soon offering home remedies to both prisoners and sailors in return for a variety of favors.
Though Australia has been home to Aboriginal people for more than 50,000 years, the British government in the 1840s considers its fledgling colony uninhabited and unsettled, and views the natives as an unpleasant nuisance. By the time the Medea arrives, many of them have been forcibly relocated, their land seized by white colonists. One of these relocated people is Mathinna, the orphaned daughter of the Chief of the Lowreenne tribe, who has been adopted by the new governor of Van Diemen’s Land.
In this gorgeous novel, Christina Baker Kline brilliantly recreates the beginnings of a new society in a beautiful and challenging land, telling the story of Australia from a fresh perspective, through the experiences of Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna. While life in Australia is punishing and often brutally unfair, it is also, for some, an opportunity: for redemption, for a new way of life, for unimagined freedom. Told in exquisite detail and incisive prose, The Exiles is a story of grace born from hardship, the unbreakable bonds of female friendships, and the unfettering of legacy.
Things I Liked:
1. I read and enjoyed Christina Baker Kline's The Orphan Train and was so excited to read her next book! She has the ability to weave really moving stories with memorable characters set against the backdrop of real historical events. If you are someone who enjoys historical fiction, then I would highly recommend that you try her work! You won't be disappointed!
So, back to this book, the premise seemed really interesting. I have read a few books set in Australia at various points in its early colonial history and so, I was quite excited to read a book that focused on the lives of these exiled prisoners right from their sentencing to their gruelling journey by sea all the way from England to Australia.
2. The level of research and detailing in this book is really impressive. At 370 pages, it has just the right level of historical detailing- a lot of great information about that era without going into unnecessary details! It was really heartbreaking to see Evangeline's life at Newgate Prison as well as the plight of these women aboard the ship that transported them to Australia. The sheer unfairness of the punishment, which was often so disproportionate to the crime. Hazel, for instance, is exiled for stealing a silver spoon! I mean, how is this an appropriate punishment for such a petty crime!
3. The characters are beautifully etched and brought to life. You feel Evangeline's confusion at her turn of fortunes and her determination to make the best out of her bad situation once she is in prison and then exiled. Hazel, again, is someone who is so plucky and strong. She has to take on a new role when something sudden and tragic happens and she rises to the occasion beautifully.
Mathinna and her journey will just break your heart. It was so heartbreaking to read about how she was plucked out of her home and community by a white woman, who fancied having her as some kind of an experiment and didn't really care about her happiness.
4. More than anything else this is a book that deserves to be read because it tells the story of how the Aboriginal people were brutally killed and sent away from their land to live in environments they are not familiar with. We also see the awful plight of the women prisoners in England and Australia- the horrible, unsanitary state of the prisons, how their babies were separated from them and how so many of them felt lost and scared in an unfamiliar land.
5. Finally, this is a book also about women being able to make a place for themselves in a male dominated world. Their struggles to get a job, to study and to just be seen as equal members of the society are themes are we come across in this book. As women, we owe it to our predecessors to bear witness to their struggles even if it is in a fictionalised account. I really like Hazel's journey and how one decision taken by her impacts the lives of the next two generations of women. Such an inspiring story in spite of its tragic beginnings!
Rating: 4.5/ 5
Highly recommend this book! It will move and inspire you!
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