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The Exiles cover art

The Exiles

Written by: Christina Baker Kline
Narrated by: Caroline Lee
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Publisher's Summary

An instant New York Times best seller

Optioned for television by Bruna Papandrea, the producer of HBO's Big Little Lies

"A tour de force of original thought, imagination and promise.... Kline takes full advantage of fiction - its freedom to create compelling characters who fully illuminate monumental events to make history accessible and forever etched in our minds." (Houston Chronicle)

The author of the number-one New York Times best seller Orphan Train returns with an ambitious, emotionally resonant novel about three women whose lives are bound together in 19th-century Australia and the hardships they weather together as they fight for redemption and freedom in a new society.

Seduced by her employer’s son, Evangeline, a naïve young governess in early 19th-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.

©2020 Christina Baker Kline (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Exiles

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Beautifully Written Epic Story

Expertly written saga that explores many historical and current themes without being too preachy or falling into the lecture trap. Characters are well developed without being too descriptive, although several key characters never went beyond surface descriptions (and I would have loved to learn more). Thoroughly enjoyed this listen and would recommend it to other fans of the genre. The narrator was strong, clear, and conveyed many complex emotions but there was something about the accents that was off. They were inconsistent and, at times, did not resemble what they purported to be.

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Fantastic Character Development

I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and the characters. The narrator did a terrific job as well. This is historical fiction that brings a difficult part of history to life. There is loyalty and betrayal, love and hate as well, joy and devastation. And the history is well respected as quite accurate. If you like reading about ordinary people in history, you will enjoy this book.

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  • JCV
  • 2021-05-28

So good. heartbreaking and redemptive

Prepare to be enthralled, enraged, heartbroken. Redemption story.

Loved it. I hope it makes it to film

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A Surprise Find!

Purchased this book on a whim because I enjoyed her other book (Orphan Train) and I couldn’t stop listening! Original story and excellent narration. A true gem!

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A relentless story of misery.

This novel is a disjointed, bleak narrative dominated by two dimensional characters. It's a remarkably depressing read.

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