The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
My Review:
I will make no bones about the subject matter of this novel being one of my absolute favourites and a theme I return to reading about again and again; women living in the past forced by circumstance and the misfortune of being born female at the wrong time, to settle in an alien country and live a life other than that mapped out at birth.
I cannot be alone as I come across a surprisingly large quantity of books which fit into this category and as such there are the excellent, the bad and many which are just ok. I am delighted to say that The Exiles sits happily among the very best.
Telling the story of not one but three fictitious women, we are transported from Victorian London with Evangeline and Hazel, via Newgate prison, to Australia on a convict ship, where they eventually cross paths with the third, remarkable female Mathinna, an Aboriginal girl.
Primarily illustrating the shameful historical treatment of women by men, this is a richly descriptive novel with relatable characters. Women who find and inner strength and use it to survive.
Am I shallow in believing that was I born when they were I would have had that inner strength? I hope not as I really dislike reading about namby-pamby, spoilt ladies and thankfully you won’t meet any of those in this book.
Evangeline is the first woman we meet as she works in service, foolishly allowing herself to be taken in by the young master of the household thus beginning the age old story of betrayal and abandonment when she ends up, pregnant and alone, thrown into the frightful maw of Newgate Jail a hell on earth from which transportation to the newly emerging colonies in Australia sounds like a merciful escape.
In a similar situation is young Hazel, from an even poorer background and thus a touch more street savvy, thrown together in dire circumstances the women become allies as they journey on the dreadful convict ship the Medea to Van Diemens land on the other side of the world.
Meanwhile a parallel story plays out, as we see British settlers in Australia seizing land from and cruelly maltreating the aboriginal first people of the country who they view as barely human and we encounter a young girl Mahinna, orphaned daughter of a local tribesman chief who is “adopted” by the wife of the new governor to be treated like a pet and educated as part of a fashionable whim.
It is a brutal tale in many ways, with tragedy and despair and more than a few tears. Yet ultimately its a story of Friendship, recovery and atonement which I found engaging and uplifting.
Description
London, 1840. Evangeline, pregnant and falsely accused of stealing, has languished in Newgate prison for months. Ahead lies the journey to Australia on a prison ship. On board, Evangeline befriends Hazel, sentenced to seven years’ transport for theft. Soon Hazel’s path will cross with an orphaned indigenous girl. Mathinna is ‘adopted’ by the new governor of Tasmania where the family treat her more like a curiosity than a child.
Amid hardships and cruelties, new life will take root in stolen soil, friendships will define lives, and some will find their place in a new society in the land beyond the seas.
‘Master storyteller Christina Baker Kline is at her best in this epic tale of Australia’s complex history – a vivid and rewarding feat of both empathy and imagination. I loved this book.’
Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife
‘Filled with surprising twists, empathetic prose, and revealing historical details, Kline’s resonant, powerful story will please any historical fiction fan.’
Publishers Weekly
Published by Alison and Busby @AllisonandBusby and available now you can find more on the authors website christinabakerkline.com or follow her on social media @bakerkline
My thanks go to @RandomTTours for inviting me along on the blog tour
