The Exiles

A Novel

By: Christina Baker Kline

Narrated by: Caroline Lee

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

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 #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train returns with an ambitious, emotionally resonant novel about three women whose lives are bound together in nineteenth-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 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.

Wonderful Narration

This story is gut wrenching, and marvelous.
The narration by Caroline Lee is the best I have ever heard on Audible. Her voices and accents captured the the personalities of each character perfectly.

Wonderfull!

One of my favorite books ever. And Caroline Lee the narrator is by far the most wonderful storyteller. Her voice is soothing and never annoying like so many others I have listen to . I was not only entertained from beginning to end but I also learned quite a bit of history. I highly recommend this book for all women.

And enjoyable Chick Lit!

I wish there had been a little bit more history here as it was a very interesting story overall. There was good character development, though the story of my Mathena was left unfinished. A fun read that left me feeling that the story of the Governor’s wife and Mathena was rather redundant.

Best narration of a very good book! Wow!

thank you narrator for your gift of English accents throughout this very well written book. It really made the story come alive that reading it never could. Wonderful

History I wasn't familiar with

The Orphan Train is one of my favorite books, so I was intrigued to hear another one by the author. I knew that Australia was a place where criminals were sent, but this was my first historical fiction book I've read about it.
The story was great. Following the British women's stories. But the story of the Aboriginal girl just ended. It was never fully developed. I think it could have been left out, or the author needs to write a book just about her! Yes the characters' paths cross, but nothing deeply developed.
Really enjoyed listening to this one! I'd listen to a book about Mathinna, if it was written. Just so much was left out about her story.
Please write it!