PUBLICATION DATE: 22nd October 2020 | DEMY FORMAT HB | £16.99
SYNOPSIS:
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.
MY THOUGHTS:
This was such an emotional read which pulled on my heartstrings repeatedly. I do love historical novels and The Exiles was based on a part of history I knew very little about: the transporting of British convicts to various penal colonies in Australia.
The book focuses on the lives of two young women who are exiled to Australia, accused of petty crimes and an Aboriginal girl, Mathinna, sent to live with Governor John Franklin and his wife Lady Jane for their own amusement. The harsh conditions that these women had to endure and the unrighteousness of it all was heart wrenching. I wept for Evangeline, one of the woman falsely accused of stealing. In the blink of an eye her world was turned upside down and she was powerless to do anything about it. Hazel, in her teens, was another strong female character who was caught stealing in order to keep her mother happy and for her own survival. All three characters removed from the life they knew and sent to an unjust world where they were treated appallingly.
Kline weaves a story based on true events which was both memorising and fascinating. Her powerful writing and brilliant storytelling captivated me, transporting me to a time and place where there was so much injustice in the world and heartache. Although there was a lot of sadness in the book there was always hope; hope that their fate would change, hope for a brighter future and hope that they would be reunited with their love ones. The endearing relationships the women made with one another, especially those of Olive and Dr. Dunne was a beautiful, important and powerful part of the novel which I thoroughly enjoyed.
This well researched novel left me thinking about the book and characters long after I had turned the final page. Thank you Kline for educating me and taking me on one hell of a journey; I laughed, I cried and I cried some more. A must read.
My thanks also goes to Random Things Tours and Allison and Busby for inviting me on the blog tour. This is a book that will stay with me forever, highly recommend.
AUTHOR:
CHRISTINA BAKER KLINE is the author of seven novels, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train.
Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Money, More, and Psychology Today, among other publications.
She lives in New York City and on the coast of Maine
• Kline's previous novel, Orphan Train, was an international bestseller, published in 40 countries and with over 3.5 million copies in print.
• The Exiles has been optioned for TV by the producer of Big Little Lies.
• Kline will be participating in a month-long virtual tour, in conversation with bestselling authors including Jodi Picoult, John Grisham and Alice Hoffman.