The Exiles Audiobook By Christina Baker Kline cover art

The Exiles

A Novel

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The Exiles

By: Christina Baker Kline
Narrated by: Caroline Lee
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About this listen

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
Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Sailing

What listeners say about The Exiles

Highly rated for:

Compelling Storyline Vivid Characters Unexpected Plot Twists Emotional Storytelling Insightful Historical Fiction
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The Original Sin of Australia

Every country settled by Europeans has its own “original sin” - who suffered, who paid the price, whose lives were lost to create the Euro-centric society that superseded whatever native society was there before. In the case of Australia, there was a native population, of course, and then, much of the early displacement was enabled by British people who were brought there as convicts, so that they, themselves, were not the actual perpetrators, initially, but the British government (and free settlers) who used them as forced labor. This story is primarily about these convicts, in particular female convicts, exiled to Australia, focusing on the lives of a few women among them. I was certainly reminded of the excellent book, based on a true story, Fled, and at first thought this might be too similar. There are a lot of similarities, in fact, but the plot line for the characters is different. Kline uses a device of inserting the native girl Mathinna to give some attention to the native population and how they and their culture were destroyed by displacement and bigotry. But she is really only a device, and her tragic story is not well integrated into what is really a story of the exiled women. The character Evangeline brought to mind the character Hetty in George Eliot’s book Adam Bede. Though Evangeline was different from Hetty, both were taken advantage by selfish, thoughtless men of a “higher class”. I gave the story 4 rather than 5 stars because of the less-than-successful insertion of Mathinna’s story - she was just a device, as I wrote. The narration was superb.

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Storytelling at its best!

This book is a wonderful example of why I listen to audio books! It claims to be over 10 hours long, but I have no idea where those hours went. Poor Evangeline, we could all tell her nothing good comes from falling in love (or bed) with a man named Cecil Frederick Whitstone, but her naivete sets off a series of events that introduce us to so many intriguing characters bound for the Australian penal colonies in 1840. Well written, well narrated, adventure, historical details, strong female characters, plot twists, and a bit of romance thrown in. Just take a break from listening while eating if you are at a part with descriptions of the prison conditions, the 1800s were not known for sanitation!

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Excellent!

The narrator was great. She did awesome with all the different dialects. The story was excellent. I learned so much. I was totally unaware what happened to so called English women exiles back then. It was well written. Good job!

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CBK is an awesome storyteller!

Her books are always so good! LOVED this one! I was shocked by one unexpected plot twist, and really connected with each of the POV characters. The ending was very satisfying, too. She really knows how to tell interesting stories. Can't wait to read another.

Narration was great in the audiobook, but I found myself reading the print version a lot faster. Just couldn't put it down - but the narrator's voice carried on in my head as I did. Good variety of accents.

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5 unpredictable stars

A very well written story with perfect narration. The whole experience was very entertaining - like a well-made movie. At times, just as I thought I could guesstimate what would happen next, an unpredicted action changed the course of the story, seamlessly. Easy to follow. The author and the narrator deserve five unpredictable stars for their talents. Looking forward to their next one.

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Outstanding!

When one's thoughts keep returning to a story's characters, and pondering what ilife must have been like for them, one knows one has read an outstanding book.
I find myself wishing the story were true so that I could research the principal figures and find out what happened to them and their families.

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I loved this book

This book was beautifully written and narrated. I love historic fiction, and this story was about a new topic that I had heard about but had very little knowledge. There are wonderful characters and friendships. The narrator brings the book to life. I highly recommend “The Exiles”.

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Amazingly Strong Woman!

Interesting read on the hardships of our past, and the survival of woman who didn't fit into "normal" society. Thank goodness they didn't. From these woman a greatness of strength and independence was born!

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Wonderful book

I really liked The Exiles. I saw a lot of reviewers said it was depressing. Yes, it was sad. But it was so beautifully written and had a mostly happy ending. Very glad I read it. Would highly recommend.

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Beautifully written

This book was a great read. Page turner, hard to put down. Loved it so much.

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