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
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What listeners say about The Exiles

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What a fabulous story!!

This is a fabulous audible book.. I knew so little about the transport ships that left London to take people that were supposed criminals to Australia.. Such young women with such minor offences were sent.. really makes the listener think... just terrific!

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An absolutely incredible story

Graphic and an incredibly sad journey that was beautifully told. The performance was engaging and I couldn't wait to get back to listening between life's interruptions.

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excellent story read perfectly

This book grabbed my attention from the start. The accents and announciatuons used made listening to this book a performance to my ears. The story brought your attention to how Australia and America were used by the British. Loved it.

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A Beautiful Book!

I don't often write reviews, but I wanted to write a review for the Exiles because I almost passed on it due to a number of bad reviews that said the book was depressing. The Exiles is not nearly as "depressing" as Les Miserable or Count of Monte Cristo - two of my favorite novels. :) This is a story of the strength of the human spirit and how love conquers all - and one of the best novels I've read in a long time. Tremendous story and very well written. And of course Caroline Lee's narration is superb!

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LOVED

Narration was perfect, story was pure magic! This is my new favorite book and author!!!

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A wonderful, shocking story

Excellent story and expertly narrated. It will make you cheer and cry and marvel at the resilience of these women.

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The Exiles ugly history

I struggled to finish this as the brutality to women was appalling to me. The ending was worth it, but if it had not been a book club selection, I probably would not have read it.

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Great!

Loved this one. I could not put it down. Wonderful historical fiction packed with amazing characters.

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heartbreaking and wonderful

I love books where you learn about history, through the voices of the characters in a story. Highly recommend.

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Loved it!

Even better than Orphan Train. Wonderful story, running the gamut from sadness snd cruelty to strength, love, and happiness. Well developed characters. Excellent narration. Recommended!

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