The Exile
E-book, Czech
The Exile
An emotionally charged novel about three women whose fates intertwine in nineteenth-century Australia, where they fight for redemption and freedom.
When naive young governess Evangeline falls pregnant by the son of her wealthy London employer, she has no idea of the serious consequences it will have for her. After a maid also falsely accuses her of theft, Evangeline is dismissed and arrested. To her horror, she learns she has been sentenced to fourteen years in an Australian penal colony in Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania. She doesn't know what awaits her, but one thing is certain: the child she carries will be born during the months-long voyage. Her only piece of luck is that on the ship, Evangeline befriends Hazel—a young but experienced midwife and herbalist.
By the time the ship arrives, many of the local inhabitants, the Aboriginal people, have been violently torn from their natural environment, and some are forced to integrate into the society of the British colonisers. One such person is eight-year-old Mathinna, the orphaned daughter of the Lowreenne tribe's chief, who has been adopted by the new governor of Van Diemen's Land.
Christina Baker Kline paints a picture of the beginnings of colonialism in Australia from a new perspective through the experiences of Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna, while also telling a story of grace born from hardship, the unbreakable bonds of female friendship, and the power of the legacy of previous generations.
Reviews:
You will open this novel for the history, read it for the story, and close it with the sense that you have been schooled in your own life, here and now.
- New York Journal of Books
Both uplifting and heartbreaking, this beautifully written novel doesn't shy away from the monstrosity of the penal system and celebrates the courage and resilience of the Indigenous people and the settlers who came later, whether willingly or not, to find a new home for themselves and their children.
- Library Journal
An empathetic narrative full of surprising twists and extensive historical detail. Christina Baker Kline's powerful story will delight any fan of historical fiction.
- Publishers Weekly
Christina Baker Kline
Christina Baker Kline was born in England but grew up in the American South and in Maine. She studied at Yale University, then at Cambridge and the University of Virginia. Although she has had a number of jobs (she was a chef, for example), she now devotes herself fully to literature. She is the author of eight #1 New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been published in 40 countries and have won numerous awards (e.g., the New England Prize for Fiction). She also writes essays, articles, and reviews, which have appeared in many periodicals (e.g., The New York Times and the NYT Book Review, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, LitHub, Poets & Writers). Her novel Orphan Train was published in Czech in 2013.
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