"The Exiles" by Christina Baker Kline - Historical Fiction Book Club - Past Titles

About the Author: Christina Baker Kline

Christina Baker Kline is a bestselling American author known for her novels that explore themes of identity, family, and resilience, often drawing on historical events for inspiration. Her works combine historical fiction with deeply personal stories, creating narratives that resonate with a wide audience. Here’s an overview of her life and career:

Early Life and Education

Born: Christina Baker Kline was born on April 14, 1964, in Cambridge, England. She grew up in various places, including the American South and Maine, as her family moved frequently during her childhood.
Education: Kline attended Yale University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She then pursued further studies at Cambridge University in England. Later, she earned two Master’s degrees: an MFA in creative writing from the University of Virginia and an MA in literature from Cambridge University.

Writing Career

1993: Kline published her debut novel, Sweet Water, which follows the story of a woman who inherits a house from her grandfather and uncovers dark family secrets. This novel began her exploration of themes such as family dynamics and the complexity of memory.
2003-2007: She continued to write novels, including The Way Life Should Be (2007), which is set in Maine and reflects Kline’s interest in the themes of self-discovery and starting over.
2013: Kline achieved widespread recognition with the publication of Orphan Train, a historical novel inspired by the real-life orphan trains that transported abandoned children from the East Coast to the Midwest between 1854 and 1929. The story interweaves the life of a present-day teenage girl in foster care with that of an elderly woman who was one of the orphan train riders. The novel became a #1 New York Times bestseller and was on the list for over two years.
2020: Kline published The Exiles, a novel set in 19th-century Australia that follows the lives of women who are transported from Britain as convicts. The story explores themes of exile, colonialism, and the fight for survival. It was well-received and became a bestseller.

Themes and Style

Christina Baker Kline’s novels often focus on historical events and overlooked stories, particularly those involving women’s experiences. She uses dual narratives and intertwines different time periods, creating a sense of connection between past and present. Her writing is known for its emotional depth, detailed research, and vivid character portrayals.

Personal Life

Residence: Kline splits her time between New York City and Maine.
Family: She is married to David Kline, and they have three sons. Her personal experiences and background have influenced her work, particularly her interest in historical narratives and regional settings.

Recognition and Impact

Christina Baker Kline has become a prominent voice in historical fiction, with Orphan Train in particular bringing attention to a little-known chapter of American history. Her ability to craft stories that resonate across time periods has earned her a large readership and critical acclaim. She continues to write and contribute to discussions about literature, history, and social issues through her work.

Van Diemen's Land

Synopsis

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.

Historical Timeline

Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was a significant part of Australia's early colonial history, particularly as a penal colony. Here is a historical overview:

Early History and Exploration

1642: The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to sight the island. He named it Van Diemen's Land in honor of Anthony van Diemen, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, who had commissioned his voyage.
1770s-1790s: British exploration of the area increased, with Captain James Cook and other navigators mapping parts of the coast. The British were particularly interested in expanding their territories and finding suitable locations for penal colonies.

Establishment as a Penal Colony

1803: The first British settlement on Van Diemen's Land was established near Risdon Cove, on the eastern shore of the Derwent River, to prevent the French from claiming the territory. Lieutenant John Bowen led the small group of settlers, including convicts.
1804: Another settlement was established at Sullivan's Cove (present-day Hobart) by David Collins. This would later become the primary settlement and capital.
1804-1820s: The colony functioned primarily as a military outpost and penal settlement. The British used it as a place to send secondary offenders, that is, convicts who had committed further crimes after being transported to New South Wales.

Development and Harsh Conditions

1820s-1830s: Van Diemen's Land became known for its harsh penal conditions. Several notorious penal settlements were established, including:
- Port Arthur (1830): Established as a maximum-security penal station for repeat offenders. It became infamous for its brutal punishment regime and was one of the most feared places for convicts in the British Empire.
- Macquarie Harbour (1822): A remote and harsh penal station on the west coast of the island, surrounded by treacherous waters and dense wilderness, making escape nearly impossible.
1825: Van Diemen's Land was declared a separate colony from New South Wales, with its own administration. This change reflected its growing importance as a penal settlement.

Conflict with Indigenous People

1820s-1830s: The Black War, a period of violent conflict between British colonists and the Indigenous Tasmanian people, took place. The Indigenous population faced severe displacement, violence, and disease due to colonization. The war resulted in the near destruction of the Tasmanian Aboriginal communities.
1830: The Black Line, a military operation, attempted to capture or drive away the remaining Indigenous people. The campaign was largely unsuccessful in its immediate goals but marked the end of large-scale organized resistance.

Decline of the Penal Colony

1840s: Public opinion in Britain began to turn against transportation due to reports of the brutal conditions. There was growing support for penal reform.
1853: Transportation to Van Diemen's Land officially ended. By this time, approximately 75,000 convicts had been transported there.

Renaming and Transition

1856: The name Van Diemen's Land was officially changed to Tasmania to shed the island's association with its penal history and encourage free settlement. The new name honored Abel Tasman, the original European explorer of the island.
Late 19th Century: The island developed rapidly with the growth of agriculture, mining, and other industries, transforming from a penal colony to a prosperous state.

Legacy

The history of Van Diemen's Land as a penal colony is still evident today through sites like Port Arthur, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a significant historical attraction. The legacy of the penal era, along with the impact on the Indigenous population, remains a critical part of Tasmania's cultural and historical identity.

Dangerous Women by Hope Adams
Call Number: FICTION Adams
Nearly two hundred condemned women on board a sailing ship bound for Australia. One of them is a murderer. London, 1841. One hundred eighty Englishwomen file aboard the Rajah, embarking on a three-month voyage to the other side of the world. They're daughters, sisters, mothers-and convicts. Transported for petty crimes. Except one of them has a deadly secret, and will do anything to flee justice. As the Rajah sails farther from land, the women forge a tenuous kinship. Until, in the middle of the cold and unforgiving sea, a young mother is mortally wounded, and the hunt is on for the assailant before he or she strikes again. Each woman called in for question has something to fear: Will she be attacked next? Will she be believed? Because far from land, there is nowhere to flee, and how can you prove innocence when you've already been found guilty? From debut author Hope Adams comes a thrilling novel based on the 1841 voyage of the convict ship Rajah, about confinement, hope, and the terrible things we do to survive.
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
Call Number: FICTION Donoghue
In Dublin, 1918, a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu is a small world of work, risk, death, and unlooked-for love, in "Donoghue's best novel since Room " ( Kirkus Reviews ) In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders -- Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney. In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over three days, these women change each other's lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work. In The Pull of the Stars , Emma Donoghue once again finds the light in the darkness in this new classic of hope and survival against all odds.
The Dickens Boy by Thomas Keneally
Call Number: FICTION Keneally
Edward Dickens, the tenth child of England's most famous author Charles Dickens, has consistently let his parents down. Unable to apply himself at school and adrift in life, the teenaged boy is sent to Australia in the hopes that he can make something of himself--or at least fail out of the public eye. He soon finds himself in the remote Outback, surrounded by Aboriginals, colonials, ex-convicts, ex-soldiers, and very few women. Determined to prove to his parents and more importantly, himself, that he can succeed in this vast and unfamiliar wilderness, Edward works hard at his new life amidst various livestock, bushrangers, shifty stock agents, and frontier battles. By reimagining the tale of a fascinating yet little-known figure in history, this "roguishly tender coming-of-age story" ( Booklist ) offers penetrating insights into Colonialism and the fate of Australia's indigenous people, and a wonderfully intimate portrait of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of his son.
The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes
Call Number: FICTION Moyes
1946. World War II has ended and all over the world, young women are beginning to fulfill the promises made to the men they wed in wartime. In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England--aboard HMS Victoria , which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. Rules are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier's captain down to the lowliest young deckhand. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy's ironclad sanctions. And for Frances Mackenzie, the complicated young woman whose past comes back to haunt her far from home, the journey will change her life in ways she never could have predicted--forever.
Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts
Call Number: FICTION Roberts
Evangeline Hussey has made a home for herself on Nantucket, though she knows she is still an outsider to the island's small, close-knit community, one that by 1849 has started to feel the decline of a once-thriving whaling industry. Her husband, Hosea, and the life they built together, was once all she needed--but now Hosea is gone, lost at sea. Evangeline is only able to hold on to his inn, and her place on the island, by employing a curious gift to glimpse and re-form the recent memories of those who would cast her out.