historical fiction
The Exiles described the mistreatment of several girls in
the 1840s. It particularly focused on Evangeline, a 20 year old from England,
who was wrongly charged with theft and attempted murder, and Hazel, a 16 year
old from Scotland who had been forced into theft by her mother. As convicts,
they were both transported to Hobart City, Australia to carry out their
sentences. Meanwhile, Matthina, an 8 year old native Tasmanian who had been
taken from her people on Flinders Island was also brought to Hobart City to
live at the governor’s mansion as a sort of pet. All three girls had been exiled
without anyone to speak up for them.
The difficult circumstances of the characters in this novel
pulled me in immediately. Christina Baker Kline is good at setting the stage so that it feels genuine. Her
characters are very well drawn and sympathetic.
Their stories were heartbreaking but compelled me to keep returning to
the book to make sure they’d be okay.
Unfortunately, they were often not okay.
Their stories actually began to feel too depressing in the last third of
the book. Women were not valued in those times and the lives of female
prisoners were so much worse than of those who were free. This book was often hard to
read.
The Exiles made me appreciate the time and place in which I
live. I learned a lot about the European
justice system for women in the 19th century and a good bit about
the history of Australia. I appreciated
the characters more than the story itself, though. I did not love the way the situation played
out with the “bad guy” near the end and I hoped to learn more of Matthina. It
just felt that some aspects of the story were too simple while the characters’
suffering was maintained for so long. But I feel this book will stick with me
for a while.
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