THE EXILES

Caroline Lee offers an outstanding narration of Kline's well-researched novel, which depicts a shameful moment in Australia's colonial history. Seduced, pregnant, accused of stealing, and convicted on slight evidence, Evangeline is marked for transport from Newgate Prison to Australia. Onboard the ship, fellow prisoners Hazel and Olive help her cope with various hardships and her pregnancy. Lee paints flesh-and-blood portraits of the women convicts and the inhumane shipboard conditions. Arriving in Hobart Town, they discover that the governor's wife has removed Mathinna, an Aboriginal child, from her family, and is fancifully conducting an experiment to see if "savages" are trainable. Lee captures the child's painful adjustments, the emotional essence of the women's growing friendships, and the inherent racism of the British overlords. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2020]