June 2026 Book, The Exiles

 

Talk About Books meets every third Wednesday of the month at 5:30 at Guilford Free Library. Let us know if you would like a copy of this selection.

 The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline is an historical fiction novel set in 1840s Australia, focusing on the intersecting lives of three English female convicts and an orphaned Aboriginal girl, Mathinna, as they navigate hardship, oppression, and the search for freedom in a brutal penal colony. The story follows the women's journey from London's Newgate Prison to the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) and explores themes of female friendship, resilience, and the devastating impact of colonization on the Aboriginal people. 

The Exiles is praised for its meticulous research and emotional depth, as  was Kline's previous success, Orphan Train. 



 


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