Exiles by Christina Baker Kline.

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Imports to Australia.

I got completely wrapped up in this story about women sent to an Australian penal colony on Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania)—something I knew almost nothing about.  The treatments in the British prison system in the mid 1800s, the four-month long journey by ship, and life in the Cascades Female Factory will be images that will remain with me. And it wasn't just the women who I will remember, it's also the actions towards the aborigines. An unforgettably sensational read!

 

While reading this I had to settle in with a glass of “19 Crimes,” a tasty wine which lists one of the 19 crimes that would get a prisoner sent to Australia printed on their wine corks.  In case you’re wondering what the 19 crimes are, here’s a list directly from their website: 

 

1. Grand Larceny, theft above the value of one shilling 

2. Petty Larceny, theft under one shilling. 

3. Buying or receiving stolen goods, jewels, and plate... 

4. Stealing lead, iron, or copper, or buying or receiving. 

5. Impersonating an Egyptian.

6.Stealing from furnished lodgings. 

7. Setting fire to underwood. 

8. Stealing letters, advancing the postage, and secreting the money. 

9. Assault with an intent to rob. 

10. Stealing fish from a pond or river.

11. Stealing roots, trees, or plants, or destroying them. 

12. Bigamy. 

13. Assaulting, cutting, or burning clothes. 

14. Counterfeiting the copper coin... 

15. Clandestine marriage. 

16. Stealing a shroud out of a grave. 

17. Watermen carrying too many passengers on the Thames, if any drowned.

18. Incorrigible rogues who broke out of Prison and persons reprieved from capital punishment. 

19. Embeuling Naval Stores, in certain cases.

 

One more thing about the wine bottles, some of them have “living labels.” By downloading their app and pointing it to the labels, the people pictured on the labels come alive and tell you about their history!  It’s quite a fun party trick.  Sorry, I know this is beginning to sound like a wine commercial instead of a book review, but they do pair nicely.  📕🍷😀

 

Cheers and happy reading!

 

Annette 

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