Beyond the Black Gate
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Narrated by:
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Alice Wallis
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By:
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Mark Hudson
About this listen
In the year 409 the Roman Empire is collapsing. A young woman called Nehtan hides her enslaved status when she is rescued in Gaul by a resentful Patrician. Thrown together on a dangerous odyssey through a land devastated by invading barbarians, the two start to fall in love, despite the vast gulf between them. However, a brutalised member of the cavalry escort has recognised the fugitive slave and will do anything to possess her in body and soul.
‘Beyond the Black Gate’ is a compelling story of journeys from trauma towards spiritual healing, set during a time of disintegrating identity and authority, with echoes of contemporary social crisis and migrant suffering.
©2025 Mark JF Hudson (P)2026 Mark JF HudsonCritic reviews
‘Deeply felt and expertly researched, “Beyond the Black Gate” is an immersive, heart-racing story of love and survival in a fracturing, vividly realised, end of empire world.’ Howard Cunnell, author of The Painter's Friend
‘Unique and intriguing ... with a terrific richness of description. It’s quite shocking in places and Nehtan makes for a strong and memorable protagonist.’ - Gabriel Gbademosi, author of Vauxhall
‘Mark Hudson’s book conjures up with uncanny intensity the collapsing world of the Roman Empire to fashion a story that is by turns deeply strange, gripping and moving.’ - Roger Crowley, author of Empires of the Sea