Evening of Empire

By: Leonard Gill

Narrated by: Michael Grinter

Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

When the war bands and pirates of the Great Barbarian Conspiracy flowed over the wall and throughout the land threatening to destroy the province of Britannia entirely, little did we know that in a single lifetime we would see them pushed back, only to finally be abandoned to our fate by the boy emperor Honorius and see the eagles leave our shores forever. In the years between, we saw our champions Maximus and Constantine defeated, our most cherished heritage and beliefs outlawed on the altars of the Christ god, and an empire in retreat.

"This is the story of a life lived in an age of turmoil and decline. The end of an empire and the rise of a land of kings and heroes."

This novel is set during the last decades of formal Roman imperial rule in the diocese of Britannia and the immediate aftermath of the formal renunciation of the diocese by Emperor Honorius in the document known as the “Rescript of Honorius”. The audiobook narrative tries to follow the main historical events of the period which have been assembled from the various sources as closely as possible, with minor license taken to fill in lacunae or contradictions from the sources themselves.

These events are:

• The Barbarian conspiracy and disintegration of organized forces
• Count Theodosius’ intervention and reorganization
• The rise and fall of Magnus Maximus
• Emperor Theodosius’ suppression of paganism
• General Stillicho’s war against the Picts and later reorganization
• The rise and fall of Constantine III
• The rise of Vortigern, the Gewissae, and regional warlords

It is written from the perspective of a man who was born in the middle of the fourth century into a recognizably Roman world and follows the narrator through his experiences and perceptions of the turmoil between his birth and the last decade following the formal renunciation of the province of Britannia by the fading Western Roman Empire.

©2021 Leonard Gill (P)2022 Leonard Gill

Audible Edition narrated by Michael Grinter

On initially reading the book I commented it was ripe for adaptation as an audible book. The excellent narration by Michael Grinter bears out that expectation and adds weight to my original recommendation. That this is the story of a man progressing through life, chronicling the daily trials and tribulations as he grows from youth, to adult, to family man in the turbulent times of an empire of which he is proud to be a citizen. But after early hopes and committed effort on his part to support its continuance, for his children, grandchildren and his fellow citizens, he has to witness the beginning of its fragmentation and demise in the evening of his life, when he is no longer called upon to serve.

Or the actual book can be read as a dramatized ‘crammer’ study book, which provides notes, drawings and diagrams to provide context to the narrative but provokes wider research into the people, places and events mentioned in the text. I fall into the second category and found myself enlightened about the period, the known facts, the surmised facts, and the myths and the fables.

I highly recommend this fine audible adaptation and now await the film or TV series.