Beyond the Gates

This classic volume contains Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward’s 1883 religious novel, “Beyond the Gates”. A sequel to “The Gates Ajar” (1868), it is written in the form of a diary and continues the protagonist’s exploration of alternative ideas concerning the afterlife. The book was extremely popular when first published, and became one of the second best-selling religious novels of the nineteenth century. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (1844–1911) was an author and pioneering feminist, famous for challenging traditional gender roles and Christian ideas concerning the afterlife. Many classic books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.