This image is the cover for the book The Triptych

The Triptych

Though fiction, The Triptych is firmly based on incidents in the lives of three ordinary men from the Hall family. Spanning nearly a century, this vivid narrative interweaves the fates of three generations caught in the tumult of three key historical events: the 1855 Siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War; the Expedition to rescue General Gordon in 1884–85; and the fierce Dodecanese Campaign of 1943. While these stories form the triptych of the title, they are linked via the fate of a second triptych: an imaginary object bequeathed to James Hall by a dying Russian soldier. This passes repeatedly between the Halls and an Italian family, the Lassaros. These stories bring to life the struggles of those who had no hand in the politics that sent them to battle yet bore the brunt of its consequences. From the brutal battlefields to the quiet courage that followed, their journeys highlight the personal costs of conflicts initiated by distant politicians. Narrated by a fourth-generation Hall in the twenty-first century, himself a former soldier, The Triptych offers a window into a family’s legacy across a period marked by both volatility and violence. This novel is a tribute to the often unheralded resilience of ordinary people in times of conflict. Their lives paint a vivid triptych of quiet courage, endurance and the survival of the human spirit.

Robert Hall

Robert Hall served in the British Army from 1974 to 1992. He served in GB, Northern Ireland and Cyprus in infantry, intelligence and training roles. Based on his work in the UK’s Ministry of Defence (Defence Intelligence), he authored Soviet Military Art in a Time of Change: Command and Control of the Future Battlefield (Brassey’s, 1991, ISBN 0080413218). After leaving the army, he went into business. He has worked for Jane’s Information Group, Barclays, BAT, G4S and Marsh. He retired in 2022. Following his commercial experience, he authored Building Resilient Futures (Austin Macauley, 2023, ISBN 9781035812622). Robert lives in Colchester. He is married to Hilary and has a daughter, Lisa Marie, who is a wellbeing coach. This is his first novel.

Austin Macauley Publishers