• The Old World

  • By the Hands of Men, Book One
  • By: Roy M. Griffis
  • Narrated by: Ian Pringle
  • Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 ratings)

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The Old World  By  cover art

The Old World

By: Roy M. Griffis
Narrated by: Ian Pringle
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Publisher's summary

A soldier fights for his soul in the trenches of France. A field hospital nurse battles death every day. When duty and honor are not enough of a reason to go on in the hell of a world at war, love gives purpose to their lives.

A mere mile from the blood-drenched front lines, Russian refugee and nurse Charlotte Braninov encounters English Lieutenant Robert Fitzgerald, who helps her save the life of another soldier. Robert's calm, courtly manner lingers in Charlotte's mind, a comforting memory amid the deluge of suffering that surrounds her when she returns to the hospital.

Wounded during an unauthorized mission of mercy and then demoted to a Medical Supply Officer, Robert Fitzgerald once more meets the brave young Russian nurse. When Charlotte volunteers to help the Lieutenant learn about his duties in this new life of service, a quiet friendship blooms and love grows in that harshest of soils, even as the war rages on. But human cruelty and endemic disease claw at their lives. Can love survive in a world torn by warfare, greed, and deception?

The Old World is the first volume of the epic globe-spanning By the Hands of Men series. From World War I France, it follows Robert and Charlotte through civil-war torn Russia to pre-revolution Shanghai, across the superstition-haunted swamps of the Congo and the timeless deserts of Central Africa, through Paris and London, and into the dream factory of Hollywood in the late 1930s.

Immersive, exciting, and emotionally compelling, By the Hands of Men is a gripping saga of fate, loss, redemption, and undying love.

©2013 Roy M. Griffis (P)2022 Roy M. Griffis

What listeners say about The Old World

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Great story and well written

Compelling story, interesting characters, and an engaging writing style! I definitely want to hear more! I highly recommend this for all fans of historical fiction!

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Great All Around!

The story is one that fills a great gap for those of us who love historical fiction. In fact, I can't name another book that dials in on battlefield hospitals and the nurses who worked them during WW I. I must say THE OLD WORLD is among the best historical fiction I've found.

The writing by Roy M. Griffis is tight and smart, the dialogue is crisp, and the characters are incredibly well-developed. I loved Charlotte and Matron. I hated Alice! Perfect. In addition, the author's attention to period detail was particularly compelling. Obviously, a lot of research went into getting this right.

Finally, the narrator--Ian Pringle--was an excellent match for the book. Voices--male and female--all hit the mark.

So... I have only one complaint... I have listened to Book One, but I see on Amazon that this is the first in a series of SIX books. Seriously? Only the first is on audio? This book is WAY TOO GOOD to ignore the other five. Come on Audible!

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