Jockey Hollow

About the Book

Jockey Hollow is an historical fiction adventure novel which journeys into the paranormal.  The setting is Morristown, New Jersey, and in regions thereabouts.  The place is Jockey Hollow, scene of the 18th century encampment of General Washington’s Continental Army in the winter of 1779-1780.

The novel departs from the ordinary when a 20th century lawyer, Greg Toll, on visiting historic Jockey Hollow, appears to be unexplainably awakened into the 18th century.  What follows confounds both him and his family, and constitutes the puzzling saga of a man who exists simultaneously in two different centuries.  Private Dirk Conason they call him, but he swears that he’s not that man.  And so the plot unfolds as Dirk Conason/Greg Toll copes with his simultaneous existence in two places, centuries apart.

Dirk reluctantly becomes resigned to his fate and quickly adjusts to his life as a Continental soldier.  Eventually, he joins his closest friend Kerry Turner on a dangerous and secret mission of espionage into Morristown.  This endeavor leads to the uncovering of a plan by the British and their Tory conspirators to launch a major surprise attack across the frozen waters of Staten Island Sound into New Jersey, and against Washington’s ill clad and underfed army at Jockey Hollow.

While Dirk Conason becomes acclimated to his life as a Patriot soldier, Greg Toll’s problem deepens with increasing flashbacks and dreams of life as a regular in Washington’s Patriot army.  As a New York lawyer, Greg Toll becomes involved in a case against an unscrupulous developer who desires a piece of Manhattan property in an area known as Kip’s Bay.  The plot is intricately woven such that the affairs and experiences of the soldier/lawyer have a thread of continuity that bridges the centuries.

Jockey Hollow is a story of patriotism and betrayal, of heroic deeds and traitorous acts, and it’s a story of tender love and survival during the coldest winter of the 18th century.

Inspiration for writing this novel came from the many hours that I’d spent walking along the Old Camp Road and trails of Jockey Hollow.  Sometimes, I could almost feel the presence of a Patriot soldier, ill clad and shivering in the snow as it were.  It was during such moments when I imagined the sounds of fifes and drums in the training field or inhaled the smoky aroma of burnt wood emanating from an old stone hearth, that I conceived the idea to write a story that would accurately tell of the hardships and suffering that the Patriot soldiers had endured during the worst winter of the 18th century.

About the Author

Hal Lazar, an avid hiker and mountain climber, was born in Brooklyn, New York, and currently resides in New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Arts at Brooklyn College and his Masters degree at Montclair State University. Adirondack is his second novel. His previous works include an historical fiction novel entitled Jockey Hollow, and several short stories.