Return to Zion

About the Book

Return to Zion is a novel set during the middle years of the American Revolution, 1776 to 1778, as experienced by Jeremy Thorpe, a patriot-soldier. This focus engages the reader, who becomes a virtual eyewitness to history. Historical events happened just as described in Zion, including the transformation of Ephrata Cloister into a hospital for American casualties of the disastrous defeat at Brandywine. It was a visit to Ephrata by the author that inspired this novel. The reader encounters many familiar figures, including Washington, Knox, von Steuben, Lord Howe and aide John André. Woven into this carefully-researched account are fictitious characters including Jemmy’s beloved Katrin; Jonas Pettingill and Alice Shepleigh, who provide Jemmy’s “cover” in Philadelphia; counterspy Phineas Boylston; saucy Polly Rawlings and Jemmy himself, fictitious prototype of countless steadfast men whose courage transformed independence from noble aspiration to reality.

About the Author

John M. O’Toole, historian and author, holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in History, and has taught in both the secondary and college level for nearly forty years. He is author of Tornado! 94 Minutes; 84 Lives (1993); a book which describes the deadly funnel which tore through Central Massachusetts in June, 1953.