In the Shadow of Her Hat

A Historical Fiction Novel of Love, Loss, and Resilience

Set in Richmond, Indiana, In the Shadow of Her Hat by Mary Ellen Donat is an emotionally compelling historical fiction novel spanning five decades of love, tragedy, friendship, and social change in twentieth-century America.

From her rebellious adolescence to the turbulent summer of 1967, America Corydon struggles against her domineering father, society’s expectations, and the complexities of her own mind. Her manipulation of her cousin Asher sets in motion a lifetime of troubled relationships, unexpected passion, and devastating consequences. Alongside their devoted friends Esther and Kay, they navigate World War I, the Spanish influenza pandemic, the Great Depression, and World War II, finding strength in enduring friendships even as history leaves its scars.

Rich in historical detail and psychological depth, In the Shadow of Her Hat explores identity, prejudice, conflicting social values, and the lasting consequences of personal choices, building toward a haunting and surprising conclusion.

Discover Mary Ellen Donat’s In the Shadow of Her Hat and experience a moving story of complicated love, resilience, and the bonds that endure through generations.

Excerpt from the book

There was no hint of the madness that chance and choice would rouse in the thoughtless girl buckling her shoes the promising morning of her first day of junior high school. If America Corydon had heard over the backyard fence news of the death of an elderly neighbor, lurid or not, she wouldn’t have given it more than an amused shrug. Though she loved gossip, she rarely concerned herself with matters that didn’t affect her. And certainly not tittle-tattle about immigrants who lived in the neighborhood derisively known as Goosetown, where men with menial jobs, if they had any at all, had no choice but to allow their women to hire out as maids and cooks.

Her father held a good job with the railroad.

America snapped the last buckle on her polished high-tops. She heard the distant squawking of fussing ganders and wrinkled her nose at the thought of those other Irish. But it was a passing thought. Her mind was on the effect she would make at Garfield School.

“If only Asher thought more about his appearance,” she grumbled, frowning into the mirror, “he’d make a better escort.”

A little more than a year older and a head shorter, America’s cousin Asher was her closest companion. This first day of school, he leapt over the rusty wire fence separating his bare yard from the alley that ran between his home and hers. He jumped like a hurdler. It wasn’t intended to be graceful or expedient—it was just better than opening the gate. So, it didn’t much matter that he landed on his knees. He didn’t care that one leg of his overalls was beginning to tear or that both shins were scuffed and dirty as he cupped his scraped hand to his mouth to shout, “C’mon, Meri! We’re gonna be late!”

As the third Kelley boy, Asher couldn’t help looking disheveled. No matter how vigorously his mother scrubbed, or how carefully she ironed, his freckled face always appeared a dash dirty and his clothes twice removed from new.

America was the Corydons’ first child, and only girl. When she emerged from her back screened porch, she was as crisp and fresh as he was mussed and scruffy.

Asher gave her a wide grin. He was America’s willing accomplice from the moment the toddler uttered her first words. The two walked briskly, side by side in the dusty alley’s wheel ruts. America reached over and playfully yanked a lock of Asher’s scarlet bowl-cut hair.

“You’re treating me to ice cream at Price’s after school,” she said.

Asher’s crimson eyebrows furrowed. “How? I can’t treat myself, let alone the both of us.”

“Why, Ash,” she said as if he should know better, “if we put our minds to it, we can come up with ten cents.”