The Entailed Hat; Or, Patty Cannon's Times

A historical romance set on the Eastern Shore peninsula traces how a peculiar, long-inherited hat functions as a talisman linking families, social rank, and concealed wrongs as an older colonial order gives way to modern life. Local color, legal disputes over succession, courtly and domestic relationships, and family secrets intertwine with a subplot about a notorious kidnapper and her network that abducts and traffics people, prompting raids, escapes, trials, and community reckonings. The narrative moves among small towns, farms, waterways, and taverns, blending folklore, courtroom detail, and intimate scenes as fortunes fall and are sometimes restored.