Mary Ellen Donat is an American author of historical fiction whose debut novel, In the Shadow of Her Hat (2016), originated from a story idea she first conceived as a teenager in Richmond, Indiana.
At fifteen, Donat came across a striking headline in her local newspaper about an elderly couple known for collecting scrap around town. When they suddenly disappeared, police discovered the man had died and the woman had covered his body with newspapers, keeping vigil for weeks during a sweltering summer in the 1960s.
Donat’s father, Corky Cordell — then Wayne County sheriff and later Richmond’s mayor — had asked officers to check on the couple. The incident stayed with her for decades. “I always wanted to write that story,” Donat recalled.
Over the years, she researched Richmond’s history, interviewing her grandmother about life in the early 20th century and drawing on stories of local resilience, from women fighting for equal pay to a community weathering a deadly flu outbreak.
Mary Ellen Donat also wrote a local history column and worked as a features reporter for a Gannett newspaper. Alongside raising two children, she earned a degree in English from Indiana University East, led an advertising company for nearly two decades, and served on the Richmond Common Council, where she authored what USA Today called the nation’s first clean indoor air legislation.
These experiences fed into her writing. In the Shadow of Her Hat spans much of the 20th century, following America Corydon, a strong-willed young woman in Richmond whose turbulent relationship with her cousin Asher shapes a lifetime of choices. Alongside their friends Esther and Kay, America endures two world wars, the Great Depression, and the upheavals of mid-century America.
Historically detailed and emotionally resonant, the novel explores identity, prejudice, social values, and the bonds that unite people in the face of hardship. Its cover art, drawn by Donat’s husband Tom, is based on a portrait of her grandmother, whose own struggles helped inspire the book.
After decades in Richmond, Mary Ellen Donat and her husband now live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she writes and cares for her grandchildren.
At fifteen, Donat came across a striking headline in her local newspaper about an elderly couple known for collecting scrap around town. When they suddenly disappeared, police discovered the man had died and the woman had covered his body with newspapers, keeping vigil for weeks during a sweltering summer in the 1960s.
Donat’s father, Corky Cordell — then Wayne County sheriff and later Richmond’s mayor — had asked officers to check on the couple. The incident stayed with her for decades. “I always wanted to write that story,” Donat recalled.
Over the years, she researched Richmond’s history, interviewing her grandmother about life in the early 20th century and drawing on stories of local resilience, from women fighting for equal pay to a community weathering a deadly flu outbreak.
Mary Ellen Donat also wrote a local history column and worked as a features reporter for a Gannett newspaper. Alongside raising two children, she earned a degree in English from Indiana University East, led an advertising company for nearly two decades, and served on the Richmond Common Council, where she authored what USA Today called the nation’s first clean indoor air legislation.
These experiences fed into her writing. In the Shadow of Her Hat spans much of the 20th century, following America Corydon, a strong-willed young woman in Richmond whose turbulent relationship with her cousin Asher shapes a lifetime of choices. Alongside their friends Esther and Kay, America endures two world wars, the Great Depression, and the upheavals of mid-century America.
Historically detailed and emotionally resonant, the novel explores identity, prejudice, social values, and the bonds that unite people in the face of hardship. Its cover art, drawn by Donat’s husband Tom, is based on a portrait of her grandmother, whose own struggles helped inspire the book.
After decades in Richmond, Mary Ellen Donat and her husband now live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she writes and cares for her grandchildren.
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