The case for genre-specific copy-editors:

[rivka]

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies aside, in a Regency novel, the relatives of a recently deceased English peer should not generally be concerned about an entrail.

HTH.

Comments

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I am not rivka and I don't know what book, but I suspect that in this case, "entrail" is a typo for "entail", which has something to do with inheritance laws.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

It's a complex way of ensuring that the property goes only to male heirs. As, for instance, if Fred has only daughters, the property goes to the closest male relative. Could be Fred's brother, could be Fred's brother's sons, and on and on in distance until it could be Fred's fourth cousin.

[nelc.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you both, I wasn't twigging the context.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Much like the copy-editor, indeed. Regency is a genre with a mind-bogglingly large specific technical vocabulary, most of it used to describe clothing. It's kind of unfair to bring a non-expert into it.

[puzzlement.livejournal.com]

Also of preventing the male heirs from selling the property. (In England, only the first and not the second generation of heir could be so restrained.)

In Pride & Prejudice this is why Mr Bennet can't sell any property to provide for his five daughters: he's the middle generation of the entail.