When We lost our head by Heather O'Neill

When We Lost Our Heads

                      (2022) by Heather O’Neill

This novel is a dark, feminist historical novel set in 19th-century Montreal. It follows two young women, Marie Antoine and Sadie Arnett, whose intense and obsessive friendship leads to destruction and upheaval.

Summary:

Marie Antoine is the spoiled daughter of a wealthy sugar baron, while Sadie Arnett is a rebellious, intellectual girl fascinated by radical ideas. When they meet as children, their friendship is passionate but dangerous, filled with competition, manipulation, and betrayals.

After a tragic event forces them apart, their lives take separate but equally dramatic paths. Marie becomes trapped in her father's rigid world of high society, while Sadie is exiled from her privileged life and thrown into the underbelly of Montreal, where she becomes a leader in a revolutionary movement advocating for women’s rights and labor reform.

Their stories eventually intertwine again, leading to shocking revelations and a confrontation that questions power, gender roles, and the cost of female ambition.

The novel blends gothic storytelling with political commentary, exploring themes of class, feminism, and obsession.