Heather O'Neill is a novelist, poet, short-story writer, screenwriter, and essayist. Lullabies for Little Criminals, her debut novel, was published in 2006 to international critical acclaim and was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Born and raised in Montreal, O'Neill lives there today with her daughter.
"This novel has everything...opulence, whimsy, sugar barons,
brothels, factories, revolution, and an intense friendship that
forces both participants to straddle darkness and light while
clinging to one another for dear life." —Literary Hub
"A twisted, perverse story that's difficult to put down...you'll be
desperate to know what [the characters] do
next." —Buzzfeed
"Delightful...The plot satisfies with twists and turns to the end,
but it’s the audaciousness of spirit emboldening most of
[O'Neill's] female characters that makes this novel shine." —New
York Journal of Books
“These perversely fascinating characters are filled with guile and
bile and many things vile, and even though it’s virtually a
certainty that they are star-crossed, it’s impossible to tear one’s
gaze away.” —BookPage
“O’Neill’s sharp descriptions and her prose’s archaic slant
successfully immerse readers in the period...this distinctive,
character-driven story is delightfully perverse.” —Publishers
Weekly
"O’Neill uses evocative descriptions and near-constant tension to
carry this dark almost-fairy-tale to anunexpected
conclusion." —Booklist
“With irreverence and charm, O’Neill takes us into the vivid worlds
of Sadie and Marie, unlikely friends who find themselves in the
thrall of shared dark passions, threatening to destroy all they
have come to know. When We Lost Our Heads is a lovely, uncanny take
on the historical novel, told with O’Neill’s trademark wit and
empathy for human foibles.” —Esi Edugyan, author of Washington
Black
“A dazzling, delicious dream…penned with equal parts arsenic-laced
icing and blood. There are marvels and dark delights on every page
as O’Neill masterfully unfurls the lifelong love affair of Sadie
and Marie, whose tale is illuminated by the triumphs of female
desire over the crushing designs of men. The spell this novel casts
is irresistible.” —Mona Awad, author of All’s Well
“I am struggling to say how much I loved this book…It is a
beautiful, alarming, outraged, outrageous, dancing, laughing,
shrieking, bellowing, howling, gobbling piece of wonder. What a
joy!” —Edward Carey, author of The Swallowed Man
"This novel has everything...opulence, whimsy, sugar barons,
brothels, factories, revolution, and an intense friendship that
forces both participants to straddle darkness and light while
clinging to one another for dear life." —Literary Hub
"A twisted, perverse story that's difficult to put down...you'll be
desperate to know what [the characters] do
next." —Buzzfeed
"Delightful...The plot satisfies with twists and turns to the end,
but it’s the audaciousness of spirit emboldening most of
[O'Neill's] female characters that makes this novel shine." —New
York Journal of Books
“These perversely fascinating characters are filled with guile and
bile and many things vile, and even though it’s virtually a
certainty that they are star-crossed, it’s impossible to tear one’s
gaze away.” —BookPage
“O’Neill’s sharp descriptions and her prose’s archaic slant
successfully immerse readers in the period...this distinctive,
character-driven story is delightfully perverse.” —Publishers
Weekly
"O’Neill uses evocative descriptions and near-constant tension to
carry this dark almost-fairy-tale to anunexpected
conclusion." —Booklist
“With irreverence and charm, O’Neill takes us into the vivid worlds
of Sadie and Marie, unlikely friends who find themselves in the
thrall of shared dark passions, threatening to destroy all they
have come to know. When We Lost Our Heads is a lovely, uncanny take
on the historical novel, told with O’Neill’s trademark wit and
empathy for human foibles.” —Esi Edugyan, author of Washington
Black
“A dazzling, delicious dream…penned with equal parts arsenic-laced
icing and blood. There are marvels and dark delights on every page
as O’Neill masterfully unfurls the lifelong love affair of Sadie
and Marie, whose tale is illuminated by the triumphs of female
desire over the crushing designs of men. The spell this novel casts
is irresistible.” —Mona Awad, author of All’s Well
“I am struggling to say how much I loved this book…It is a
beautiful, alarming, outraged, outrageous, dancing, laughing,
shrieking, bellowing, howling, gobbling piece of wonder. What a
joy!” —Edward Carey, author of The Swallowed Man
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