Listen free for 30 days
-
When We Lost Our Heads
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Jeanna Phillips
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $37.28
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
The #1 national bestseller
“Marvelous . . . viciously funny and acutely intelligent” (Maclean’s), When We Lost Our Heads is the spellbinding story of two young women whose friendship is so intense it not only threatens to destroy them, it changes the course of history
Marie Antoine is the charismatic, spoiled daughter of a sugar baron. At age twelve, with her pile of blond curls and unparalleled sense of whimsy, she’s the leader of all the children in the Golden Mile, the affluent strip of nineteenth-century Montreal where powerful families live. Until one day in 1873, when Sadie Arnett, dark-haired, sly and brilliant, moves to the neighbourhood.
Marie and Sadie are immediately inseparable. United by their passion and intensity, they attract and repel each other in ways that set them both on fire. Marie, with her bubbly charm, sees all the pleasure of the world, whereas Sadie’s obsession with darkness is all-consuming. Soon, their childlike games take on the thrill of danger and then become deadly.
Forced to separate, the girls spend their teenage years engaging in acts of alternating innocence and depravity, until a singular event unites them once more, with devastating effects. After Marie inherits her father’s sugar empire and Sadie disappears into the city’s gritty underworld, the working class begins to foment a revolution. Each woman will play an unexpected role in the events that upend their city—the only question is whether they will find each other once more.
From the beloved Giller Prize-shortlisted author who writes “like a sort of demented angel with an uncanny knack for metaphor” (Toronto Star), When We Lost Our Heads is a page-turning novel that explores gender and power, sex and desire, class and status, and the terrifying strength of the human heart when it can’t let someone go.
You may also enjoy...
-
The Color of Our Sky
- A Novel
- Written by: Amita Trasi
- Narrated by: Zehra Jane Nacqvi, Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
India, 1986: Mukta, a 10-year-old village girl from the lower-caste Yellama cult, has come of age and must fulfill her destiny of becoming a temple prostitute, as her mother and grandmother did before her. In an attempt to escape her fate, Mukta is sent to be a house girl for an upper-middle class family in Mumbai. There she discovers a friend in the daughter of the family, high-spirited eight-year-old Tara, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past.
-
-
Riveting
- By camallis on 2023-12-29
Written by: Amita Trasi
-
The Son of the House
- Written by: Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia
- Narrated by: Nene Nwoko
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the Nigerian city of Enugu, young Nwabulu, a housemaid since the age of ten, dreams of becoming a typist as she endures her employers' endless chores. She is tall and beautiful and in love with a rich man's son. Educated and privileged, Julie is a modern woman. Living on her own, she is happy to collect the gold jewelry lovestruck Eugene brings her, but has no intention of becoming his second wife. When a kidnapping forces Nwabulu and Julie into a dank room years later, the two women relate the stories of their lives as they await their fate.
-
-
Loved the story and the narration
- By Kristina Stewart on 2023-02-26
Written by: Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia
-
A Thousand Ships
- A Novel
- Written by: Natalie Haynes
- Narrated by: Natalie Haynes
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen. From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.
-
-
Not happy
- By MoonShyne on 2021-06-01
Written by: Natalie Haynes
-
Riot Baby
- Written by: Tochi Onyebuchi
- Narrated by: Tochi Onyebuchi
- Length: 3 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor's son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven't happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her brother suffer while holding the ability to wreck cities in her hands. Rooted in the hope that can live in anger, Riot Baby is as much an intimate family story as a global dystopian narrative.
Written by: Tochi Onyebuchi
-
The Woman in the White Kimono
- A Novel
- Written by: Ana Johns
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Lauren Ezzo
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man - an American sailor, a gaijin - and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.
-
-
Beautiful writing style.
- By guineverebradshaw on 2020-02-20
Written by: Ana Johns
-
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre
- Written by: Natasha Lester
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alix St. Pierre. An unforgettable name for an unforgettable woman. She grew up surrounded by Hollywood glamor, but, as an orphan, never truly felt part of that world. In 1943, with WWII raging and men headed overseas to fight, she lands a publicity job to recruit women into the workforce. Her skills—persuasion, daring, quick-witted under pressure—catch the attention of the U.S. government and she finds herself with an even bigger assignment: sent to Switzerland as a spy. Soon Alix is on the precipice of something big, very big. But how far can she trust her German informant…?
-
-
Women ahead of their time.
- By mdickens4 on 2023-12-04
Written by: Natasha Lester
-
The Color of Our Sky
- A Novel
- Written by: Amita Trasi
- Narrated by: Zehra Jane Nacqvi, Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
India, 1986: Mukta, a 10-year-old village girl from the lower-caste Yellama cult, has come of age and must fulfill her destiny of becoming a temple prostitute, as her mother and grandmother did before her. In an attempt to escape her fate, Mukta is sent to be a house girl for an upper-middle class family in Mumbai. There she discovers a friend in the daughter of the family, high-spirited eight-year-old Tara, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past.
-
-
Riveting
- By camallis on 2023-12-29
Written by: Amita Trasi
-
The Son of the House
- Written by: Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia
- Narrated by: Nene Nwoko
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the Nigerian city of Enugu, young Nwabulu, a housemaid since the age of ten, dreams of becoming a typist as she endures her employers' endless chores. She is tall and beautiful and in love with a rich man's son. Educated and privileged, Julie is a modern woman. Living on her own, she is happy to collect the gold jewelry lovestruck Eugene brings her, but has no intention of becoming his second wife. When a kidnapping forces Nwabulu and Julie into a dank room years later, the two women relate the stories of their lives as they await their fate.
-
-
Loved the story and the narration
- By Kristina Stewart on 2023-02-26
Written by: Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia
-
A Thousand Ships
- A Novel
- Written by: Natalie Haynes
- Narrated by: Natalie Haynes
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen. From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.
-
-
Not happy
- By MoonShyne on 2021-06-01
Written by: Natalie Haynes
-
Riot Baby
- Written by: Tochi Onyebuchi
- Narrated by: Tochi Onyebuchi
- Length: 3 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor's son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven't happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her brother suffer while holding the ability to wreck cities in her hands. Rooted in the hope that can live in anger, Riot Baby is as much an intimate family story as a global dystopian narrative.
Written by: Tochi Onyebuchi
-
The Woman in the White Kimono
- A Novel
- Written by: Ana Johns
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Lauren Ezzo
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man - an American sailor, a gaijin - and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.
-
-
Beautiful writing style.
- By guineverebradshaw on 2020-02-20
Written by: Ana Johns
-
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre
- Written by: Natasha Lester
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alix St. Pierre. An unforgettable name for an unforgettable woman. She grew up surrounded by Hollywood glamor, but, as an orphan, never truly felt part of that world. In 1943, with WWII raging and men headed overseas to fight, she lands a publicity job to recruit women into the workforce. Her skills—persuasion, daring, quick-witted under pressure—catch the attention of the U.S. government and she finds herself with an even bigger assignment: sent to Switzerland as a spy. Soon Alix is on the precipice of something big, very big. But how far can she trust her German informant…?
-
-
Women ahead of their time.
- By mdickens4 on 2023-12-04
Written by: Natasha Lester
-
Home Stretch
- A Novel
- Written by: Graham Norton
- Narrated by: Graham Norton
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1987, and a small Irish community is preparing for a wedding. The day before the ceremony, a group of young friends, including the bride and groom, are involved in an accident. Three survive. Three are killed. The lives of the families are shattered and the rifts between them ripple throughout the small town. Connor survived, but living among the angry and the mourning is almost as hard as carrying the shame of having been the driver. He leaves the only place he knows for another life, taking his secrets with him.
-
-
Well written
- By Audrey R on 2023-09-02
Written by: Graham Norton
-
Nothing to See Here
- Written by: Kevin Wilson
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. But then, Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal, and they’ve barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help. Madison’s twin stepkids are moving in with her family, and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: The twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way.
-
-
Engaging story and AMAZING Narrator!
- By Aoife G on 2020-05-07
Written by: Kevin Wilson
-
Sipsworth
- Written by: Simon Van Booy
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the English village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship.
-
-
Delightful!
- By Budb on 2024-10-22
Written by: Simon Van Booy
-
Say Her Name
- Written by: Dreda Say Mitchell, Ryan Carter
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s twenty years since Eva, a biracial woman, was adopted as an eight-year-old, and Cherry and Carlton "Sugar" McNeil have always been the only parents she’s wanted or needed. But when she’s dealt the double blow of Cherry’s death and her own suspension from work, Eva decides it’s time to discover who she was before she was theirs. Against Sugar’s advice, Eva joins a DNA database, desperate for a match that will unlock her identity. And when a positive hit comes, she’s excited to learn there are relations out there who might hold the key.
-
-
nonsense
- By Northern AB Sunshine on 2023-12-07
Written by: Dreda Say Mitchell, and others
-
Lullabies for Little Criminals
- A Novel
- Written by: Heather O'Neill
- Narrated by: Miriam McDonald, Heather O'Neill
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A new deluxe edition of the international best seller by Heather O'Neill, the Giller-shortlisted author of Daydreams of Angels and The Girl Who Was Saturday Night. Featuring an original foreword from the author, this edition celebrates the 10th anniversary of the coming-of-age story that People describes as "a vivid portrait of life on skid row."
-
-
Terrible narrator
- By Lauren on 2024-04-13
Written by: Heather O'Neill
-
When No One Is Watching
- A Thriller
- Written by: Alyssa Cole
- Narrated by: Susan Dalian, Jay Aaseng
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block - her neighbor, Theo. But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear.
-
-
A twist on gentrification!
- By Sam on 2020-09-24
Written by: Alyssa Cole
-
The Library Book
- Written by: Susan Orlean
- Narrated by: Susan Orlean
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual false alarm. As one fireman recounted later, “Once that first stack got going, it was good-bye, Charlie.” The fire was disastrous: It reached 2,000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more.
-
-
Beautiful story, painful narration
- By Mistaya Langridge on 2019-07-11
Written by: Susan Orlean
-
One Puzzling Afternoon
- Written by: Emily Critchley
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Sastre
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1951, and at number six Sycamore Street, fifteen-year-old Edie Green is lonely. Living with her eccentric mother and her mother's new boyfriend, she is desperate for something to shake her from her dull, isolated life. So when the popular, pretty Lucy Theddle befriends Edie, she thinks all her troubles are over. Even though Lucy has a secret, one Edie is not certain she should keep. Then Lucy goes missing. Now in 2018, Edie is eighty-four and still living in the same small town, when one afternoon she glimpses Lucy Theddle, still looking the same as she did at fifteen.
-
-
Intriguing story. Character ddevelopment and excellent narration. Satisfying ending..
- By C McDonnell on 2024-11-01
Written by: Emily Critchley
-
Notorious RBG
- The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Written by: Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nearly a half century into being a feminist and legal pioneer, something funny happened to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The octogenarian won the Internet. Across America, people who weren't even born when Ginsburg made her name are tattooing themselves with her face, setting her famously searing dissents to music, and making viral videos in tribute.
-
-
What a warriot and icon for equality!
- By Wonders abound on 2019-09-24
Written by: Irin Carmon, and others
-
The Lost Letters of Aisling
- A Novel
- Written by: Cynthia Ellingsen
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon, Stephanie Cannon
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rainey’s grandmother makes a startling request: Take me home. To Ireland, the country she fled post-World War II. Though they’re inseparably close, Rainey knows few of her grandmother’s secrets. Until they arrive at Aisling—the majestic estate on the southern coast of Ireland where her grandmother was raised—and Rainey discovers a collection of seventy-year-old letters in a trunk.
-
-
Lovely story!!
- By Nouhade N. on 2024-11-13
Written by: Cynthia Ellingsen
-
Open Water
- Written by: Caleb Azumah Nelson
- Narrated by: Caleb Azumah Nelson
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists - he a photographer, she a dancer - trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence.
-
-
That we all might find our way out into Open Water
- By Joey Balducchi on 2022-03-31
Written by: Caleb Azumah Nelson
-
The Great Witch of Brittany
- A Novel
- Written by: Louisa Morgan
- Narrated by: Polly Lee
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There hasn’t been a witch born in the Orchière clan for generations. According to the elders, that line is dead, leaving the clan vulnerable to the whims of superstitious villagers and the prejudices of fearmongering bishops.
-
-
Epic story of the most powerful witch of the clan!
- By MoonShyne on 2022-05-23
Written by: Louisa Morgan
What listeners say about When We Lost Our Heads
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amy Goldberg
- 2023-01-19
Starts strong but gets a little weird near the end
As with all Heather O’Neill books - there is magic and unusual relationships, centred on class warfare. What you believe is a tale of two neurodiverse people is really just a commentary on capitalism. The plot is lost near the end.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stormy Angela hart
- 2023-10-20
Amazing
I loved this book. As a huge fan of 'Lullabies for Little Criminals', I was excited for this. The narrator was a perfect choice for the telling of this book. I couldn't wait to listen to it any chance I got. I fell in love with the characters and vivid imagery. I loved the story from start to finish. I'll buy the book copy to own as well because I enjoyed this book so much.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Budb
- 2023-10-20
Excellent Listen
What an interesting and entertaining story. A very enjoyable listen. The narrator is amazing.
Highly recommended.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Linda Montreuil
- 2022-12-09
Riveting novel
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It’s highly nuanced snd ever-twisting story kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sid Klages
- 2022-12-06
enjoyed each and every minute.
Loved it. Narration was appropriate
and clear.I truly enjoyed it thoroughly. Very Well donei in deed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jan Little
- 2022-11-06
Distractingly bad narration
This novel, a satire, requires a deadpan narration. Instead we are read to with childish over inflection, rendering anything that might have been cleverness into cutesy clumsy pronouncements. I really expected and wanted to like this book, but I can’t carry on reading it. It’s painful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Donna
- 2022-04-18
Interesting story line and characters
I enjoyed mostly, characters multidimensional, liked the wording at the end re: women's stories being buried. a bit drawn out.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- karen
- 2023-06-15
Good book, a little drawn out
Found it very long in detail and storyline. Sometimes Sadie had an English accent and sometimes she didn’t. Not sorry I listened to it but would not recommend it to a friend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!