Anne-Marie Sicotte
(CA)

Anne-Marie Sicotte, born in Montreal, Canada, in 1962, has published over 15 books and series in French - novels, biographies, and essays on art and photography - in which she explores numerous aspects of Quebec's history. She primarily addresses uncomfortable topics that need to be brought to light. She aims to move readers by transporting them to a period, the people of the time, and their inner lives. Her best-known publication is the historical novel series Les Accoucheuses (The Midwives), which appeared between 2006 and 2008. 

In her work, Sicotte focuses on illuminating a fascinating but difficult era in her country's history, the period after the British conquest of New France in 1760 and the so-called rebellions. She wrote a tetralogy about the renowned democratic leader Louis-Joseph Papineau. Sicotte is convinced that this period has not yet been comprehensively documented and that much knowledge remains hidden. In her experience, many historians have deliberately avoided this period in order to avoid ending up in a snake pit. This includes the fact that the governors of Quebec and their entourages lived like kings, passed unfair laws, and discriminated against Franco-Canadians. On the contrary, they were accused of sedition and revolutionary acts as soon as they tried to improve their situation by submitting proposals for improvement or electing their own candidates to parliament. For Anne-Marie Sicotte, history is an identical reflection of contemporary events. That is why reenacted history - the lives of people and their struggles - is so important.

(Photo © the artist)