The Screenplay

“Never had five cents insurance. I had six cows. I refused eleven dollars for a calf. A good horse. A wagon and harness and everything I was worth. I couldn’t save that much…(snaps her fingers)… and upon my word, I worked hard for them.”

Logline: When an industrious, illiterate immigrant is unjustly accused of starting Chicago’s “Great Fire,” she fights to clear her name but discovers a threat to her livelihood that’s more sinister than the press and government investigation.

Genre: Historical Fiction/Thriller

Synopsis: “Mrs. O’Leary” tells the story of the milkmaid whose life is shattered when the media and Chicago authorities target her for starting the “Great Fire” of 1871. As she fights to clear her name, she discovers the true culprit of the fire and faces an agonizing choice: accept her fate or expose him and, in doing so, jeopardize her marriage and family.

Comps: “Wicked Little Letters”; “The Winslow Boy”; “Anatomy of a Fall”

Thanks to the Wildsound Festival for chatting with me about the screenplay on their podcast:

And check out this scene from the screenplay, also courtesy of the team at Wildsound. Here, Chicago’s “Great Fire” shifts from an outdoor menace to a domestic disturbance. Mrs. O’Leary’s husband, Patrick, is content to sell debris from their destroyed barn for cash. But she wants to clear her name, and if Patrick won’t help her, she’ll enlist their neighbor Peg Leg to join the mission.