A Circle Outside : a subversive comedy of manners set in a commune of lesbian witches in Eighties California

`Funny and full of heart but also wise' - Polly ClarkIt's the early 1980s, and a household of lesbian feminists establish a women-only commune in an ancient Californian redwood forest. It seems a perfect place to practise the ritual magic that helps them function harmoniously as a group - even if they aren't all true believers. By getting back to the land, they can also live more as nature intended and give the finger to the Patriarchy. That doesn't stop jealousies arising, as Wren, an artist, nurses an unrequited crush on Robin, the land's extraordinarily generous owner. Further conflict brews as Gloria, the manipulative leader of the group, disagrees with Robin about her own rule: no men on the land. Warm, funny and harking unashamedly back to a less toxic era, A Circle Outside is a seductive vision of a utopian dream, where the only real magic is self-transformation.