A Circle Outside

Linda Rosewood

A comedy of manners set in a commune of lesbian witches

‘Funny and full of heart but also wise’ Polly Clark

It’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.

‘A stylish and entertaining debut in which a coven of lesbians use every means at their disposal to preserve their women-only paradise. Funny, full of heart but also wise in its resistance to easy conclusions’ Polly Clark, author of Larchfield

‘Rosewood has written a wild, witchy and whimsical book with engrossing and complex characters. This novel is nearly impossible to put down’ Irene Reti, author of Out in the Redwoods

‘With enthusiasm, good humour and fellowship, the women of A Circle Outside break new ground. The fresh growth on this farm is joyfully rampant, in so many ways’ Roger Swain, presenter of The Victory Garden

Paperback: 416pp

Published: Lightning (August 2025)

ISBN: 9781785634284