The Sewing Circle was a euphemism used to describe sapphic Hollywood. Offering a long list of sources, Madsen presents a picture of lesbian and gay Hollywood from the twenties until (almost) current times. Everyone is aware of how the big studios controlled the lives of the actors under contract to them, and anyone who was bi-sexual or gay was forced into so called "lavender" marriage to hide that fact.

The book focuses mainly on playwright Mercedes de Acosta, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead and a few other big names. It is an interesting read, but not a compelling one, as it feels more like reading a gossip column that it does a history.
It seems it was meant more to titillate than to inform. ( )

namedropping ( )