In the fields of western New York State in the 1970s, a few dozen idealists set out to live off the land, founding what would become a commune centered on the grounds of a decaying mansion called Arcadia House. Arcadia follows this romantic, rollicking, and tragic utopian dream from its hopeful start through its heyday and after. Arcadia’s inhabitants include Handy, a musician and the group’s charismatic leader; Astrid, a midwife; Abe, a master carpenter; Hannah, a baker and historian; and Abe and Hannah’s only child, the book’s protagonist, Bit, who is born soon after the commune is created.
Lauren Groff was born in Cooperstown, New York. Her debut novel, The Monsters of Templeton , was a New York Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers in 2008.
Music - "The Commune
" - Karunesh