Madeleine L Engle

Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer known for her fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult novels, including the popular 'A Wrinkle in Time' series. Her writing often explored the intersection of her Christian faith and an interest in modern science, a theme that sometimes led to controversy with both secular and religious critics. Despite early struggles with shyness and academic challenges, L'Engle developed a prolific writing career, also working as a librarian and teacher.

Born in 1918, L'Engle experienced a peripatetic childhood, attending various boarding schools and moving frequently with her family. She met and married actor Hugh Franklin, and they raised three children, adopting one. The family lived in Connecticut for a period, running a general store while L'Engle continued to write. After returning to New York City, she conceived the idea for 'A Wrinkle in Time' during a cross-country trip. The novel, though initially rejected numerous times, became a significant success, earning her the Newbery Medal. L'Engle continued to write for decades, producing works for both young readers and adults, including autobiographical 'Crosswicks Journals.' She passed away in 2007, leaving a legacy that includes numerous awards and adaptations of her work.

L'Engle's literary output consistently wove together her deep Christian faith with a fascination for contemporary scientific concepts. This unique synthesis informed her storytelling, particularly in her acclaimed young adult novels. She believed that children possessed a unique capacity for imaginative leaps, allowing them to grasp complex ideas, including scientific ones, more readily than adults. This perspective led her to favor fantasy as a genre for conveying profound and challenging themes. Her philosophical and theological views were also influenced by writers like George MacDonald, particularly regarding concepts of divine punishment and universal salvation. L'Engle posited that divine correction, like parental discipline, was intended for teaching and would ultimately lead to love, rather than being interminable.

Born Madeleine L'Engle Camp in 1918, her early life was marked by frequent moves and attendance at various boarding schools, partly due to her father's health issues following World War I. Despite early academic difficulties and a shy disposition, she began writing at a young age. She attended Smith College, where she graduated cum laude, and later published her first novels. Her marriage to actor Hugh Franklin in 1946 led to a family life that included three children. The family settled in Connecticut for a time, where they operated a general store. L'Engle's determination to write persisted through numerous rejections, including for 'A Wrinkle in Time,' which was eventually published in 1962 and received critical acclaim. She also served as a librarian and writer-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.

L'Engle identified as a Christian and attended Episcopal churches, holding a belief in universal salvation, which meant that all would eventually be redeemed. This theological stance, often referred to as Christian universalism, led to her books being excluded from some Christian bookstores and banned in evangelical schools. Conversely, some more secular critics viewed her work as excessively religious. Her views on suffering and its role in personal growth were significant; she saw her own childhood solitude and later professional setbacks as formative experiences that fostered her imagination and resilience as a writer.

“All will be redeemed in God's fullness of time, all, not just the small portion of the population who have been given the grace to know and accept Christ. All the strayed and stolen sheep. All the little lost ones.”

“I cannot believe that God wants punishment to go on interminably any more than does a loving parent. The entire purpose of loving punishment is to teach, and it lasts only as long as is needed for the lesson. And the lesson is always love.”

“With all the hours I spent writing, I was still not pulling my own weight financially.”

“We met in The Cherry Orchard and were married in The Joyous Season.”

“I have glimpsed it. ... I expected it to be bad, and it is.”