Madeleine L'Engle

Hello, my name is Madeleine L'Engle. My story begins in New York City, where I was born on November 29th, 1918. As a child, I often felt a bit shy and different from the other kids. Instead of playing outside all the time, I found my best friends inside the pages of books. Stories were my whole world. I loved them so much that I wrote my very first story when I was only five years old. Our home was always buzzing with creativity, which I think helped me become a writer. My father was a writer, so our house was filled with the clatter of his typewriter, and my mother was a talented pianist, so beautiful music often drifted through the rooms. This world of words and music was the perfect place for a girl with a big imagination like me to grow up.

As I grew older, I continued to follow my passions. I went to a wonderful school called Smith College, where I studied hard and graduated with honors in 1941. After college, I moved back to the busy streets of New York City to work in the theater. It was an exciting time, and it was there that I met a kind and talented actor named Hugh Franklin. We fell in love and were married in 1946. Soon after, we decided to leave the big city for a quieter life. We moved to a small town and ran a general store together while we started our family. Even with all this change, I never stopped writing. I published my first novel, 'The Small Rain,' in 1945. But being a writer wasn't easy. I sent my stories to many publishers, and for years, I received letter after letter telling me 'no.' It was difficult, but I refused to give up on my dream.

My most famous book came from a big family adventure. In 1959, my husband, our children, and I took a long, cross-country camping trip. As we drove across the wide-open spaces of America, I started thinking about big ideas. I was fascinated by science and the amazing theories of thinkers like Albert Einstein. I wondered about space and time and the battle between good and evil. I wanted to write a story that mixed all of those things together: a thrilling adventure, mind-bending science, and important questions about life. The result was a book called 'A Wrinkle in Time.' But because it was so different from other children's books, many publishers didn't understand it. It was rejected by over two dozen publishers. They thought it was too strange. Finally, one brave publisher said 'yes,' and the book was published in 1962. The very next year, in 1963, I was filled with surprise and joy when 'A Wrinkle in Time' won the Newbery Medal, one of the most important awards for a children's book.

The success of 'A Wrinkle in Time' was wonderful because it meant I could spend my life doing what I loved most: writing. I wrote many more books after that, including the rest of the 'Time Quintet' series, which continued the adventures of the Murry family. I also wrote a series about another family I cared for deeply, the 'Austin Family.' For me, stories were always more than just entertainment. I believed they were a way to explore the biggest, most complicated questions in the universe. In 1966, I also began a job I loved as a librarian and writer at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where I worked for many years, surrounded by books and ideas.

I lived a long and wonderful life, filled from beginning to end with stories and imagination. I was 88 years old when my own story came to a gentle close in 2007. My books are still read by children and adults all over the world, which makes me very happy. I hope they encourage you to be curious, to ask big questions about the world around you, and to always believe in the power of love to light up even the darkest of times.