Madeleine L'Engle

Hello, my name is Madeleine L'Engle, and I was a writer who loved to explore the biggest questions of the universe through my stories. My own story began on November 29th, 1918, in New York City. I grew up in a very creative family, which inspired me to start writing at a young age. In fact, I wrote my very first story when I was only five years old. School, however, wasn't always easy for me. I was a quiet child who spent a lot of time daydreaming and imagining stories. My teachers often thought I wasn't paying attention, and they misunderstood my creative mind. When I was about twelve, around 1930, my family moved all the way across the ocean to the French Alps. This was a huge change, and I was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. It was a difficult and sometimes lonely experience for me, but it also gave me a lot of time to think, read, and write, which would become so important in my life.

After my time in Europe, I returned to the United States to continue my education. I attended Smith College, where I studied English and truly dedicated myself to my passion for literature. I graduated in 1941 with a dream of making a life for myself as a professional writer and actress in New York City. The city was a bustling place full of opportunities, and I found work in the theater. It was there, while acting in a play, that I met a wonderful man named Hugh Franklin. We fell in love and were married on January 26th, 1946. During this exciting time, I was also pursuing my writing. A year before our marriage, in 1945, I achieved a major milestone in my life: I published my very first novel, titled The Small Rain. It felt like my dream of being a writer was finally starting to come true.

My life took another turn during the 1950s when my husband and I decided to leave the city. We moved our growing family to a small town in Connecticut and took on the challenge of running a general store. It was a busy, demanding life that left me with very little time or energy to write. The days were long, filled with stocking shelves and helping customers, and my dream of being a full-time author felt more distant than ever. I continued to send my work to publishers, but the rejection letters kept piling up. I clearly remember my 40th birthday in 1958. On that day, another rejection letter arrived in the mail. I felt a deep sense of despair and seriously considered giving up writing forever. It seemed that no one was interested in the stories I wanted to tell, and I wondered if I had made a mistake by pursuing this path.

Just when I was about to give up, a new idea began to form, sparked by an adventure. In 1959, my family and I took a ten-week cross-country camping trip. As we drove through the vast and beautiful landscapes of America, I started reading books about quantum physics. I was completely fascinated by the ideas of space, time, and the universe. A story began to take shape in my mind—one that would combine science, faith, and the classic struggle between good and evil. I created a main character, a girl named Meg Murry, who was a bit of an outcast, just as I had felt in school. I imagined she would travel through space and time using a concept called a tesseract, which is like a wrinkle in time. The story was called A Wrinkle in Time. I was incredibly excited about it, but publishers were not. The book was rejected by more than two dozen different publishing houses. They said it was too different, too complicated, and that it wouldn't fit into any specific category. But I believed in my story, and finally, in 1962, a publisher said yes.

The publication of A Wrinkle in Time changed everything for me. In 1963, I received news that left me in a state of shock and pure joy: my book had won the prestigious Newbery Medal, one of the highest honors in children's literature. Suddenly, the story that so many had rejected was being celebrated. This award was a turning point in my career. It gave me the freedom and encouragement to continue writing books that explored the complex ideas that fascinated me. I went on to write more stories about the Murry family, which became known as the Time Quintet. I also created another beloved series of books about the Austin family. In all my work, I never shied away from asking big questions about life, love, faith, and our place in the universe. The success of A Wrinkle in Time allowed me to spend the rest of my life doing what I loved most: writing.

I spent my later years continuing to write books, give speeches, and connect with readers who had been touched by my stories. In 2004, I received the National Humanities Medal, which was a great honor that recognized my contributions to literature. I lived a full life to be 88 years old. My hope was always that my books would encourage readers to be curious and to ask big questions about the world around them. My stories continue to remind people to wonder about the universe and to always believe in the incredible power of love to overcome darkness.