Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L’Engle – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Dive into the life and legacy of Madeleine L’Engle, the visionary American novelist behind A Wrinkle in Time. Explore her biography, works, philosophy, and enduring influence through her most memorable quotes.

Introduction

Madeleine L’Engle (November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) remains one of the most beloved and influential authors in children’s and young adult literature. Her imaginative works—most notably A Wrinkle in Time—blend science, fantasy, theology, and human longing in ways that continue to resonate across generations. L’Engle was not only a novelist, but also a poet, memoirist, essayist, and spiritual thinker. Her life story, creative journey, and the philosophy behind her writing offer a rich tapestry of lessons on faith, creativity, perseverance, and the power of storytelling.

Early Life and Family

Madeleine L’Engle was born in New York City on November 29, 1918, to artistic parents. Her mother, Madeleine Hall Barnett (née Bennett), was a pianist, and her father, Charles Wadsworth Camp, was a critic, foreign correspondent, and writer.

She was named after her great-grandmother, and often referred to as “Mado” by family.

Her parents moved frequently, including a period in the French Alps, where Madeleine attended boarding school.

Her father died in October 1936, and Madeleine returned home too late to say goodbye.

Youth and Education

L’Engle attended Smith College from 1937 to 1941, graduating cum laude.

During World War II, she tried to write novels (such as The Small Rain and Ilsa) before 1942. The Cherry Orchard, she met actor Hugh Franklin. They married on January 26, 1946.

In 1952, the couple moved to a 200-year-old farmhouse in Goshen, Connecticut, called Crosswicks, where Madeleine continued to write amid family life.

They had three daughters. Their first daughter, Josephine, was born in 1947.

Career and Achievements

The Breakthrough: A Wrinkle in Time

L’Engle’s signature novel, A Wrinkle in Time, was published in 1962 after facing over thirty rejections.

In 1963, A Wrinkle in Time earned her the Newbery Medal, one of the highest honors in American children’s literature.

Literary Output & Series

Over her lifetime, L’Engle published more than sixty books across genres—including novels, memoirs, poetry, theological essays, and essays on art and faith.

She is perhaps best known for the Time Quintet, a series that includes:

• A Wrinkle in Time (1962)

• A Wind in the Door (1973)

• A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978)

• Many Waters (1986)

• An Acceptable Time (1989)

Another strand of her writing centers on the Chronos (“Austin family”) series:

• Meet the Austins (1960)

• The Moon by Night (1963)

• The Young Unicorns (1968)

• A Ring of Endless Light (1980)

• Troubling a Star (1994), among others.

L’Engle also wrote memoirs and essays, including her Crosswicks Journals:

• A Circle of Quiet (1972)

• The Summer of the Great-Grandmother (1974)

• The Irrational Season (1977)

• Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage (1988) She explored faith, art, theology, and creativity in works such as Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith & Art.

Recognition, Honors & Legacy

L’Engle received many honors:

• Newbery Medal, 1963, for A Wrinkle in Time

• Margaret A. Edwards Award (1998), recognizing her lasting contribution to young adult literature

• National Humanities Medal in 2004 (though her health prevented her attending)

• Numerous honorary degrees and awards (e.g. Regina Medal, ALAN Award, Kerlan Award)

• In 2011 she was inducted posthumously into the New York Writers Hall of Fame.

• A crater on Mercury was named L’Engle in her honor.

Her papers, manuscripts, and correspondence are housed in collections at Wheaton College and the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College.

L’Engle’s works have been adapted for film and television:

• A Wrinkle in Time has been adapted twice: a TV film in 2004 and a theatrical film in 2018.

• A Ring of Endless Light (2002) was adapted as a telefilm.

• Camilla Dickinson was adapted into a 2012 film.

Historical Milestones & Context

L’Engle’s life spanned dramatic events: the aftermath of World War I (she was born during the 1918 influenza pandemic), the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, civil rights movements, and the turn to the digital age. Her writing often reflects the tension between cosmic threat and human redemption.

She bridged the “children’s literature” boundary, refusing to fully accept the label. She insisted that good children’s fiction addresses deep themes—science, theology, love, moral choices—not just entertainment.

Amid the Cold War era, fears of nuclear annihilation, existential threats, and the search for meaning deeply influenced her imagination.

She was also part of the broader American religious-literary tradition, drawing inspiration from Christian theology, fantasy writers like C. S. Lewis, and the notion of the universe as mysterious and morally charged.

Legacy and Influence

Madeleine L’Engle’s impact is enduring:

• Catalyst for imaginative fiction: Her blend of science, spirituality, and wonder opened doors for authors addressing big ideas in children’s and YA fiction.

• Spiritual-literary bridge: She models how faith and reason, imagination and science, can coexist in literature.

• Mentorship & connection: She corresponded widely with readers and writers (for instance, with Ahmad Rahman) and took seriously the role of writer-to-reader engagement.

• Institutional and archival legacy: Her literary estate, combined with the collections at Wheaton and Smith, ensures her manuscripts and ideas remain available for future scholarship.

• Timeless resonance: Generations continue to read A Wrinkle in Time and her other works, engaging with questions of identity, purpose, love, sacrifice, and cosmic meaning.

Personality and Talents

L’Engle’s personal traits emerge through her writing, correspondences, and memoirs:

• Courage in vulnerability: She maintained creative openness despite numerous rejections and personal hardships.

• Restless intellect: She refused to confine herself to one genre; she moved between fiction, theology, memoir, and poetry fluidly.

• Faith grounded in doubt: Her spiritual reflections often embrace paradox, mystery, and the tension between belief and questioning.

• Empathetic listener: Her extensive correspondence with readers (especially young readers) reveals a generous spirit and commitment to engaging others.

• Disciplined craftsperson: Behind the flights of imagination lay a deep sense of discipline, literary structure, and careful thought.

Famous Quotes of Madeleine L’Engle

Madeleine L’Engle left a rich trove of memorable thoughts and aphorisms, many illustrating her philosophy of faith, writing, and life:

“We draw our strength from the tension that is created when a deep longing meets a reality it cannot contain.”

“You must take your dark and broken place in the waltz; do your stumbling, beautiful waltz. And in that waltz, learn to dance.”

“I pray that God will use us, not in spite of our flaws, but because of them.”

“We must learn to worship not the thing, but all that is behind the thing — the spiritual energy, the essence, that so far as our finite minds can conceive it—that makes all things possible.”

“Perhaps we are given a handful of seeds, and the calling is to plant them, not to manage the harvest.”

“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.”

“Go obviously in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you already have in your imagination.”

These quotes offer glimpses into her convictions: that life is shaped in the tension of longing and faith, that brokenness is a part of the human path, and that creative daring matters.

Lessons from Madeleine L’Engle

1. Persist through rejection — A Wrinkle in Time was rejected many times before finding a publisher. Yet she believed in the work’s value.

2. Embrace paradox — Her writing constantly engages mystery, not easy answers—especially between science and faith.

3. Write from deep longing — Her stories often begin with a heartache or question and let imagination explore it.

4. Engage readers as collaborators — She treated letters and journal entries seriously, honoring readers’ voices.

5. Live the metaphor — Her life mirrored her art: she moved between real struggle and imaginative daring.

6. Bridge disparate realms — Science, theology, fantasy, and everyday life all belong in storytelling.

Conclusion

Madeleine L’Engle’s life and work continue to enchant, challenge, and inspire. Her stories remind us that love and courage matter, that the cosmos is infused with purpose, and that art is not mere escape—but a way to explore the deepest questions of our existence.

If you’d like, I can compile a more extensive anthology of her quotes, or deep dive into one of her works (like Many Waters or The Austin Series). Would you prefer that?