thing I remember was the name Charles Wallace. Recently I talked with a friend, who shared the
same similar experience with the book. I imagine you've noticed the beautiful enticing previews
for the current movie based on the book. What is it about The Wrinkle in Time that has endured
throughout the years?
A Wrinkle in Time is the story of 13 year old Meg Murry and younger brother Charles Wallace,
and their search through space and time for their missing scientific father; a father who
disappeared while experimenting with a new form of space travel. It is a book "with a peculiar
blend of quantum physics and theology peppered with quotations in French, German, Spanish,
Latin and Greek from sources as wide-ranging as Blaise Pascal, Seneca, Voltaire, and
Shakespeare." (https://daily.jstor.org/what-time-wrinkle -in-time)
Did you know that the book was rejected 26 times! It was eventually picked up by Farar, Straus,
and Giroux. The book was felt to be too hard for children to understand, the main character in a science fiction book was female (that had never been done before), and the theme of evil and scientific topics that you didn't find in children's books at that time.
In 1963 A Wrinkle in Time was awarded the John Newberry Medal for "the most
distinguished contribution to American literature for children," given by the American Library
Association (ALA). This classic book is one of the most banned books of all time according to
the American Library Association; citing controversy over the "treatment of fantastical elements
and depiction of religion." The author in a 2001 interview reflected:
"It seems people are willing to damn the book without reading it. Nonsense about
witchcraft and fantasy. First I felt horror, then anger, and finally I said, 'Ah, the hell
with it.' It's great publicity, really."
Did you know that L'Engle at birthday number 40 was living with her family in a 200 year
old farmhouse in Connecticut and managing a general store while submitting stories and
dealing with yet another rejection. L'Engle recounts in her memoir A Circle of Quiet:
"This was an obvious sign from heaven, I should stop trying to write. All during the
decade of my 30s I went through spasms of guilt because I spent so much time
writing, because I wasn't like a good New England housewife and mother."
L'Engle pushed on, unwilling to give up on her writing. Three years before writing A Wrinkle
in Time, L'Engle embraced a 10 week road trip across the US, gathering insights and information
that would influence the book she was creating. Another influence at the time was Einstein and
his writings on relativity. In a 1983 interview L'Engle stated:
"I think that fantasy must possess the author and simply use him. I know that this
is true of A Wrinkle in Time. I cannot possibly tell you how I came to write it. It was
simply a book I had to write. I had no choice. It was only after it was written that I
realized what some of it meant."
L'Engle often compared herself to Meg Murry, feeling she was that girl, "always awkward,
disheveled and out of place." Interested in reading or rereading A Wrinkle in Time? The
CIDL library has the following formats of the book:
- A Wrinkle in Time - located in the Newberry Award section, under Lengle
- A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel - located in YA Graphic Lengle
- A Wrinkle in Time - the 2004 Movie
- A Wrinkle in Time - the audio book (5 sound discs)
- AND
- Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of Madeleine L'Engle in Many Voices by Leonard Marcus. This is a book of interviews with people who knew her best. You will find it: BIO LENGLE
Anyone interested in riding a tesseract through the universe?