…leaving the rest of us woefully bereft. She passed away today at the age of 88. Read the full story here.
I have loved Madeleine L’Engle’s books since I was a little girl, with Meg Murray’s mouse brown hair and nearsighted eyes giving me hope that girls like me could have our lives become great stories.
My best friend and I met her in the summer of 1994 in Cambridge, England, at a two-week CS Lewis conference that was one of the best times in my life. My friend took a writing seminar with her, and she also spoke at several sessions. She signed my copy of A Wrinkle in Time with the words, “Tesser on.”
I’m sad, and I’m not sad. She had an amazing life and left behind a tremendous body of work. She lived to an old age and died peacefully. She was a gift to everyone who read her books, and I imagine she’s now getting her very deserved reward.
How sad. Like you, growing up I felt a connection to Meg and loved that series. I read A Swiftly Tilting Planet (a gift from my folks) during my first trip on an airplane. As an adult, I fell in love with her writing all over again after reading Two-Part Invention, a book I now give to anyone I know who is getting married.
“There is such a thing as a tesseract.”
Having been off-line for a couple of days, I’ve only just found out about L’Engle’s death. I re-read all her novels earlier this year and I really can’t understand why she isn’t better known and loved in the UK. As you say, she had a great life, but nevertheless I’m sorry there will be no more.
Fortunately, she left behind a tremendous body of work.