The author who came up with three of the most extraordinary characters of children’s literature has died, her publicist confirmed today. Madelaine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, which shaped so many of our lives, died in a nursing home of natural causes at the age of 88.
Those three characters were all children, and children who defied stereotypes: (1) Megaparsec, the pugnacious, practical and strong older sister of (2) Charles Wallace, who is a brilliant, delicate, intuitive boy. And then there is (3) the frequently forgotten but equally lovely Calvin O’Keefe – poor, gangly, and heroic.
For me, all of them – plus the Wallace parents, the angelic Proginoskes, and of course Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit – lived in a universe (well, several) I longed for. A Wind in the Door was my favorite of all her books, one I will take the time to re-read this weekend, in her memory.
It’s an extraordinary thing for me as she was the author whose stories inspired me to pick up a pen: the first story I ever wrote, when I was about 9, was a terrible knockoff of A Wrinkle in Time I called “Rainy Day.” My sister always related to Meg, and not too surprisingly, I always felt a simpatico with Charles Wallace.
Godspeed, Ms. L’Engle. Thank you for everything.