RIP Madeline L'Engle

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As a fan not only of science fiction, but of literature in general, it pains me greatly to announce to the SuicideGirls community the death of one of the great children's writers of all time, Madeline L'Engle Camp, who died today, September 7, at the age of 88.

L'Engle was responsible for one of the greatest, most influential novels of all time, A Wrinkle In Time, published in 1962 (after at least 26 rejections, because, as the author herself stated, it was "too different") during the start of the 1960s counterculture. The book follows the adventures of Meg Murray, her brother Charles Wallace Murray, and their friend, high school meathead Calvin O'Keefe as they journey across the galaxy to fight off the evil cloud that has enveloped it and find the Murray's missing father. Not only was it a very powerful, very beautiful coming-of-age story, but the combination of its psychadelic imagery and Christian themes would greatly inspire the upstart culture that would dominate the decade. It won the Newberry Award the subsequent year for best children's book (An award which she would be runner-up for in 1981), one of the best-known, most respected awards in all of literature.

She would become known as one of the greatest children's authors of all time, despite the author's continued assertions that she was just a regular author whose books were read by children. Considering that I, as an adult, still enjoy L'Engle's work, I would definitely agree with her there. I'd call her more of a family writer. And her influence was felt throughout all of literature.

Keith Call, special collections assistant at Wheaton College in Illinois, which has a collection of L’Engle’s papers, said he considers her the female counterpart of science fiction author Ray Bradbury because people loved her personally as much as they loved her books.

“She was tremendously important initially as a children’s book author, and then as she wrote meditative Christian essays, that sort of expanded her audience,” he said. “She spoke exactly the way she wrote, very elegant, no nonsense, crisp, and deeply spiritual.”

Other works of hers include A Wind in the Door, (1973); A Swiftly Tilting Planet, (1978), which won an American Book Award; and Many Waters, (1986), the three of which also starred the Murray family and their adventures through time and space. Another of her series, which began with A Ring of Endless Light, (which was runner up for the Newberry in 1981) starred the Austin family, which appeared in nine volumes, one more than the eight of the Murrays.

As one of the greatest and most influential fantasy writers of all time, she will be missed. She wrote in a way that touched everyone from children to adults who read her works, even if they didn't share her overt spirituality.

Formus strongly recommends "A Wrinkle In Time" to anyone who hasn't already read it, and recommends that those who have paged through it read it again.

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/news/culture/22244/RIP-Madeline-LEngle/