Madeleine L'Engle Books

It is an easy read with vivid imagination. The set it in a nice box and it is definatley worth buying. The shipping was fast and painless.

Madeleine L'Engle's series has often been overlooked and downplayed in this time of Harry Potter and Narnia, but the spirit and energy are still there and captured in this EXCELLENT Boxset!

This set of 5 fantastic and interwoven tales (each of which stands upright and satisfyingly complete on it's own) really is for any age from about 10 up if you're interested in high quality, thoughtful writing, broad spectrum plots with well-drawn, complex, believeable characters and, genuine Meaning (without a mallet!) everywhere you look..... I am 62 and over the years I have read every one of these at least twice....(personal favorite is Many Waters)......Enjoy!...

This is an excellent series. The author has a wonderful imagination. I would definately recomend this series of books. Is recomended for about 9 and up I believe, but is an excellent story for any age group.

The first book in this series, A Wrinkle in Time, was my favorite book as a young girl. I bought this for my very bright 12 yr old son recently. After reading it, he told me that it may be the best he has read & he reads extensively (including all the Potters)! We are anxious to get on with the others as I never read them when I was young!

The Love Letters was--is--more than I had expected or hoped for. I have been reading Madeleine L'Engle ever since elementary school in the form of her popular science fiction series. I am now 17, and I have gone back again and again to L'Engle and there's no stopping me from going to her again in the future. She has surprised me ever time in terms of being able to give me something unexpected and helping me see life and love in a totally different way. Letters does not fail here. Sometimes, reading these books, I find myself stopping for a moment and repeating out loud a sentence or a phrase or a paragraph that I just read that struck me down to the core. Her writing is wonderful...perfectly orchestrated each time--yet raw with feeling and love. I loved how Letters is a little more poetic than most of her other works. The form works splendidly. The only complaint that I have to lodge is that the writing is too obscure at times. Or perhaps it is me not trying hard enough. Nevertheless, I do lose her at times. And correct me if I'm wrong, but Letters is one of her earlier books, which shows. But to end on a high note, this book is still totally worth the ten hours or so you will spend reading it.

madeleine l'engle is my favorite author so i was especially pleased to find a book by her that i had not read at a local library. as always, ms. l'engle delivers a riveting and thought provoking story. the characters are engaging and the plot is pure l'engle. my only complaint was that the ending didn't explain exactly what happened to the characters, but perhaps that is more my issue than the book's. if you can find it, the love letters is definitely one to be read!

This year (specifically August/September) I got really into Madeleine L'Engle and her writing. I had read the Time Quartet several times as an early teen (or younger) and enjoyed those (specifically the first two books) and only recently thought to try anything else.

So at the end of August I tried Camilla and absolutely adored it. After that I was like a vacuum... buying and reading L'Engle books at a frenzied pace. Read most of the Murray books, read most of the Austin books, read the two Katherine Foster novels. And then I hit upon The Love Letters. I started it in the middle of September and only last night did I finish it.

The Love Letters, in tone, is standard L'Engle. Her ability with words is amazing and that is no different here. Where she lost me with this book is her use of flashback. I have said it several times in Amazon reviews that flashback is generally unnecessary and disruptive and, when used frequently, confusing.

In this case flashback is, unfortunately, necessary for the effect L'Engle wanted (the intertwining of two stories from two different eras). The way she does it is not just confusing, but kind of boring.

There are actually three different eras being jumped around in. The story starts out in "the present day" (or, more accurately, the era L'Engle write the book in) with Charlotte, who just ran away from her husband (to the "comforting" arms of his mother). She discovers a book of love letters (presumably) written by a nun and starts reading them to try and gain some insight into her own plight. The nun, Mariana, is the life of the place and is being groomed to become the next abbess. And then Noel comes into her life. If it was just those two eras, it would be easier to grasp. But there are also flashbacks into Charlotte's past.

Oh, and there are no indications in the text to indicate which era you are entering. There aren't "chapters" as much as pauses in the text (separated by curling lines)... so the switch between people and era often takes a little while to comprehend... even longer when it is the less frequent switch to Charlotte's early years. They could have simply marked the sections as "Charlotte" "Charlotte's Past" and "Mariana" and it would have been a lot less confusing and a lot easier to read.

Beyond that, I felt that the correlation between the two tales was weak at best. L'Engle tried to tie the two tales together by starting a thought with Charlotte like this...

...Then adding a curly line, switching eras, and ending the thought with Mariana (complete with ... dots) like this. Which was difficult to pick up on initially because of the beginning confusion in the first five or six "breaks" with who is where doing what and wonder why the heck it's not marked. Then once you pick up on the trick, you smile, say "how cute" then loathe it for the rest of the book. Thankfully, about 2/3rds of the way through, L'Engle seems to give up on that particular trick, only using it sparingly.

The correlation is faulty from other aspects as well. The relationships between the ladies and their men are different. There is nothing that happens in Mariana's side of the story that foreshadows what can or should happen with Charlotte. Thus, it just becomes a story... albeit one that Charlotte talks about a lot.

So we end up with two stories trying to waltz together to make things work and fit into some nice, tidy box. Instead it ends up more like a duel as the two separate tales are woven together, but never really becoming one.

In the end it is actually Mariana's story that ends up being the best written, most thought out, and has the greatest emotional grip (not to mention intellectual intrigue). While there is a change in both main characters, it is Mariana's that is the one we root for most, since there seems to be a lot more at stake. With Charlotte it is all talk and fluffy words, while listening to sage words of advice from her mother-in-law and doctor. Which is fine. It just doesn't really provide much literary spark. Whereas with Mariana we (despite some poor foreshadowing, another pet peeve of mine ranking up there with flashback) are gripped not only by her serenade, but the relationship she has with the people around her, both good and bad. She interacts with a whole collage of people. Charlotte has a very limited palette of people to relate with. Resulting in a story that seems more like muted grayscale, in contrast to Mariana's vibrant colors.

Is it worth reading? Sure. What makes the book readable is what is present with every L'Engle book. Her way with words, making mundane concepts come alive. Plus, the end of Mariana's tale is amazingly emotional, with a perfect and believable conclusion. But definitely NOT as a first, or even second L'Engle book. Rather, read Camilla, A Live Coal In The Sea, The Small Rain, and A Severed Wasp first. Even go for the Austin series. Don't be afraid to read this book, just don't judge L'Engle solely on it.

I started reading Madeleine L'engle's childrens' books when I was 10. Now that I'm I'm 16, I've started to read her adult books. All of them are excellent, and her work has never dissapointed me. She writes with emotion and beautiful vivid descriptions. I love her books! "Love Letters" is one of L'engle's best books. She portrays human emotions with honesty and compassion. Throughout this book I began to realize that true love wasn't perfect. True love suffers, and true love causes pain, but despite these facts, love it still beautiful. L'engle made me become part of each of the characters in the novel. I had compassion for the nun who found love for the first time, and I absoloutely fell in lvoe with Cotty and Patrick. I began to understand these characters and their individual plights, and how their lives had truely shaped who they were. L'engle shows her readers that people are truely a product of their upbringing. On a final note, a strongly reccomend this book! It completely swept me away!

It took me two read-throughs to properly appreciate this book. At first, it reads like 60s romance fiction, which is when it was originally written. Upon a second, more careful reading, the true (and very typical L'Engle) message comes through... Life's set-backs can rock us to the core, and we can take time to grieve, but we should not turn our back on Life and Love (of self, of others, etc.) and give in to Nothingness. Also of interest, in typical L'Engle "nepotism," (something I truly enjoy) there are scenes in this book that are referred to in another one of her books, _Certain Women_.

Not so much of a memoir as a collection of thoughts. I read it a section at a time, front to back, while keeping a reading journal at the same time. Madeleine L'Engle has some striking and moving ideas that reshaped my vision of myself as a writer and as a Christian. She's a remarkable woman, and this is sort of a 'best of' collection.

A writer's dream of a book that could only come from Madeleine L'Engle herself! This collection comes mostly from L'Engle's nonfiction books and since I happened to have most of them, much of this book seemed a little redundant and like I've read it all before. But, it would be the perfect gift for any serious writer who takes characters, words and story as seriously as they should be taken. A wonderful gem of a book that no working writer or struggling writer or unpublished/published writer should be without. Trust me on this one.

As a writer, I am challenged and encouraged by L'Engle's storytelling. She evokes emotion and images, fantasy and reality...all with a seeming effortlessness.

In "Reflections on a Writing Life," we see into the heart and mind of this incredible woman. We discover the amount of work that goes into her writing, and, along the way, we realize that this 'work' is really a process of letting go.

Each section can be read in a minute and mulled over for days. This is deep and rich food for thought. Artists and creative people of all sorts can find enrichment in L'Engle's shared wisdom. I recommend heartily this mine of daily gold.

The compiler (a fine writer herself), Carole F. Chase, knows Madeleine's work like no other. The reading selections collected and brilliantly edited here will inspire and motivate anyone who writes. Besides her own substantial corpus of work (more than 40 books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction), L'Engle is widely known for her writing seminars and workshops -- she has lived the writer's life for more than 60 years; always working to 'serve her gift'. But, she has also laboured long and hard to help others serve their gifts as fruitfully. Chase, L'Engle's best biographer, met the famous author years ago and knows her teaching on writing well. The selections which make up this great book come from many unpublished sources and constitute the best of L'Engle's teaching/coaching/mentoring on good writing and the writer's life. I have shared this book with several of my writing friends and have yet to encounter a less than enthusiastic response. My five-star assessment comes from rigid standards and sober contemplation. Quite simply, the book EARNS it. Besides Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST'S WAY, and Rilke's LETTERS TO A POET, this is the most significant writing book on my shelves.

Any person of a spiritual bent who is interested in writing would benefit greatly by reading this book. Not purporting to be a full course in "creative writing", these short one- and two-page excerpts from lectures and other works are inspirational to the budding author. L'Engle is a strong believer in the power of story, in allowing the characters in the story to take the author to unexpected places, in "serving the work", and in the belief that there is no difference in writing for children or adults. Biblical inerrantists may stumble a little at her theology (she seems to be somewhat neo-orthodox), but that should not hinder the creative Christian and non-Christian alike from gleaning much wisdom from this book.

How happy I was to stumble upon this book by one of my favorite authors! This new book by the recently deceased L'Engle is in fact an early work only recently published.

Elizabeth Jerrold, an aspiring actress, is spending the summer of 1946 working as a theatre apprentice. Despite the disapproval of her Aunt Harriet, Elizabeth is determined to learn all she can, especially during the visit of the great actress Valborg Anderson. But it is through her relationships with friendly, energetic Jane, loyal and understanding Ben, and the handsome and exciting Kurt that Elizabeth will learn the most important lessons, not just about the theatre, but about life and love.

The story is sweet and a joy to read. While not as polished as L'Engle's later work, you can see some of the same themes and types of characters that run through many of her best novels. And, as the introduction suggests, through Elizabeth we get a glimpse of Madeleine as a young woman, which for any L'Engle fan is a treat not to be missed.

Elizabeth has big dreams of becoming an actress. She loves everything about the theater and feels born to be a part of it. Her aunt, who has raised her, wants a more conventional life and disapproves of Elizabeth's ambitions to become an actress.

Taking place over a mere four days, Elizabeth is forced to learn a lot about herself, about her career ambitions, and about growing up. Her aunt disapproves of the lifestyle Elizabeth has adopted while working for a theater company, and has withdrawn the money she was paying for Elizabeth's room and board. This leaves Elizabeth to confront just what compromises she will make in her life to realize her dream.

The melodramatic title aside, this is a lovely book. It's set in 1946, with mentions of Automats, and with characters speaking a diction reminiscent of an earlier time. It's a detailed look into the lives of young men and women trying to find themselves by playing other characters. Elizabeth doesn't just have to stand up to her aunt, she also has to learn about the kind of love that comes along with growing up.

The characters are well drawn, and L'Engle deftly draws the reader in to the stories of the minor characters as well as the major ones. It is an example in character study, with a satisfying ending that does not feel trite or contrived.

Reviewed by: Marie Robinson

This book is a sweet, well written story. It is the perfect sort of book for a rainy day or a sick day when you want something entertaining and pleasant, but you do not want to tax your brain. I enjoyed it greatly.

Somehow and without much fuss a new Madeleine L'Engle novel has been published. I was most ecstatic when I found out about it several days ago and quickly read it. Apparently, according to the preface, it is an older book she wrote but publishers didn't have any interest in. So she gave it to her grandkids to be something for them. Well, a couple of years ago one of them re-discovers the book and was of the opinion that interest in L'Engle has reached a point where there might now be interest.

As a result The Joys of Love reads more like L'Engle's earlier material than not, which is definitely a good thing. It is more straightforward than (for example) A Small Rain, with the steady setting more reminiscent of Camilla.

The best thing about this book, though, is the fact that it is a real, live rediscovered novel. Too often when an author dies a publisher slaps together some of their unfinished writings (look at Douglas Adams, for example) and while it is nice to have those, they leave you aching for something more substantial... something which the author themselves would have wanted us to read. And with The Joys of Love we get that.

Definitely recommended for those who love L'Engle beyond her Time Quartet.

A wonderful picture book introduction to Madeleine L'Engle's Austin family. The story of staying true to yourself and supporting family and friends is simply told through the eyes of young Vicky. This beautiful story makes you want to form your own "Anti-Muffins" club.

At first, I thought this book was strange like many of Madeline's books. It was not until I learned a few things about Madeline, that I begin to understand some of the characters from the book and what the anti-muffins really means. Using this book to teach others to stand up for what is right would be ideal. I think all young and old adolescents should go out and read this book. It's great!

The Anti-Muffins was originally written as a chapter of Madeleine L'Engle's 1960 novel Meet the Austins. At the time, however, the themes of diversity and tolerance were considered controversial, and the publisher made her leave this chapter out of the published book. Many years later the missing chapter was published separately as The Anti-Muffins. This little book is long out of print, and sometimes sells for about $60 used.

The good news is that the 1999 hardcover edition of Meet the Austins includes this chapter in the novel for the first time. Unless you're a serious L'Engle collector, you can skip this rare book and buy the Meet the Austins hardcover instead. It's one of her best books, and well worth getting in hardcover.

Christian Mythmakers is a good overview of some of the thoughts and ideas of various Christian fantasy writers. While the chapter on John Bunyan is basically little more than a summary of Pilgrim's Progress, the rest of the book is interesting and thought provoking. The chapter on Charles Williams is a "must read" for anyone interested in or confused by Williams' work.

I had the privilege of taking courses under Dr Hein in the early 90's at Wheaton. He is a very knowledgeable teacher and has great affection for the people he is writing about in this book. If you have any interest in these authors, this book is a must read. I wasn't aware that he had written this book when I came across it looking for books on George MacDonald and C.S. Lewis. As an Economics major, I somehow ended up taking four Lit. classes from Dr Hein because he is such a good instructor and passionate about his subject matter.

This book is a fascinating look at ten Christian mythmakers, that is authors who have used the power of myth to convey Christian truths in a new way. The narrative begins with John Bunyan and his seminal Pilgrim's Progress, continues through George Macdonald, G.K. Chesterton, Charles Williams, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and finishes up with Madeleine L'Engle, Walter Wangerin, Robert Siegel, and Hannah Hurnard.

Professor Hein begins with a short biography of the author, and then proceeds to explain the author's work, examining its theology and significance. I found this book to be quite fascinating, with the author giving me a look at these masterpieces of Christian literature in a way that I had never thought of before. If you are a fan of any of the authors above, then I highly recommend that you get this book!

What more could you ask for than a book created by these two wonderful women--and friends. This is the beautiful story of a friendship that has flourished through miles and years--death and trials--beauty and joy. It is an inspiration and a tribute to friendship.

This is the kind of book you buy 2 of--one for you and one for your best friend!

friends for the journey is a nice book. i found the book interesting, learning more about the thoughts and views of l'engle, as well as her friendship w/shaw. it's just a quaint little book.

L'Engle and Shaw, friends for 25 years, are educators at heart. Here they teach about friendship by sharing their own balanced and loving bond. Through an assortment of poetry, conversations, journal entries and other narrative, they celebrate a connection that grew in spite of living many miles apart.

As they look back over visits, vacations and joint writing projects, one sees that they enjoy each other's company enormously. Along the way they reflect on many facets of friendship; with girlhood chums, male friends, spouse, and family. They also show us their friendship with God and we observe that communion as they share and pray together and enrich each other's faith.

These two friends, one in her 70's, one ten years younger, were there for each other as both lost their husbands to cancer within the span of twelve months some years ago. Luci Shaw has since remarried, but their bond of friendship continues to this day.

Readers who follow their work will enjoy finding familiar poems in this new setting. And will be happy to know that L'Engle and Shaw have collaborated again. Their new book is a collection of short Christmas readings. It is _Winter Song_, a lovely blend of their own prose and poetry

This is an excellent book that brings readers to the center of the civil rights movement. We see the struggle and fear through the eyes of a ten year old. What he thinks will be a boring family trip to see his grandmother turns out to be a chapter in the history of a people and a nation. This book is an excellent way to introduce the civil rights movement to a young reader. Curtis tells the story as if he was there in Birmingham during the church bombing. We realilze that the civil rights movement and the acts that tried to stop it affected not only adults, but young children as well. Young teens can compare there struggles to understand today's world to Kenny's struggle to understand his world and his place in it.

This book was really good. I think that most poeple in our grade enjoyed this book, because it is intersesting. It is a good book to read over the summer. I would not recomened this book for younger kids, because they would probaly not understand it. But overall, it is a really good book!

This is an excellent book that brings readers to the center of the civil rights movement. We see the struggle and fear through the eyes of a ten year old. What he thinks will be a boring family trip to see his grandmother turns out to be a chapter in the history of a people and a nation. This book is an excellent way to introduce the civil rights movement to a young reader. Curtis tells the story as if he was there in Birmingham during the church bombing. We realilze that the civil rights movement and the acts that tried to stop it affected not only adults, but young children as well. Young teens can compare there struggles to understand today's world to Kenny's struggle to understand his world and his place in it.

Lovely book. Ideas for prayers in various situations. Beautiful to use alone or to pray along with a Christian friend/prayer partner.

The discussions and prayers contained in this book are centered on various topics and are thoughtful, honest, and full of love. There is a "word before you begin" page that indicates that the book is intended to be read aloud with a friend. However, the book would be difficult for me to use in that way when praying with a friend, because of the conversational nature. One author clearly indicates that she views even her dialog with her friend as prayer. However, it seems awkward for me to incorporate another person's conversational prayer into my own shared prayer time. It is a book that I would prefer to use to prepare myself for shared prayer time - not used during it.

There are wonderful gems of prayer in this book that can be used to improve anyone's prayer life. While the prayers are labeled under situational headings, I found many to be applicable to diverse situations and settings. To have a life long prayer friend as reflected in this book is truly a blessing - and wonderful to share in.

This collection of suggestions for praying with a friend and sample prayers is sensitive and beautifully written. Many of the topics speak to my own circumstances, and I find great encouragement in the "mentoring" of these saintly friends.

I have read "The Small Rain", and it's sequel, "A Severed Wasp." I didn't realize that "Prelude" was the first half of "The Small Rain," until I just read it in someone's comment above. I loved both books very much. Katherine's youth is explored in the first, and her old age in the second. It is a bit frustrating to find that you have to "catch-up" on all that has happened between the books, but I believe it took Mrs. L'Engle 20 or more years to write the second. I highly recommend both of these, and all her books for their ability to express kindess, spirituality, and genuine emotion so deeply. She writes stirring stories, whether they are for children or adults.

This is one of Madeleine L'Engle's earliest works (I believe it may even be her first). It's the tale of a young and highly gifted pianist, who is sent off to a boarding school where her talent is anything but appreciated. In fact the school administrators firmly believe they are doing her a favor by forcing her to broaden her interests, and by limiting her practice time and forbidding her access to the piano at other times. There's a good deal of interplay between our protagonist and her family (it's family difficulties that cause boarding school in the first place), and her relationship with her piano teacher. It's a bittersweet look at a time of life that's difficult for many, made more so by circumstance and talent that must have it's way.

i loved this book by Madeleine L'Engle and it was the 1st one i ever read. It's shocking that it's out of print. Anyway this book is about a girl named Katherine who's mother had a series of problems during Katherine's childhood causing her to live with her aunt maya. When Katherine final moves in with her mother and learns to be a fine pianist something awful happens and she is sent off to a boarding school. In this boarding school she has only one friend and a piano teacher who really in her talent. Then continues her stuggle. If you are depressed about this book being out of print its ok because the entire thing is the first half of "A Small Rain" and the rest of Katherine's life is continued in the rest.