Madeleine L’Engle: A Universe That Bends Toward Love
4 min read ⭑
“We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.”
Madeleine L’Engle’s books have sold millions of copies worldwide, inspired generations of readers, and sparked fierce debates about the proper boundaries of Christian literature. Understanding her and her work means grappling with a writer who refused to separate her faith from her imagination, creating works that challenge readers to expand their vision of both God and the universe.
L’Engle was born on November 29, 1918, in New York City to artistic parents — her father, a foreign correspondent and playwright, and her mother, a pianist. Her childhood was marked by loneliness and a love of books; she spent years in European boarding schools while her parents traveled, finding solace in writing stories and poems. She married actor Hugh Franklin in 1946, and they raised three children while running a general store in Connecticut for a decade. During these years of dishes and diapers, L’Engle continued writing despite numerous rejections, supporting her family while Hugh toured with theater companies. After moving back to New York in 1960, she balanced her writing career with raising her family, teaching at the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine, and serving as the cathedral’s librarian. She continued writing until she died in 2007, producing over sixty books.
For Christians seeking authentic ways to engage with contemporary culture while deepening their faith, L’Engle offers a compelling model. She approached writing as a spiritual discipline, viewing creativity as a form of participation in God’s ongoing creation. Her characters wrestle with doubt, loss and the problem of evil — yet they do so within stories that affirm divine love as the fundamental force of the universe. L’Engle rejected the notion that Christian fiction must be explicitly evangelical or doctrinally pristine. Instead, she trusted readers to encounter God through beauty, wonder and honest storytelling.
Her work demonstrates that faith and intellectual rigor can coexist without conflict. She drew freely from quantum physics, cellular biology and contemporary theology, weaving these elements into narratives that respected both scientific discovery and spiritual mystery. This integration empowers Christian readers to cultivate curiosity about the natural world as a means of encountering God.
Frederick Buechner, a Presbyterian minister and highly regarded Christian writer himself, who influenced many, recognized L’Engle as a kindred spirit who trusted readers with mystery and complexity: “Madeleine L'Engle is one of the great lights of our time.”
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L’Engle is best known for “A Wrinkle in Time” (1962), which won the Newbery Medal and launched her Time Quintet series. The novel follows Meg Murry, an awkward adolescent, as she travels through space and time to rescue her father from a malevolent force that seeks to impose absolute conformity on the universe. The book’s famous declaration — “Love. That was what she had that IT did not have” — encapsulates L’Engle’s theology in narrative form.
Beyond the Time Quintet, L’Engle created interconnected fictional universes spanning generations. Her O’Keefe family series, beginning with “The Arm of the Starfish” (1965), explored scientific ethics and international intrigue. The Austin family books, starting with “Meet the Austins” (1960), depicted a warm, chaotic family dealing with death, vocation and everyday grace. These series often intersected, creating a literary cosmos where characters from different books might marry or become colleagues.
L’Engle also wrote extensively for adults, including novels such as “The Love Letters” and “A Severed Wasp,” which explored themes of marriage, art and forgiveness. Her non-fiction works, particularly “Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art” (1980), became essential reading for Christians in creative fields.
For readers new to L’Engle, “A Wrinkle in Time” remains the ideal starting point. Although marketed as children’s literature, the novel explores profound themes accessible to readers of all ages. Its length — under 250 pages — makes it approachable, while its blend of adventure, science fiction and spiritual insight provides a concentrated introduction to L’Engle’s unique voice.
After “Wrinkle,” readers might explore based on their interests. Those drawn to family dynamics and realistic fiction should try “Meet the Austins.” Readers interested in L’Engle’s thoughts on creativity and faith should turn to “Walking on Water.” For those wanting to continue Meg’s story, “A Wind in the Door” explores cellular biology and cosmic harmony with equal passion.
“Whether describing tessering through space or sitting at a family dinner table, she revealed the sacred within the ordinary.”
Christian readers should be aware that L’Engle’s work has faced criticism from both conservative Christians and secular groups. Some evangelical communities have banned her books for including concepts like telepathy, time travel, and references to figures like Gandhi and Buddha as spiritual guides. L’Engle’s universalist leanings — her suggestion that God’s love might ultimately redeem all creation — troubled those holding to stricter interpretations of salvation.
Simultaneously, secular critics have dismissed her work as too religious for public schools. L’Engle occupied an uncomfortable middle ground, too Christian for some, not Christian enough for others. She addressed these controversies directly, arguing that limiting God to narrow human categories constituted a form of idolatry. Her Episcopal faith informed her expansive view of grace while maintaining orthodox beliefs about Christ’s incarnation and resurrection.
L’Engle’s legacy extends beyond her books. She mentored countless writers at workshops and through her work at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Her integration of faith and art inspired movements within Christian publishing to embrace more complex, literary approaches to spiritual themes. Contemporary authors like Katherine Applegate and Kelly Barnhill acknowledge her influence in their willingness to address profound themes in children’s literature.
Academic theologians have also begun to recognize L’Engle’s contribution to twentieth-century Christian thought. Her narrative theology — exploring divine truth through story rather than systematic argument — anticipated postmodern approaches to faith. Her comfort with paradox and mystery offers resources for Christians navigating an increasingly complex world.
L’Engle’s work endures because she addressed eternal questions through immediate, personal stories. Whether describing tessering through space or sitting at a family dinner table, she revealed the sacred within the ordinary. Her books continue to offer what many Christian readers seek: stories that take both faith and intelligence seriously, that trust readers with complexity, and that ultimately affirm hope without denying darkness.
