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November 28, 2022

Almanac of Story Tellers: Madeleine L'Engle

Every day brings a new story.  And each day contributes to story telling -- in prose and in poetry, in art and in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books 

Today is the story of Nov. 29th
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    It is the 333rd day of the year, leaving 32 days remaining in 2022. 
   
    On this date in 1918, the author Madeleine L'Engle was born.

    She told her stories, often fantasies for children and young adults, about good and evil, responsibility, and her understanding of god. Her major works wrestled with the question of life's purpose as we grow from children to adults.

    Her belief in Christian universalism -- meaning that all souls would be saved, not just those who believe in the Christian god -- was an underlying theme pinning her works together. It also meant her works were criticized both for their religiosity and her particular faith.

    L'Engel's first book in 1945, The Small Rain, was an adult book about a woman who chose her art over her relationships. Her first book for young adults, And Both Were Young, came out in 1949.

    Her best-known work is A Wrinkle in Time, which came out in 1962 after being rejected by more than two dozen publishers. It wound up as a best seller that won the Newberry Medal for best children's book. It told a tale of four youngsters traveling through time and space while battling a force of evil.

    It's chock full of metaphors and encompasses L'Engle's great themes. Her use of a strong, leading female character was critically praised and unusually for its time. She eventually wrote four more books in the series.

    L'Engle died in 2007. 

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