12/02/2015
From writer Clare Gomez Edington: "Hey my writer friends look at her story. After years of having her writing rejected by publishers, L'Engle decided to give up writing on her 40th birthday. She later admitted that she was failed to do so and continued to work on her stories subconsciously. A Wrinkle in Time was rejected nearly thirty times before being published. In discussing the reasons for its rejection, L'Engle wrote that "A Wrinkle in Time had a female protagonist in a science fiction book" which was very unusual."
Today in Mighty Girl history, Madeleine L'Engle -- author of such children's classics as the “A Wrinkle In Time” Quintet -- was born in 1918. After years of having her writing rejected by publishers, L'Engle decided to give up writing on her 40th birthday. She later admitted that she was failed to do so and continued to work on her stories subconsciously. Shortly after her birthday, during a cross-country camping trip, she had the idea for what would become her most famous novel, "A Wrinkle in Time." After finishing the novel the following year, it was rejected nearly thirty times before being published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1962.
In discussing the reasons for its rejection, L'Engle wrote that "A Wrinkle in Time had a female protagonist in a science fiction book" which was very unusual. Moreover, many publishers likely found the book to be "too different... because it deals overtly with the problem of evil, and it was really difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adults' book, anyhow?" After its initial publication, the novel has been continuously in print and it is often cited as one of the most beloved children's books of all times. L'Engle ultimately wrote four sequels to "A Wrinkle in Time," including "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" for which she won a National Book Award.
In describing the appeal of writing for children, L'Engle once said: "The child will come to it with an open mind, whereas many adults come closed to an open book. This is one reason so many writers turn to fantasy (which children claim as their own) when they have something important and difficult to say."
If you'd like to introduce a new generation to these classic stories, the entire Wrinkle in Time Quintet is available in a beautifully illustrated box set at http://www.amightygirl.com/the-wrinkle-in-time-quintet-box-set
"A Wrinkle in Time" has also been adapted into an excellent graphic novel, for ages 10 and up, at http://www.amightygirl.com/a-wrinkle-in-time-the-graphic-novel
For a wonderful t-shirt for teens and adults featuring artwork from the first edition 1962 cover of "A Wrinkle in Time," visit http://www.amightygirl.com/a-wrinkle-in-time-t-shirt
For more Mighty Girl stories that have been popular for generations, check out our blog posts: "Beloved Books: Twenty Mighty Girl Classics" for girl-empowering classics published prior to 1950 (http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10440) and "Beloved Books, Part 2: Twenty Mighty Girl Modern Classics" for ones published between the 1950s and 1980s (http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10458).
