From the 1976 Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition of Dragons in the Waters by Madeleine L’Engle: Readers of Madeleine L’Engle’s novel The Arm of the Starfish will recall Poly and Charles O’Keefe and their amateur detective friend, Canon Tallis. In Dragons in the Waters, the O’Keefes are traveling with their scientist father by freighter to Savannah, Georgia, to Venezuela.

Among their fellow passengers are Simon Renier, who quickly becomes their friend, and his enigmatic cousin Forsyth Phair, who with Simon is returning a family heirloom to Venezuela — a portrait of Simon Bolivar. When Forsyth Phair is murdered and the portrait stolen, all the passengers and crew become suspect. Read More→

From the 1972 Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition of A Circle of Quiet (The Crosswicks Journals) by Madeleine L’Engle: The title of Madeleine L’Engle’s book comes from the text itself:

“Every so often I need out — away from all of these people I love most in the world — in order to regain a sense of proportion. My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings … there I move slowly into a kind of peace that is indeed marvelous, ‘annihilating all that’s made to a green thought in a green shade.’”

This book is the attempt of a gifted woman to define and explore the meaning of her life, a life which, like many women today, is complex —that of wife, mother of three children, grandmother of two, teacher, frequent public speaker, practicing Christian, and writer who has published seventeen books. Read More→

From the 1965 Farrar, Straus, Giroux edition of The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L’Engle: Young Adam Eddington, a brilliant student specializing in marine biology, secures a summer job as assistant to the world famous Dr. O’Keefe, who’s laboratory is situated on Gaea, a small island off the coast of Portugal.

Before the plane takes of from Kennedy International Airport, Adam makes the acquaintance of Caroline Cutter, an attractive girl whose father has business interests in Portugal. Read More→

An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1989) is the last of the sci-fi series of  books featuring Polyhymnia O’Keefe (known as Poly in The Arm of the Starfish and Dragons in the Water, and Polly in A House Like a Lotus and this book).

Poly’s parents are Meg Murry and Calvin O’Keefe, from the series that began with A Wrinkle in Time.

From the 1989 Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition of An Acceptable Time: When Polly O’Keefe visits her grandparents in Connecticut, she plans a quiet fall, filled with study and frequent forays to the star-watching rock. Read More→

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle (1980) is the fourth book in the series about the fictional the Austin family. It followed Meet the Austins, The Moon by Night, and The Young Unicorns. It’s the story of Vicky Austin, who discovers an ability to communicate with dolphins while at the same time struggling with the illness and death of a beloved grandfather.

In 2002, The Disney Channel presented an adaptation of the novel, but it was considered less successful, as it avoided some of the serious themes that L’Engle explored.

A review of the film by Laura Fries in Variety stated that “Writers Marita Giovanni and Bruce Graham take the poignant and thought-provoking notions of life and death found in the Madeline L’Engle teen novel and turn it into Gidget meets Flipper drivel…” Read More→