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Crosswicks Journals #4
Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage
This moving memoir documents a marriage of more than forty years between two gifted people, a long term marriage that was: "full of wonderful things, terrible things, joyous things, grievous things, but ours."
231 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
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3331 people want to read
About the author
Madeleine L'Engle
215 books9,109 followersMadeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 443 reviews
December 2, 2015
Such a beautiful (largely fictional) recollection of the L'Engle-Franklin marriage with wonderful nuggets of marriage-related wisdom to pass along:
* "I learned fairly early in my marriage that I did not have to confide everything on my mind to my husband; this would be putting on him burdens which I was supposed to carry myself." (73)
* "A long-term marriage has to move beyond chemistry to compatibility to friendship, to companionship. It is certainly not that passion disappears, but that it is conjoined with other ways of love." (76)
* "The growth of love is not a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys. I suspect that in every good marriage there are times when love seems to be over. Sometimes these desert lines are simply the only way to the next oasis, which is far more lush and beautiful after the desert crossing than it could possibly have been without it." (100)
* "When I married I opened myself to the possibility of great joy and great pain and I have known both. Hugh's death is like an amputation. But would I be willing to protect myself by having rejected marriage? By having rejected love? No. I wouldn't have missed a minute of it, not any of it." (231)
I have long been a fan of L'Engle's work, and even years after last reading one of her books, I noticed little parts of her own history that she wove throughout her fiction works.
* Canon Tallis (of The Young Unicorns, among others) was a real person and a good friend of her family.
* L'Engle and Franklin took their family on a cross-country camping trip, like the Austins also did in The Moon by Night.
* Adopting a friend's orphaned daughter is a central plotline of Meet the Austins.
* Moving from a country village to New York City is a focus of The Young Unicorns.
* As a girl, L'Engle attended a European boarding school, like Flip in And Both Were Young (which may be my favorite L'Engle book of all).
* The emphasis on swimming was echoed in An Acceptable Time.
* While mentioned only in passing, L'Engle's love of traveling on freighters became the principle setting for Dragons in the Waters (tied for second on my list of favorite L'Engle books--it's tied with Troubling a Star).
* Oh, kything. I never quite believed in this as much as some other fantastical aspects of L'Engle's work, but she does, which I suppose has to be enough for me. A Wind in the Door uses kything as a means of 'love communication.'
* Echthroi, like kything, is a concept I never fully grasped, but the idea pops up in A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet--two books I never quite liked as a child, but they may be due for some adult rereading.
* As I was reading through this, I saw parallels between Hugh's decline and that of the grandfather in A Ring of Endless Light, but I'm not sure the timeline matches up.
On the topic of religion, L'Engle adds a cutting remark, highly applicable for today: "But to certain Christians it is un-Christian to affirm the dignity and worth of human beings." (145)
And finally, some very good rules to live by: "When Lena [teenage granddaughter] moved in, Hugh said, 'There will be rules.' Lena blanched. I said firmly, 'The rules are these. You do not drink up your grandfather's grapefruit juice so that he has none in the morning. Rule two is that when you are going to be late, you telephone. Those are the rules.' She thought she could live with those. Later I added a third one: 'When you empty an ice tray, you refill it.'" (97)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
* "I learned fairly early in my marriage that I did not have to confide everything on my mind to my husband; this would be putting on him burdens which I was supposed to carry myself." (73)
* "A long-term marriage has to move beyond chemistry to compatibility to friendship, to companionship. It is certainly not that passion disappears, but that it is conjoined with other ways of love." (76)
* "The growth of love is not a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys. I suspect that in every good marriage there are times when love seems to be over. Sometimes these desert lines are simply the only way to the next oasis, which is far more lush and beautiful after the desert crossing than it could possibly have been without it." (100)
* "When I married I opened myself to the possibility of great joy and great pain and I have known both. Hugh's death is like an amputation. But would I be willing to protect myself by having rejected marriage? By having rejected love? No. I wouldn't have missed a minute of it, not any of it." (231)
I have long been a fan of L'Engle's work, and even years after last reading one of her books, I noticed little parts of her own history that she wove throughout her fiction works.
* Canon Tallis (of The Young Unicorns, among others) was a real person and a good friend of her family.
* L'Engle and Franklin took their family on a cross-country camping trip, like the Austins also did in The Moon by Night.
* Adopting a friend's orphaned daughter is a central plotline of Meet the Austins.
* Moving from a country village to New York City is a focus of The Young Unicorns.
* As a girl, L'Engle attended a European boarding school, like Flip in And Both Were Young (which may be my favorite L'Engle book of all).
* The emphasis on swimming was echoed in An Acceptable Time.
* While mentioned only in passing, L'Engle's love of traveling on freighters became the principle setting for Dragons in the Waters (tied for second on my list of favorite L'Engle books--it's tied with Troubling a Star).
* Oh, kything. I never quite believed in this as much as some other fantastical aspects of L'Engle's work, but she does, which I suppose has to be enough for me. A Wind in the Door uses kything as a means of 'love communication.'
* Echthroi, like kything, is a concept I never fully grasped, but the idea pops up in A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet--two books I never quite liked as a child, but they may be due for some adult rereading.
* As I was reading through this, I saw parallels between Hugh's decline and that of the grandfather in A Ring of Endless Light, but I'm not sure the timeline matches up.
On the topic of religion, L'Engle adds a cutting remark, highly applicable for today: "But to certain Christians it is un-Christian to affirm the dignity and worth of human beings." (145)
And finally, some very good rules to live by: "When Lena [teenage granddaughter] moved in, Hugh said, 'There will be rules.' Lena blanched. I said firmly, 'The rules are these. You do not drink up your grandfather's grapefruit juice so that he has none in the morning. Rule two is that when you are going to be late, you telephone. Those are the rules.' She thought she could live with those. Later I added a third one: 'When you empty an ice tray, you refill it.'" (97)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
September 27, 2018
This is the last of L'Engle's Crosswick Journals and it is both a fascinating and very sad look at her marriage (and his death) to Hugh Franklin. As I said with her book The Summer of the Great Grandmother, timing is everything. This book also helped me think of my own father's illness in light of his 58 year marriage to my mother. It is good to have books like this to walk us through these universal experiences, especially in a world where we have often disconnected ourselves from the past and the wisdom that comes with it.
May 28, 2024
It took until page sixty-three to finally engage with this final volume in the Crosswicks Journals series. It crossed my mind to possibly count the words "Cherry Orchard" as they seemed to be on repeat during these pages.
I persevered due to being a completist, and this being the final volume and all. Anyhow, I ended up truly appreciating the love story of Madeleine L'Engle's forty year marriage to Hugh Franklin aka Dr. Charles Tyler of All My Children.
These are the lines that touched my heart and moved my soul:
"Love of music, of sunsets and sea; a liking for the same kind of people; political opinions that are not radically divergent; a similar stance as we look at the stars and think of the marvelous strangeness of this universe - these are what build a marriage."
"I remember George MacDonald's writing that it may be infinitely worse to refuse to forgive than to murder, because the latter may be the impulse of a moment of heat, whereas lack of forgiveness is a cold and deliberate choice of the heart."
"When Hugh and I get angry at each other we tend to be explosive, both of us being volatile. But we never nibble or chip."
"If we don't pray according to the needs of the heart, we repress our deepest longings. Our prayers may not be rational, and we may be quite aware of that, but if we repress our needs, then those unsaid prayers will fester."
"The growth of love is not in a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys. I suspect that in every good marriage there are times when love seems to be over. Sometimes these desert lines are simply the only way to the next oasis, which is far more lush and beautiful after a desert crossing than it could possibly have been without it."
"If we are not willing to fail we will never accomplish anything. All creative acts involve the risk of failure."
"Surely the prayers have sustained me, are sustaining me. Perhaps there will be unexpected answers to the prayers, answers I may not even be aware of for years. But they are not wasted. They are not lost. I do not know where they are gone, but I believe that God holds them, hand outstretched to receive them like precious pearls."
I persevered due to being a completist, and this being the final volume and all. Anyhow, I ended up truly appreciating the love story of Madeleine L'Engle's forty year marriage to Hugh Franklin aka Dr. Charles Tyler of All My Children.
These are the lines that touched my heart and moved my soul:
"Love of music, of sunsets and sea; a liking for the same kind of people; political opinions that are not radically divergent; a similar stance as we look at the stars and think of the marvelous strangeness of this universe - these are what build a marriage."
"I remember George MacDonald's writing that it may be infinitely worse to refuse to forgive than to murder, because the latter may be the impulse of a moment of heat, whereas lack of forgiveness is a cold and deliberate choice of the heart."
"When Hugh and I get angry at each other we tend to be explosive, both of us being volatile. But we never nibble or chip."
"If we don't pray according to the needs of the heart, we repress our deepest longings. Our prayers may not be rational, and we may be quite aware of that, but if we repress our needs, then those unsaid prayers will fester."
"The growth of love is not in a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys. I suspect that in every good marriage there are times when love seems to be over. Sometimes these desert lines are simply the only way to the next oasis, which is far more lush and beautiful after a desert crossing than it could possibly have been without it."
"If we are not willing to fail we will never accomplish anything. All creative acts involve the risk of failure."
"Surely the prayers have sustained me, are sustaining me. Perhaps there will be unexpected answers to the prayers, answers I may not even be aware of for years. But they are not wasted. They are not lost. I do not know where they are gone, but I believe that God holds them, hand outstretched to receive them like precious pearls."
November 12, 2016
This memoir is amazing. She wrote this beautiful autobiography of her life and 40 year marriage to Hugh Franklin the summer he was dying of cancer. Her strength, family, faith and writing were all just perfect here and I enjoyed reading about the life she and her husband built together. There is a very good chance I will one day be buying my own copy of this book because there are so many quotes I wanted to highlighted, reminisce and ponder that I couldn't do that with a library copy. I have always been a fan of Madeleine L'Engle's writing, how could you not, but this book made me a fan of her, who she was as a person.
January 22, 2020
A fourth and final autobiographical volume. This one focuses on L’Engle’s 40-year marriage to Hugh Franklin, an actor best known for his role as Dr. Charles Tyler in All My Children between 1970 and 1983 (he also featured in other soap operas, and previously in Broadway productions). In the book’s present day, the summer of 1986, she’s worried about Hugh when his bladder cancer, which starts off seeming treatable, leads to every possible complication and deterioration. Her days are divided between home, work (speaking engagements; teaching workshops at a writers’ conference) and the hospital.
Drifting between past and present, she remembers how she and Hugh met in the 1940s NYC theatre world, their early years of marriage, becoming parents to Josephine and Bion and then, when close friends died suddenly, adopting their goddaughter, and taking on the adventure of renovating Crosswicks farmhouse in Connecticut and temporarily running the local general store. As usual, L’Engle writes beautifully about having faith in a time of uncertainty. (The title refers not just to marriage, but also to Bach pieces that she, a devoted amateur piano player, used for practice.)
A wonderful passage about marriage:
“Our love has been anything but perfect and anything but static. Inevitably there have been times when one of us has outrun the other and has had to wait patiently for the other to catch up. There have been times when we have misunderstood each other, demanded too much of each other, been insensitive to the other’s needs. I do not believe there is any marriage where this does not happen. The growth of love is not a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys. I suspect that in every good marriage there are times when love seems to be over. Sometimes these desert lines are simply the only way to the next oasis, which is far more lush and beautiful after the desert crossing than it could possibly have been without it.”
Other favorite lines:
“I don’t want to be a consumer. Anger consumes. Forest fires consume. Cancer consumes.”
“I do not want ever to be indifferent to the joys and beauties of this life. For through these, as through pain, we are enabled to see purpose in randomness, pattern in chaos. We do not have to understand in order to believe that behind the mystery and the fascination, there is love.”
The other three Crosswicks books are:
A Circle of Quiet, 5*
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, 4*
The Irrational Season, 3*
Drifting between past and present, she remembers how she and Hugh met in the 1940s NYC theatre world, their early years of marriage, becoming parents to Josephine and Bion and then, when close friends died suddenly, adopting their goddaughter, and taking on the adventure of renovating Crosswicks farmhouse in Connecticut and temporarily running the local general store. As usual, L’Engle writes beautifully about having faith in a time of uncertainty. (The title refers not just to marriage, but also to Bach pieces that she, a devoted amateur piano player, used for practice.)
A wonderful passage about marriage:
“Our love has been anything but perfect and anything but static. Inevitably there have been times when one of us has outrun the other and has had to wait patiently for the other to catch up. There have been times when we have misunderstood each other, demanded too much of each other, been insensitive to the other’s needs. I do not believe there is any marriage where this does not happen. The growth of love is not a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys. I suspect that in every good marriage there are times when love seems to be over. Sometimes these desert lines are simply the only way to the next oasis, which is far more lush and beautiful after the desert crossing than it could possibly have been without it.”
Other favorite lines:
“I don’t want to be a consumer. Anger consumes. Forest fires consume. Cancer consumes.”
“I do not want ever to be indifferent to the joys and beauties of this life. For through these, as through pain, we are enabled to see purpose in randomness, pattern in chaos. We do not have to understand in order to believe that behind the mystery and the fascination, there is love.”
The other three Crosswicks books are:
A Circle of Quiet, 5*
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, 4*
The Irrational Season, 3*
Read
December 17, 2023Really loved this-- read it in about a day and a half and was just absolutely charmed and quieted by it (BIG thanks to miss koepke for the rec/lend!!!). Made me think a LOT about the Incarnation, Word made flesh, sacredness of the body, CREATIVE nature of humans, what it means to make art, poetry, what an honor it is to care for others, death & grief, loneliness of love, etc. (Also weirdly connected to some moral theology discussions/also made me think about Hopkins)
This book isn't even necessarily about those things, but her relationship with Hugh and the way she writes about it stirred up a lot of these thoughts.
I don't very often find an author who articulates things in the way that I think I would if I were as gifted with words, but Madeleine L'Engle gets close.
So many quotes but here are some I especially like:
"Our marriage has seemed to settle and develop this year into something much warmer and deeper. It is much more quiet, and I think this is the way it is going to have to go on going. I must continue learning to channel my waters, my wild waters, into gentler ways." [I really really really love depth, warmth, and quietness as descriptors of marriage]
"How can anyone even begin to have an incarnational view of the universe without an incredible leap of the imagination? That God comes for us, every single one of us, so deeply that all power is willing to come to us, to be with us, takes all the imagination with which we have been endowed." [Very interested in the relationship between imagination/art/creating and God made man/the Logos/Incarnation-- not sure I agree with everything she says about the Incarnation throughout the book but she's definitely hitting on some kind of relationship between Incarnation--> imagination --> art?]
"We don't have to understand to know prayer is love, and love is never wasted."
"It does not matter that we cannot fathom this mystery. The only real problem comes when we think that we have. We glimpse it in poetry and song, in revelation and marvel, but it is not to be greedily or arrogantly grasped." [Those glimmers of divinity in art! Also very hopkins!]
"In the evening when he got home from the store, we had Quiet Hour. Anyone was invited who wanted to sit and have serious conversation..." [Quiet Hour is quite possibly one of the greatest/most charming/delightful ideas I've ever heard of and I will be taking it]
This book isn't even necessarily about those things, but her relationship with Hugh and the way she writes about it stirred up a lot of these thoughts.
I don't very often find an author who articulates things in the way that I think I would if I were as gifted with words, but Madeleine L'Engle gets close.
So many quotes but here are some I especially like:
"Our marriage has seemed to settle and develop this year into something much warmer and deeper. It is much more quiet, and I think this is the way it is going to have to go on going. I must continue learning to channel my waters, my wild waters, into gentler ways." [I really really really love depth, warmth, and quietness as descriptors of marriage]
"How can anyone even begin to have an incarnational view of the universe without an incredible leap of the imagination? That God comes for us, every single one of us, so deeply that all power is willing to come to us, to be with us, takes all the imagination with which we have been endowed." [Very interested in the relationship between imagination/art/creating and God made man/the Logos/Incarnation-- not sure I agree with everything she says about the Incarnation throughout the book but she's definitely hitting on some kind of relationship between Incarnation--> imagination --> art?]
"We don't have to understand to know prayer is love, and love is never wasted."
"It does not matter that we cannot fathom this mystery. The only real problem comes when we think that we have. We glimpse it in poetry and song, in revelation and marvel, but it is not to be greedily or arrogantly grasped." [Those glimmers of divinity in art! Also very hopkins!]
"In the evening when he got home from the store, we had Quiet Hour. Anyone was invited who wanted to sit and have serious conversation..." [Quiet Hour is quite possibly one of the greatest/most charming/delightful ideas I've ever heard of and I will be taking it]
May 12, 2010
A lovely, restrained book. Published in 1987 years before the current mania for memoirs. The ones written now are often so whiny, so full of dysfunction, and everything is dissected. But you are used to that, and then you read something like this and you think 'hmmm, I think I like the old fashioned ones a bit better' I thought L'Engle might be a bit strange, b/c when I read A Wrinkle in Time and the series when I was kid, I liked them, but found them a little unsettling. But maybe they aren't that far out--I just don't remember. Maybe I was too young when I read them. In this book, she shares lots of anecdotes of her life with her husband who was an actor in the New York theater. Stories of their early days as a couple, and then she weaves it with what she is going through the summer of writing it--after 40 years of marriage her husband now has cancer and is very ill. As the book continues it gets better and better, she reflects on mortality and the Big Questions. I wished there were more about her writing life, but maybe that is a topic for another book. Still, the book is nourishing, while still unsparing in the sad details of watching her husband suffer. Even as she doesn't understand why, she is somehow able to find a meaning in it and to give a gift of wisdom and grace to the reader.
Some quotes I want to remember:
"In the midst of what we are going through this summer I have to hold on to this, to return to the eternal questions without demanding an answer. The questions worth asking are not answerable. Could we be fascinated by a Maker who was completely explained and understood? The mystery is tremendous, and the fascination that keeps me returning to the questions affirms that they are worth asking, and that any God worth believing in is the God not only of the immensities of the galaxies I rejoice in at night when I walk the dogs, but also the God of love who cares aabout the sufferings of us human beings and is here, with us, for us, in our pain and in our joy."
"We learn to live in the cloud of unknowing, not only the cloud of God's mystery, but the cloud of unknowing what is going to happen from day to day."
"This summer I find reality in the simple things of creation. We have enjoyed food with a special poignancy.... Most nights Bion cooks out on the Weber. A chicken stuffed with lemons that send their moisture throughout the flesh is delicious, served with vegetables from the garden, and a big salad. If it is at all possible we sit out on the terrace to eat, and watch the sunset; the clouds are achingly beautiful. Now at the end of August the night is coming earlier, and we stay to watch the first stars. I am deeply, piercingly rejoicing in the beauty of this gentle New England countryside. Across the fields are the woods and then the ancient hills--from whence cometh my help."
Some quotes I want to remember:
"In the midst of what we are going through this summer I have to hold on to this, to return to the eternal questions without demanding an answer. The questions worth asking are not answerable. Could we be fascinated by a Maker who was completely explained and understood? The mystery is tremendous, and the fascination that keeps me returning to the questions affirms that they are worth asking, and that any God worth believing in is the God not only of the immensities of the galaxies I rejoice in at night when I walk the dogs, but also the God of love who cares aabout the sufferings of us human beings and is here, with us, for us, in our pain and in our joy."
"We learn to live in the cloud of unknowing, not only the cloud of God's mystery, but the cloud of unknowing what is going to happen from day to day."
"This summer I find reality in the simple things of creation. We have enjoyed food with a special poignancy.... Most nights Bion cooks out on the Weber. A chicken stuffed with lemons that send their moisture throughout the flesh is delicious, served with vegetables from the garden, and a big salad. If it is at all possible we sit out on the terrace to eat, and watch the sunset; the clouds are achingly beautiful. Now at the end of August the night is coming earlier, and we stay to watch the first stars. I am deeply, piercingly rejoicing in the beauty of this gentle New England countryside. Across the fields are the woods and then the ancient hills--from whence cometh my help."
October 4, 2015
I don't know if it's a similarity of mind or simply the sheer number of her words that I've read, but Madeleine L'Engle's writing feels like home.
This book is her memoir of her marriage.
"After I had declined to be my Hungarian friend's mistress, I was more than ever convinced that marriage was not going to be part of my pattern. I would write, see friends, write, go to the theatre, write, but ultimately I was going to walk alone." (p42)
"Love of music, of sunsets and sea; a liking for the same kind of people; political opinions that are not radically divergent; a similar stance as we look at the stars and think of the marvelous strangeness of this universe -- these are what build a marriage." (p77)
"Our love has been anything but perfect and anything but static. Inevitably there have been times when one of us has outrun the other and has had to wait patiently for the other to catch up. There have been times when we have misunderstood each other, demanded too much of each other, been insensitive to the other's needs. I do not believe there is any marriage where this does not happen. The growth of love is not a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys. I suspect that in every good marriage there are times when love seems to be over. Sometimes these desert lines are simply the only way to the next oasis, which is far more lush and beautiful after the desert crossing than it could possibly have been without it." (p100)
"If we are not willing to fail we will never accomplish anything. All creative acts involve the risk of failure. Marriage is a terrible risk. So is having children. So is giving a performance in the theatre, or the writing of a book. Whenever something is completed successfully, then we must move on, and that is again to risk failure." (p173)
This book is her memoir of her marriage.
"After I had declined to be my Hungarian friend's mistress, I was more than ever convinced that marriage was not going to be part of my pattern. I would write, see friends, write, go to the theatre, write, but ultimately I was going to walk alone." (p42)
"Love of music, of sunsets and sea; a liking for the same kind of people; political opinions that are not radically divergent; a similar stance as we look at the stars and think of the marvelous strangeness of this universe -- these are what build a marriage." (p77)
"Our love has been anything but perfect and anything but static. Inevitably there have been times when one of us has outrun the other and has had to wait patiently for the other to catch up. There have been times when we have misunderstood each other, demanded too much of each other, been insensitive to the other's needs. I do not believe there is any marriage where this does not happen. The growth of love is not a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys. I suspect that in every good marriage there are times when love seems to be over. Sometimes these desert lines are simply the only way to the next oasis, which is far more lush and beautiful after the desert crossing than it could possibly have been without it." (p100)
"If we are not willing to fail we will never accomplish anything. All creative acts involve the risk of failure. Marriage is a terrible risk. So is having children. So is giving a performance in the theatre, or the writing of a book. Whenever something is completed successfully, then we must move on, and that is again to risk failure." (p173)
July 7, 2012
I've owned this book for several years and read it a couple of times before, but I decided to reread it since Madeleine's (would have been) 90th birthday just passed on Nov. 29. It's still as lovely as ever, and I'm always amazed to reread some of the crazy things that happened in her life. This is a beautiful autobiography of her life and marriage to Hugh Franklin. It's especially meaningful if you've read her works of fiction, as you can often see parallels between her characters and stories and her real life.
June 7, 2020
This book was very moving. It starts with L'Engle and Franklin's personal history, moves through their meeting and courtship, touches lightly on their marriage, and brings us current to the ending when Franklin is found to have cancer and the end of their lives together.
The shame of it is, "L’Engle’s children and grandchildren—who love her deeply, but with a kind of desperate frustration spliced with resentment—revile “Two-Part Invention.” Indeed, L’Engle’s family habitually refer to all her memoirs as “pure fiction,” and, conversely, consider her novels to be the most autobiographical—though to them equally invasive—of her books." per https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
The "pure fiction" view of this book makes me sad. It makes me want to know the real story, but not.
I've come to see the Crosswicks Journals as writing exercises; they're less memoir and more pulling ideas together. We see some events, phrases, even characters show up in her books that are strikingly similar to events in the Journals. This book had Zachary Grey and descriptions of Grandfather from A Ring of Endless Light, in particular.
Don't discount reading it, just be aware that it may or may not be a faithful rendering of the story - and that may matter less than the ideas and the skill on display.
The shame of it is, "L’Engle’s children and grandchildren—who love her deeply, but with a kind of desperate frustration spliced with resentment—revile “Two-Part Invention.” Indeed, L’Engle’s family habitually refer to all her memoirs as “pure fiction,” and, conversely, consider her novels to be the most autobiographical—though to them equally invasive—of her books." per https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
The "pure fiction" view of this book makes me sad. It makes me want to know the real story, but not.
I've come to see the Crosswicks Journals as writing exercises; they're less memoir and more pulling ideas together. We see some events, phrases, even characters show up in her books that are strikingly similar to events in the Journals. This book had Zachary Grey and descriptions of Grandfather from A Ring of Endless Light, in particular.
Don't discount reading it, just be aware that it may or may not be a faithful rendering of the story - and that may matter less than the ideas and the skill on display.
December 16, 2019
My question with this memoir is whether to put it on the fiction or non-fiction bookshelf.
L'Engle was 70 years old when she wrote about her 40-year marriage to Hugh Franklin, an actor best known for his role as Dr. Charles Tyler on All My Children. In the telling of their interesting life together, she includes bits of wisdom on marriage and faith. The second half of the book describing Franklin's cancer diagnosis, treatment and ultimate death is touching. Even so, I had this sense that the true story of their marriage was somewhere between the lines; she painted an altogether too rosy, idyllic relationship picture that didn't ring completely true to me. Only one place does she mention reading back through her journals and remembering "the volatile years of our marriage." In another place she celebrates their fidelity to one another through 40 years despite moving in the New York theater circles where such a thing was not popular or often practiced.
In 2004 a piece on L'Engle called The Storyteller appeared in The New Yorker. Her daughters and son-in-law describe this book as "pure fiction" and "a lovely fairy tale". Her daughter describes her parent's marriage during the 1970s as troubled. Her father took to drinking heavily and had at least two affairs, one of which lasted until his death. L'Engle - 85 years old by this time and living in assisted living - admits her memoirs are idealized. "I can't put disturbing things about people into print."
The book lost a star for its lack of authenticity and honesty, missing the opportunity for others to learn from their mistakes. The harder story to tell is the truth.
L'Engle was 70 years old when she wrote about her 40-year marriage to Hugh Franklin, an actor best known for his role as Dr. Charles Tyler on All My Children. In the telling of their interesting life together, she includes bits of wisdom on marriage and faith. The second half of the book describing Franklin's cancer diagnosis, treatment and ultimate death is touching. Even so, I had this sense that the true story of their marriage was somewhere between the lines; she painted an altogether too rosy, idyllic relationship picture that didn't ring completely true to me. Only one place does she mention reading back through her journals and remembering "the volatile years of our marriage." In another place she celebrates their fidelity to one another through 40 years despite moving in the New York theater circles where such a thing was not popular or often practiced.
In 2004 a piece on L'Engle called The Storyteller appeared in The New Yorker. Her daughters and son-in-law describe this book as "pure fiction" and "a lovely fairy tale". Her daughter describes her parent's marriage during the 1970s as troubled. Her father took to drinking heavily and had at least two affairs, one of which lasted until his death. L'Engle - 85 years old by this time and living in assisted living - admits her memoirs are idealized. "I can't put disturbing things about people into print."
The book lost a star for its lack of authenticity and honesty, missing the opportunity for others to learn from their mistakes. The harder story to tell is the truth.
September 20, 2012
A beautiful, moving tale. In some ways, I almost prefer L'Engle's nonfiction to her fiction. Her peculiar gift, I think, is that she can shape into words what most of the rest of us can only feel through music. That gift shines through brilliantly in all her nonfiction, and in this story especially.
Her insistent repetition of humankind's free will grated on me after a while - but that is a personal pet peeve of mine. After spending most of my lifetime swimming in theological waters, I finally came to the conclusion that all this debate about free will stems from a misunderstanding of the term, of God's sovereignty, and of humanity itself, and now I flinch away whenever I see the phrase thrown about. It frustrated me especially here, since in some ways it seemed utterly unnecessary to L'Engle's view of God, the universe, and suffering.
A very minor (and as I said, personal) nitpick, though, for a book that made me weep and laugh and hope - and that reminded me to thank God for each day I have with my own beloved husband, and to never take his presence for granted.
Her insistent repetition of humankind's free will grated on me after a while - but that is a personal pet peeve of mine. After spending most of my lifetime swimming in theological waters, I finally came to the conclusion that all this debate about free will stems from a misunderstanding of the term, of God's sovereignty, and of humanity itself, and now I flinch away whenever I see the phrase thrown about. It frustrated me especially here, since in some ways it seemed utterly unnecessary to L'Engle's view of God, the universe, and suffering.
A very minor (and as I said, personal) nitpick, though, for a book that made me weep and laugh and hope - and that reminded me to thank God for each day I have with my own beloved husband, and to never take his presence for granted.
May 24, 2007
I must admit a penchant for reading diaries, collections of letters and first person dissections of relationships. Madeleine L'Engle books for adolescents have always appealed to me, for they are not insulting to the intelligence of children. This book is written about her marriage to actor Hugh Franklin. What I found from this book was the knowledge that marriage is hard work, and that its survival requires work. It is, as the title conveys, a two-part invention. How you live your marriage is dependent upon how both parties shape it. Unless you come from generations of people who have been married for a long time, the tribal knowledge of how to make a marriage work is lost to successive generations, and the importance of marriage is devalued when your experience with marriage is that of failure. Success is always possible, but never easy.
January 13, 2022
Of all the Crosswicks Journals, this might be the one I related to the least. Understandable, since it's an internal view of L'Engle's marriage.
I know I've said this before, but there's something timeless about L'Engle's writing. I always forget how long ago she lived, even in the midst of reading about her life. Her voice is so immediate that when she says her mother was born at the end of the Civil War, I'm still like, "Wait, that can't be right."
Of special interest to me was everything she said about the difficulty she had in getting A Wrinkle in Time published, and I was reminded once again of how writers get so much done as they work around everything going on in their lives. How she was preparing for the publication of Many Waters while making daily trips back and forth to the hospital. How writers get anything done, I will never know.
I know I've said this before, but there's something timeless about L'Engle's writing. I always forget how long ago she lived, even in the midst of reading about her life. Her voice is so immediate that when she says her mother was born at the end of the Civil War, I'm still like, "Wait, that can't be right."
Of special interest to me was everything she said about the difficulty she had in getting A Wrinkle in Time published, and I was reminded once again of how writers get so much done as they work around everything going on in their lives. How she was preparing for the publication of Many Waters while making daily trips back and forth to the hospital. How writers get anything done, I will never know.
December 25, 2022
Fascinating memoir. Written so beautifully. Found myself a favorite author. Hard to put into words the enjoyment of meeting a kindred spirit who walks you through her thoughts and tender moments of her life and marriage. Gives one quite a perspective.
December 24, 2019
It was hard reading this book after having read the 2004 New Yorker article which basically said that L’Engle’s memoirs bare faint relationship with the truth. I think the truth is there between the lines, she admits there were difficult times, that marriage is work, and that the relationship does not remain static. But there are bald-faced lies as well, and that’s too bad. I’ve always felt that at least for her childhood the early books like “A Small Rain” convey the hole that was at the center of her life - those parents who didn’t really seem to need a child.
The last part of the book was a slog. Hugh has cancer. Each treatment brings hope and then a setback. Not an unusual story. But it went on and on. I should have felt sad, but instead, I just felt bored and was counting pages for the book to end.
In any event, I didn’t find this story nearly as interesting as her other memoirs. There was a lot of listing of events, without actually fleshing out the (famous) people who were present. There were a lot of very quotable quotes about marriage. (See other reviews here on Goodreads.) My favorite quote was this one, just because it is so weird. Her husband, Hugh, is already frail, and they have traveled to China on a speaking tour. She says, “I did not voice my fear or write about them in my journal, because that would have given them a reality I desperately desired to avoid.” I think this story of her marriage is the same. She could not write about the real marriage. It’s too bad.
The last part of the book was a slog. Hugh has cancer. Each treatment brings hope and then a setback. Not an unusual story. But it went on and on. I should have felt sad, but instead, I just felt bored and was counting pages for the book to end.
In any event, I didn’t find this story nearly as interesting as her other memoirs. There was a lot of listing of events, without actually fleshing out the (famous) people who were present. There were a lot of very quotable quotes about marriage. (See other reviews here on Goodreads.) My favorite quote was this one, just because it is so weird. Her husband, Hugh, is already frail, and they have traveled to China on a speaking tour. She says, “I did not voice my fear or write about them in my journal, because that would have given them a reality I desperately desired to avoid.” I think this story of her marriage is the same. She could not write about the real marriage. It’s too bad.
October 13, 2023
My first read, the completion of the Crosswicks Journals, was in 2018 in the weeks leading up to our wedding. Anticipation and emotions were high. I cherished her reflections on their own marriage and its ending by death. It was a grounding voice for me in that way.
My second read (listen) through the Crosswicks Journals was completed after being married over 5 years, and with 3 children. Certain thoughts hit different, and certain comments landed in new ways. I love that about revisiting books in different periods of life.
My second read (listen) through the Crosswicks Journals was completed after being married over 5 years, and with 3 children. Certain thoughts hit different, and certain comments landed in new ways. I love that about revisiting books in different periods of life.
January 23, 2010
A heart-breaking, heart-felt look at love and life. L'Engle meditates on her youth, how she met her husband, and their life together. Themes of love, faith, death, beauty, and spirituality are discussed in her elegant yet simple and loving style.
November 24, 2020
This is the kind of book that quiets your mind, clears it for thinking. L'Engle is very good at that kind of book.
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December 5, 2024Right before finishing this book I saw another review which described this memoir as “largely fictional” and linked this article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
Honestly it was a very upsetting read and counter-arguments could be made about how equally or more invasive to the family and the readers it was to “set the record straight” on fact vs. fiction.
Much is made in the article and in L’Engle’s books about truth that isn’t fact but is still truth and the lack of real difference between nonfiction and fiction. I stand on this paradox and finishing out the book, I found myself more and more convinced that it IS true.
Her descriptions of her experience losing her husband was cathartic to me in the same way The Summer of Great-Grandmother was in processing grief over my grandmother. And fact-checking included, I find myself with better considerations on writing from life. I would hope that like Madeline L’Engle I’m able to write graciously if not strictly factually about those I love.
Honestly it was a very upsetting read and counter-arguments could be made about how equally or more invasive to the family and the readers it was to “set the record straight” on fact vs. fiction.
Much is made in the article and in L’Engle’s books about truth that isn’t fact but is still truth and the lack of real difference between nonfiction and fiction. I stand on this paradox and finishing out the book, I found myself more and more convinced that it IS true.
Her descriptions of her experience losing her husband was cathartic to me in the same way The Summer of Great-Grandmother was in processing grief over my grandmother. And fact-checking included, I find myself with better considerations on writing from life. I would hope that like Madeline L’Engle I’m able to write graciously if not strictly factually about those I love.
April 22, 2023
This is lovely, but also truth-adjacent.
L'Engle writes movingly about her long marriage, and even when you know that a lot of what she writes is not exactly as it happened, it's still a lovely meditation on what it means to be the partner of another person. But some of it is also haunting, because this is a lovely tribute to a life with a man who had more than one not-very-secret long-term affair (something the book never mentions). So is L'Engle, writing after the death of her husband, writing about how she truly felt her marriage was, despite the facts in evidence? Writing a version of what she wished things could have been? I suspect it's somewhere in the middle.
L'Engle writes movingly about her long marriage, and even when you know that a lot of what she writes is not exactly as it happened, it's still a lovely meditation on what it means to be the partner of another person. But some of it is also haunting, because this is a lovely tribute to a life with a man who had more than one not-very-secret long-term affair (something the book never mentions). So is L'Engle, writing after the death of her husband, writing about how she truly felt her marriage was, despite the facts in evidence? Writing a version of what she wished things could have been? I suspect it's somewhere in the middle.
January 7, 2022
Originally published in 1988, this book caught my attention many years ago. First, I was intrigued when I was the story editor at Miramax Films and was working on the film script adaptation of Ms. L’Engle’s children’s masterpiece, A Wrinkle In Time. Secondly, because I had been an actress on the soap opera, All My Children, and had worked with Ms. L’Engle’s husband, Hugh Franklin. This beautiful memoir (part of a series called The Crosswicks Journal, named for the tiny corner of Connecticut where she and her husband raised their children and ran a store) details the ebbs and flows of a marriage. L’Engle and Franklin lived their lives both in and out of the public eye, but she recounts their marriage in a candid and tender way that most people who have been married for more than a short while will recognize.
June 19, 2022
This book was simple in its elegance and quieted my mind in a contemplative way. This autobiographical look at her marriage and life was full of emotion and candor. I know I’ll be returning to highlighted passages again and again.
“𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”
“𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”
March 30, 2025
I love a good memoir. This one was a pleasant, gentle bedtime read for me.
April 27, 2025
There will be tears.
March 6, 2024
A beautiful, moving memoir. I feel like I’ve met a kindred spirit in L’Engle’s non-fiction…I love her observations, her sensibilities, her disposition.
July 11, 2025
L'Engle scores again in the memoir department. A beautiful work about her marriage and the powerful implications when both partners honor "til death do us part". While her children may have considered this book an embellishment of reality, there is still much to be learned from a woman who loved one man for so long. A woman who honored her husband's memory and spoke well of him in his absence. It makes sense to me that her grief manifested as a romanticized look at the past - don't we all do that when we lose someone we deeply love?And in true Madeleine-style, she connects her memories with beliefs and postulations about the nature of God and the universe. No one can say it quite like Madeleine. "At night I go upstairs to a bed that is generations older than my marriage, a high four-poster bed in which Hugh and I have made love, and in which others before us have made love for more than two centuries. There is a good feeling to the bed, as there is to the house. Life has been lived in it fully. There are no residual auras of anger or frustration, but a sense of the ordinary problems of living worked out with love and laughter."
February 23, 2011
I loved this book. This is my second time reading it - which is unusual for me- I usually read new things rather than go back to old favorites- but my book club was looking for a book about love for February. A friend (Trea West) recommended it to me when I got married and gave me a gift card to a book store so I searched it out. It's the kind of book where you want to write down pertinent quotes to inspire and help you when you need it later. This is an example: "I will have nothing to do with a God who cares only occasionally. I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the highest heights. It is when things go wrong, when good things do not happen, when our prayers seem to have been lost, that God is most present. We do not need the sheltering wings when things go smoothly. We are closest to God in the darkness, stumbling along blindly." — Madeleine L'Engle
March 28, 2016
A touching autobiographical account of Madeleine L'Engle's marriage, from beginning to painful end. I couldn't read the last 50 pages without a box of Kleenex handy. Her philosophy of life (portrayed in A Wrinkle In Time and the companion books) is fleshed out in this book. She discusses her faith in God, her philosophy of child-raising, and her gratitude for a community that rallies around her in hard times. If you want to ponder the meaning of marriage in the grand scheme of things, I would highly recommend this book.
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November 30, 2015I enjoyed this book much. A glimpse into the life and marriage of L'Engle has given me great perspective on life. She is a very engaging writer and I often felt her emotions -- joy and grief alike. I most especially enjoyed her habit of collecting sayings and phrases throughout the years. These show up throughout the narrative. Indeed, she draws much from her reading, writing, and plain living, weaving them into the story of her marriage.
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