And Both Were Young

This is the title to a Madeleine L'Engle book I just finished today.  I haven't read a book of hers since I was 14.  I remember getting introduced to her Wrinkle in Time series in sixth grade.   It was different to me in many ways.  How many sci-fi books could you find with a female protagonist?  Most books I read then featured a club of babysitters or twins at a high school.  Not only had her books touched me, her name did as well.  I thought the spelling of her name was so beautiful that I was determined then to spell my future daughter's name that way.

With that in mind, I came across a title I was unaware of in a used book store and paged through it.  It was her forward that got my attention.  Portions of her book that had been removed when originally published in 1949 were restored in her 1983 edition.  What sold me was the main character Phillipa Hunter experiences mirrored her own.  There is something I find most interesting when a fictional writer intertwines their personal experiences into their stories in obvious ways.  That is why Vilette by Charlotte Bronte is one of my favorites as well as L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon series.  It is interesting to note how interconnected these three writers are.  L.M. Montgomery was inspired by Charlotte Bronte and Madeleine L'Engle was inspired by L.M. Montgomery.  I found an interesting quote from L'Engle on this topic:

"The books I read most as a child were by Lucy Maud Montgomery, who’s best known for her Anne of Green Gables stories, but I also liked Emily of New Moon. Emily was an only child, as I was. Emily lived on an island, as did I. Although Manhattan Island and Prince Edward Island are not very much alike, they are still islands. Emily’s father was dying of bad lungs, and so was mine. Emily had some dreadful relatives, and so did I. She had a hard time in school, and she also understood that there’s more to life than just the things that can be explained by encyclopedias and facts. Facts alone are not adequate. I love Emily." 

I couldn't help but see a pattern in my choice of authors.  So it was no surprise I loved And Both Were Young on many levels.  I can't help but identify with the awkward creative female character.  So was the case, when Philippa starts boarding school in Switzerland and has a hard time making friends.  Her only joy comes from Paul, a shy isolated only child teen with a mysterious past.  As Philippa (Flip for short) gets out of her comfort zone, she discovers how other girls in her school feel as isolated as she does in terms of family relationships.  This is a constant thread throughout:  The more she knows she needs to stand on her own two feet, the more she needs the comfort from a mother recently deceased and an absent but loving father.  What I found facinating about this was how these teenage characters craved a warm loving mother.  Can you imagine teenagers talking so openly about that today?  Is that even a necessity they would consider?  It's a necessity today more than ever. 

It is a must read for L'Engle fans or anyone that has become interested in her work since her passing a month ago.  I discovered on Amazon how many other non sci-fi books she had published and can't wait to read her autobiographical book Two Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage.