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Published Apr 2020
304 pages
Genre: Short Stories
Publication Information
From the beloved author of A Wrinkle in Time comes a deeply personal, genre-bending short story collection that transcends generational divides and reminds readers that hope, above all, can transform suffering into the promise of joy.
This powerful collection of short stories traces an emotional arc inspired by Madeleine L'Engle's early life and career, from her lonely childhood in New York to her life as a mother in small-town Connecticut. In a selection of eighteen stories discovered by one of L'Engle's granddaughters, we see how L'Engle's personal experiences and abiding faith informed the creation of her many cherished works.
Some of these stories have never been published; others were refashioned into scenes for her novels and memoirs. Almost all were written in the 1940s and '50s, from Madeleine's college years until just before the publication of A Wrinkle in Time.
From realism to science-fiction to fantasy, there is something for everyone in this magical collection.
"Gemlike ... A luminous collection that mines the mundane as cannily as the fantastic and extraterrestrial." - Kirkus (starred review)
"Unswerving throughout is L'Engle's mastery of mood-setting language and her depiction of the complexity of human relationships...The book will obviously attract L'Engle aficionados, but the thoughtful selection and organization recommends the volume to anyone curious about a writer's evolution." - Publishers Weekly
"L'Engle's stories are softly tragic with sparkles of hope and a sincere faith, told in a simple and earnest voice ... [these stories] will spark the interest of the approximately one bazillion fans of L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time." - Booklist
"Few fantasy writers had as indelible an influence on a certain tribe of bookish, introverted, curious children during the 20th century as the great L'Engle ... for fans of L'Engle, [these stories] allow us a window into her process of writing fantasy, which she called the 'one and only language in the world that cuts across all barriers of time, place, race, and culture.'" - The Millions, Most Anticipated: The Great First-Half 2020 Book Preview
This information about The Moment of Tenderness was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Madeleine L'Engle published her first novel, The Small Rain, in 1945. Four years later, she published her first children's book, And Both Were Young. Her Newbery-award winning novel A Wrinkle in Time, which was published in 1962, dealt with themes she toyed with in her diaries for years, from personal shortcomings to Einstein's Theory of Relativity. L'Engle wrote fiction and nonfiction for adults, as well as poetry. She died in 2007.
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