Two-Part Invention : The Story of a Marriage

YA-- Those who have enjoyed L'Engle's fiction or who have followed her husband Hugh Franklin's character of Dr. Charles Tyler on All My Children should enjoy reading about their real - life marriage. L'Engle shares many moments from their early life in the New York theater and publishing circles. In addition, she tells about their early marriage and family life at their Connecticut farmhouse. A large portion of the book details Franklin's death from cancer in 1987. During this trying period their great love and L'Engle's strong Christian faith are both centerpieces of her story. Like L'Engle's other nonfiction works, this one demonstrates an easy conversational style and an expert prose technique.
- Carolyn Praytor Boyd, Episcopal High School, Bellaire, Tex.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Since her debut with The Small Rain in 1945, L'Engle has continued to write critically acclaimed books for adults and young readers, including a Newbery Medal-winner, A Wrinkle in Time. But this story of her marriage surpasses her best work so far. Starting with accounts of her childhood, she describes her life as a young woman in Manhattan, attracted to the theater and landing a job as an understudy touring with Eva Le Gallienne and Hugh Franklin. L'Engle and Franklin married in 1946, creating a bond that was broken ony by his death 40 years later. As Franklin's roles (with the Lunts, Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, etc.) kept him absent frequently, there were problems, especially when they became parents. Yet most crises were viewed in perspective, especially when the couple gathered with children, grandchildren and friends at Crosswick, the old house in Connecticut that remains L'Engle's "icon." As expected, she writes beautifully here, sharing funny, exuberant and trying moments of the "two-part invention." Reading the book is a profound spiritual experience.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

L'Engle's memoir is aptly titled, for in it she skillfully weaves past and present, integrating her background, courtship, and marriage to actor Hugh Franklin with an account of his six-month battle with cancer. Though she was already an established novelist when she met Franklin, her focus is on their 40-year marriage, strained at times by the pressures of raising children and pursuing two active careers but full of joy and devotion. Yet despite its inspirational, uplifting tone, this is a disturbing book; for medicine's newest advances, together with loving, supporting care, can do nothing to halt Franklin's rapid deterioration. Readers will be deeply moved by his wife's struggles to understand and cope, drawing strength from family, friends, and religion.Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.