L'Engle, Madeleine (1918–2007). A small archive of early plays and poems, circa 1941–1966. Five typescripts, comprising four plays and one collection of verse. 8½ x 11 in. Mostly carbon copies and mimeographs, some with typed or holograph emendations. Individually bound in cardboard folders, generally rather worn. Housed in a single archival case, 0.25 linear feet.

A compelling collection of early works by L’Engle, all of which are unpublished, including three plays from the start of her career and a fine collection of poems, personal, liturgical and playful. The collection comprises the following manuscripts:

1. The Education of Lise. [circa 1941-46]. 108 pages. Carbon bound in a blue cardstock folder, with title and “copy 2” in the author’s hand on cover. With her handwritten address (32 W 10^th St.)

2. I Saw My Sweetheart. [circa 1941-46]. 111 pages. Carbon typescript with holograph corrections bound in black cardstock folder, with title in the author’s hand on cover. With her address (32 W 10^th St.)

3. If This Be Error / Ilse Sinclair. [circa 1941-46] 96 pages plus inserts. Carbon typescript with holograph corrections throughout. One insert is typed on stationery bearing the address 27 West Ninth Street. In a cardstock folder. In 1942 L'Engle registered the copyright for a work titled Ilsa Sinclair, but it is unclear whether that is for this play or for the novel she would publish as Ilsa (1946).

4. The Play of Jonah and the Beasts [Circa late 1950s to 1960s?]. 27 pages. Typed mimeograph. “L’Engle” in pencil on first page; cigarette burn to bottom margin. Stapled sheets.

5. Verses. [Circa 1966]. About 80 pages, possibly mimeographed. In a stained and worn cardstock folder titled on the cover. Several poems are dated, none later than 1966.

The author in 1945 (madeleinelengle.com)

Following her graduation from Smith College in 1941, Madeleine L’Engle Camp moved to New York City to pursue a career as an actress and a playwright. In 1946 she would marry the actor Hugh Franklin and set writing aside for a few years to focus on raising their young family. The first three plays in this archive date from this period, and explore the autobiographical themes that L’Engle would focus on in her first three novels, The Small Rain (1945), Ilsa (1946) and Camilla Dickinson (1951). In 1951 she moved to Goshen Connecticut and found little time for writing. But with the breakout success of A Wrinkle in Time (1962), everything changed. The family moved back to New York City, where her husband landed recurring roles on television, and L’Engle found the Episcopal Church and a deeper vocation.

The author in 1975 (madeleinelengle.com)

The latter two manuscripts in the archive date from this period – a play probably from the late 1950s or early 1960s centered on the prophet Jonah, and a substantial collection of poems probably from the late 1960s or early 1970s. The poetry is loosely organized according to the liturgical calendar – Advent, Epiphany, Holy Week, Pentecost, Trinitytide, Christmas. Also included are poems celebrating such sacramental occasions as childbirth, matrimony, and Holy Communion. The volume closes with a series of very amusing poems about fantastic beasts, including gorgons, sea monsters and unicorns. Many of these verses were published in Lines scribbled on an envelope (1969) and The ordering of love (2005), but we note a range of textual variants and several compositions that do not appear to have been published anywhere, including most notably the nine-page poem Enos. 

One of the unpublished poems in Verses

An excellent gathering of fugitive work by this much loved author, offering ample opportunities for research and publication.