Characters

• Meg Murry: The 13-year-old protagonist, an intelligent but stubborn and insecure girl who goes on a journey across the universe to rescue her father.
• Charles Wallace Murry: Meg's extraordinarily gifted 5-year-old brother who has telepathic abilities. He is vulnerable to the mind control of IT.
• Calvin O'Keefe: A popular 14-year-old boy who joins Meg and Charles Wallace on their quest. He has a gift for communication.
• Dr. Alex Murry: Meg and Charles Wallace's father, a physicist who disappears while working on a secret government project involving tesseracts.
• Dr. Kate Murry: Meg and Charles Wallace's mother, a scientist who continues her work while waiting for her husband's return.
• Mrs. Whatsit: A celestial being disguised as an eccentric old woman who guides the children on their journey.
• Mrs. Who: Another celestial guide who speaks mostly in quotations from famous thinkers and writers.
• Mrs. Which: The eldest and most powerful of the three celestial guides.
• IT: The evil, disembodied brain that controls the planet Camazotz and tries to ensnare Charles Wallace.
• The Man with Red Eyes: IT's main puppet on Camazotz who attempts to hypnotize the children.
• Aunt Beast: A gentle, tentacled creature on the planet Ixchel who cares for Meg after she is injured.

Quick facts

• A Wrinkle in Time was rejected by at least 26 publishers before finally being published in 1962.
• Madeleine L'Engle wrote the book in about a year, finishing it in 1960.
• The story was partly inspired by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
• L'Engle came up with the names Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which while on a family road trip.
• L'Engle based the Murray family on her own family experiences.
• The book popularized the scientific concept of a “tesseract” as a way to travel through space and time.
• A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in L'Engle's Time Quintet series.
• The novel was first adapted for the screen in 2003 as a made-for-TV movie.
• In 2018, A Wrinkle in Time was adapted by Disney as a major film, directed by Ava DuVernay and starring Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon.
• The novel has faced several challenges and attempted bans in American schools and libraries for its mature themes and unorthodox perspective on Christianity.
• A Wrinkle in Time won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 1963.

About the author

Madeleine L'Engle is an American author best known for her young adult novel A Wrinkle in Time. Born in 1918 in New York City, L'Engle had a passion for writing from a young age, though she struggled academically. She attended boarding school in Switzerland and South Carolina before studying English at Smith College.

After graduating in 1941, L'Engle moved to New York City to pursue a career in theater and writing. There she met actor Hugh Franklin, whom she married in 1946. The couple later moved to rural Connecticut, where they raised their three children. During this time, L'Engle continued writing while also running a general store and serving as a church choir director.

L'Engle's breakout success came in 1962 with the publication of A Wrinkle in Time, which won the prestigious Newbery Medal. The novel blended science fiction, fantasy, and Christian themes, all hallmarks of L'Engle's writing. She went on to pen dozens of books for children and adults, including sequels to A Wrinkle in Time and memoirs about her life and faith.

A devout Episcopalian, L'Engle often explored spiritual themes in her work. She served for many years as the librarian and writer-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. L'Engle received numerous honors for her contributions to literature, including the National Humanities Medal in 2004. She died in 2007 at the age of 88.