Madeleine L’Engle in her “Tower,” her writing room above the garage where she wrote A Wrinkle in Time, circa 1959.

A Tour of the Tower, Part Two by J. Thomas Allison   Given an empty space the size of a two car garage, sloping walls with headroom of 7 feet, Herb Gubelman worked his creative magic. When you ducked so you wouldn’t hit your head, you found yourself in a most comfortable room.  On your  […]

A Tour of the Tower, Part One   by J. Tomas Allison   Every writer needs a designated sanctuary separate from the hurly burley. For Madeleine in Goshen it had been the old pantry as I described in the previous blog. When the family moved back to New York, she found that sanctuary …literally…in the […]

Dear ones, At long last, my colleague Sophfronia Scott and I are pleased to announce that registration is now open for MADELEINE MORNINGS, three virtual mini writing retreats on select Saturdays in 2021-2022! Inspired by Madeleine L’Engle, these retreats are designed to spark insight, foster connections, deepen your reading, and lend structure to your writing […]

by J. Thomas Allison The Franklin household in early 1950s also included a toddler girl and a boy on the way. Finding a time to write might have been a problem, but not for Madeleine. The old farmhouse had an ample pantry with three sides off the north wall of the old kitchen. Its shelves […]

Goshen General Store ca 1950

by J. Thomas Allison I grew up next door to the Franklin family from 1952 until 1978.  Hugh and Madeleine bought their house, Crosswicks, the year my parents bought acreage north of them. My parents had also looked at the 1750-ish house he Franklins ended up purchasing. They decided against it in favor of a […]