book data
606 ratings,
4.18
average rating, 71 reviews
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published
October 18th 1989
(first published 1988)
by HarperSanFrancisco
binding
Paperback, 240 pages
isbn
0062505017
(isbn13: 9780062505019)
description
The story of a marriage of true minds and spirits--a brilliant writer's tribute to lasting love. "A vivid and touching chronicle."--Chicago ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 852)
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avg 4.18
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in March, 2008
I loved this book. Ms. L'Engle is a wonderful writer and storyteller. She left me with some wisdoms that I really needed to hear right now. I've always thought of her as someone out of my league. I really only knew her as the writer of one of my favorite childhood books, A Wrinkle in Time. Her name intimidated me, mainly because I had no idea how to say it. But reading this memoir showed me a warm, funny, very real person who I wished I could have had as a friend. I hope you enjoy it as m...more
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Read in October, 2005
recommends it for:
marital crossroads
I must admit a penchant for reading diaries, collections of letters and first person dissections of relationships. Madeleine L'Engle books for adolescents have always appealed to me, for they are not insulting to the intelligence of children. This book is written about her marriage to actor Hugh Franklin. What I found from this book was the knowledge that marriage is hard work, and that its survival requires work. It is, as the title conveys, a two-part invention. How you live your marriage ...more
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Read in January, 2004
I've owned this book for several years and read it a couple of times before, but I decided to reread it since Madeleine's (would have been) 90th birthday just passed on Nov. 29. It's still as lovely as ever, and I'm always amazed to reread some of the crazy things that happened in her life. This is a beautiful autobiography of her life and marriage to Hugh Franklin. It's especially meaningful if you've read her works of fiction, as you can often see parallels between her characters and storie...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
Those coming to grips with the death of a loved one
This mnemoir was recommended to me by a close friend who felt I would apprecaite the contents. Though I know Madeline E'ngle from A WRINKLE in TIME, this book provided a fun, somber, and sincere look at her courtship, marriage family life, and the illness and death of her husband Hugh. At first I thought the author somewhat " full of herself " ( Maybe we all are when we fall in love.) Later I was moved by her devotion to her family and husband and the quiet, spiritual way in which ...more
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recommends it for:
Gerry, Leslie
I loved this view of marriage by a female author...she deals frankly with the conflict between needing her autonomy as an artist and needing collaboration and connection with her spouse. L'Engle is frank and witty, her prose sprinkled with beautiful images of her wild childhood in NYC and her life in the country with her spouse. A nice balance between story-telling and truth-telling.
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Read in July, 2007
This is the first of Madeleine L'Engle that I've read. I randomly picked from the list on the library website and dove in. After completing it, I think it was probably an odd one to start with. It's the beautiful story of Madeleine and Hugh's marriage and ends with Madeleine's grief. It was a fast read and L'Engle is now definitely on my list to read.
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Read in April, 2007
As a girl, I read A Wrinkle In Time and a Wind at the Door. As an adult thinking about getting married, I got to know a new side of Madeline L'Engle's writing and I learned a thing or two about her marriage.
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Read in July, 2008
One thing I love about M L'E is that I feel I get substance but I can still read her quickly--very much enjoyed her look at her marriage, particularly in the face of her husband's death from cancer.
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I love how Madeleine L'Engles shares with us the story of her beautiful marriage in this book. She is a very real person and though she lived and associated with famous people, she lead a life that we can relate to. I found the first chapters of her book just a little slow, but once I got past them I was totally drawn in and learned so much from her experiences and her complete devotion to her husband. She is such a wise woman, someone who has figured out how to get the most out of life, some...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
any woman writer who isn't published and is struggling with it
I am re-reading Madeleine L'Engle's memoir "Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage." There are few books I will re-read, especially since I finished this book last week, but this is more than a memoir, more than a tribute to her dying love. This is the story of a writer's passion fueling everyday life, and I find comfort in her frustration.
At one point she writes,
I was struggling to write, to keep house, help in the store, be a good mother, and yet improve...more
At one point she writes,
I was struggling to write, to keep house, help in the store, be a good mother, and yet improve...more
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Read in February, 2008
Madeleine L'Engle and her husband lived the era of my grandparents to the fullest. Both artists and what I might call "staunch" Americans (when that term used to denote a very specific set of values and goals) through World War II and the Cold War, their story seems old-fashioned to a reader in the 21st century. Yet the interiority of their marriage and their family life, which L'Engle shares in great detail with almost no self-consciousness but rather just a slight circumspection as a...more
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Read in December, 1990
As mentioned in a previous review, ML'E is an author I consider to be a major life influence.
Either the Christmas before or after we were married, my husband gave me this book, since it is 'The Story Of A Marriage'. It is also the story of her husband's illness & death. I sobbed my way through about 3/4 of the story, to the point where he apologized for giving it to me.
Still, I recommend this book heartily- it has certainly influenced how I view & value my marriage.
Either the Christmas before or after we were married, my husband gave me this book, since it is 'The Story Of A Marriage'. It is also the story of her husband's illness & death. I sobbed my way through about 3/4 of the story, to the point where he apologized for giving it to me.
Still, I recommend this book heartily- it has certainly influenced how I view & value my marriage.
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Read in April, 2009
I really enjoyed this memoir of the author's marriage, which cut between the early days of courtship and marriage and her husband's final illness. She has a very calm, tranquil style of writing, even when conveying deep emotions, that I found moving. I was interested in her description of her early married life, when she and her husband worked in the theater, although I also found it a little funny when she would say, offhand, something like, then I got a little job working in Eva La Galliene's ...more
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Read in April, 2009
I just reread this book, maybe for the third time? Madeleine L'Engle has long been one of my favorite authors. I think I read almost everything she wrote when I was in high school and early 20's. My only disappointment in this book is when I went online to read the New Yorker profile that was written of her several years ago. It forces one to see her memoir more as fiction than autobiography. I'm not sure I needed my bubble burst.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
L'Engle Lovers, Engaged People
I picked this up during my annual library book sale raid. Being a L'Engle fan, I was curious about this book which I had not heard of previously. I was not expecting an autobiographical tale, so I was hesitant when I figured that bit out.
It is a little strange to read about the very private life of someone whom you admire for creating so many fantastical fictional worlds. Sort of like when you listen to a public radio show for a long time, and then you see or meet the host. Is she...more
It is a little strange to read about the very private life of someone whom you admire for creating so many fantastical fictional worlds. Sort of like when you listen to a public radio show for a long time, and then you see or meet the host. Is she...more
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This is a really good book that tells the author's story of how she met her husband and there married life, and then how she watches her husband slowly die of cancer. It is a wonderful love story that shows all the realities of marriage and parenthood, and what it would be like to watch the one you fell in love with die. I really liked it.
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MY FAVORITE AUTHOR and probably one of my most favorite of her books. I havent read this book in a long time but at one point I had read and re-read it 2-3 times, with plenty of highlighted passages. I strive her insight/wisdom and the words to express to express it as she does.
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Read in May, 2009
What a perceptive account of the realities of marriage, parenting, career, and life! I found myself nodding in agreement to so many of her assessments about the bittersweet realities of her life. Please do not be dissauded from reading this title if L'engle is not your amongst your favorite authors. This is not her typical fantasty/sci fi work. Rather, it more of a commerative analysis of her journey through life in some of the most sacrosanct aspects of her relationships. This was a highly...more
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Read in November, 2006
Book four of Madeleine L'Engle's memoirs. This one particularly about her marriage to Hugh Franklin, a famous soap opera star of the time. Lovely book on love and marriage. I must read the others now. (Author of the children's book, A Wrinkle in Time).
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
couples, young and old, who want to have a long marriage
A beautiful book that reminded me so much of the enduring marriages that I have witnessed in my own life. Sometimes it is hard to believe that people can actually "make it," that they can be faithful to each other and build a lifetime of memories together based on mutual respect and affection for each other, but L'Engle makes it seem possible. This is actually the first book I've ever read by her (sad, but true), and I truly appreciate her honesty and simple style in this book. Her a...more
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quotes from this book
"We do learn and develop when we are exposed to those who are greater than we are. Perhaps this is the chief way we mature."
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