Madeleine Camp L'Engle was born on November 29, 1918, in New York City. The only child of a foreign correspondent, L'Engle early on developed strong interests in reading, drawing, and writing. As a result of her father's poor health, the family eventually moved from New York City to Switzerland, and L'Engle attended a series of boarding schools in the United States and Europe.

L'Engle graduated with honors from Smith College in 1941 and pursued a career in the theater, believing that it would help prepare her to be a writer.

While working in the theater she met her husband, actor Hugh Franklin, whom she married in 1946. When Franklin decided to give up the stage the couple moved to Connecticut, where they ran a general store and raised three children, Josephine, Maria, and Bion.

During this time L'Engle wrote three novels, but initially could publish none of them...