Granddaughter Charlotte on Madeleine and Story
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“Some of my earliest memories are of resting comfortably on my grandmother’s lap, absorbed in the stories she told. I grew up on those stories — both “made up” stories and “true” stories about family, passed down from her mother and father and grandparents — and now understand that they were my first exposure to the various ways people live and love and make their way in the world. Her stories grew from her own exploration of a problem or conflict or question present in her own life. At the time I had no idea her explorations served larger audiences. She described her classic novel, A Wrinkle in Time, as her way of reconciling the pain and suffering in the world with her faith in a loving creator.”
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Charlotte Jones Voiklis is Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter and executor of her estate. She is a lead producer of the musical adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time. She is also the co-author with Jennifer Adams of A Book, Too, Can Be a Star (October 2022), a picture book biography illustrated by Adelina Lirius; and, with her sister, Léna Roy, of Becoming Madeleine (2018), a biography for middle grade readers.
She wrote the afterword to the 50th Anniversary edition of A Wrinkle in Time, and the introduction to The Moment of Tenderness (2020), a collection of short stories. Charlotte has also written and spoken extensively about her grandmother’s work to a variety of audiences.
With a PhD in Comparative Literature, Charlotte’s professional experience spans teaching, fundraising, communications, and grant making. She has also volunteered as a mediator in the New York City court system, and coached police officers on mediation skills. Charlotte lives in New York and Connecticut with her husband and has two grown children.