Guest Blog Post: “This particular copy”
By RuthAnn Deveney
When I was a senior in high school, a friend in my English class told me, “I found something at a yard sale over the weekend, and I got it for you. You like Madeleine L’Engle, right?”
The question was more of a formality than out of necessity; in my circle of nerds, it was common knowledge that I was working my way through the Madeleine L’Engle shelf in the fiction section of my school’s library. It was common to see me reach into my over-the-shoulder messenger bag (it was the early 2000’s) and haul out a huge, library-bound copy of whatever novel I was working through.
“Yes!” I said. “She’s my favorite author.”
My friend pulled a book out of her messenger bag (they were in style then!) and presented it to me. It was a hardcover copy of A Swiftly Tilting Planet with simple, minimal cover art. I had already read and re-read the Dell Yearling editions, and I was partial to that cover art. Where was Charles Wallace’s blue anorak? Where were the people he went Within? And why would I need another copy?
At that point in my life, I had never considered having multiple copies of books. It would just take up precious bookshelf space, and at my house, that real estate was at a premium. More importantly, I felt strongly that books in a series should match. Nevertheless, it was a gift, and you never look a gift book in the mouth, or the cover, or whatever.
“Thanks! What do I owe you?”
My friend shrugged. “It was fifty cents,” she said. “You can get me an ice cream sometime if you want.”
Good deal! I started to stow it away in my bag, but my friend interrupted me, saying, “Wait! Look at this!”
She took the book back, flipped a couple of pages, and showed me what she was looking for.
A signed title page. Madeleine L’Engle had signed this book at one point, and my friend found it at a yard sale for fifty cents! And bought it for me!
I shrieked and basically tackled my friend right there in the classroom. Since then, I’ve realized that this copy was a former library copy, and there’s an old pocket in the back for due date cards. Plus, Gaudior is embossed on the cloth cover. Years later, this particular copy is one of my prized possessions, and I’ve moved it with me from bedroom to dorm room to summer housing to apartment to house. And I’ve gotten over the fact that it doesn’t match any of the other Madeleine books I own.
RuthAnn Deveney works in corporate learning and development and loves walking around her small town of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. She lives there with her husband, dog, and a huge
collection of Madeleine L’Engle books, including her most prized volume: a signed copy of A Swiftly Tilting Planet, which a friend gave to her in high school after finding it at a yard sale for fifty cents! You can read more Madeleine musings at RuthAnn’s blog or follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
This piece was originally published on RuthAnn’s blog. Do you have something you’d like us to share with our blog readers? We are taking submissions for guest blog posts. Email: social [at] madeleinelengle [dot] com
