The Murry family books deal with two generations of the family. The first generation appears in A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters. The second generation appears in The Arm of the Starfish Dragons in the Waters, and A House Like a Lotus. Poly and Charles O'Keefe appear in these last three books, and Poly is the main character of the final one, in which she, like Simon, must confront the pain of a fallen idol and learn the redeeming value of love. The Austin family books also contain some of the same characters and themes that appear in the Murry series.

L'Engle explores her philosophical and religious beliefs in the three autobiographical "Crosswicks Journals": A Circle of Quiet (1972), The Summer ofthe Great Grandmother (1974), and The Irrational Season (1977). Originally an agnostic, L'Engle traces her doubts about the...