The Joys of Love

The Joys of Love
by Madeleine L'Engle

The Joys of Love
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Book Summary Information

Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2008-04-29
ISBN: 0374338701
Number of pages: 272
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Book Reviews of The Joys of Love

Book Review: old but true
Summary: 5 Stars

The story takes place in 1946, over 4 days in the life of Elizabeth Jerrold while she is working summer stock. Elizabeth is a recent college graduate who knows she wants to devote her life to the theater. She loves the theater and the people she has met there, especially Kurt Canitz, an older director. Life seems perfect and the summer unending.
Than Aunt Harriet calls and states that she will not pay Elizabeth's tuition to stay at the summer stock anymore. Elizabeth must scramble to find a way to squeak out one more week of summer stock so she can see her favorite actress, Valborg Andersen, perform. And what about Kurt?
M's L'Engle's story is dated, as some of the other critics have said. But it's still well written and a good read. It was fun to learn about what goes on in summer stock - the various classes, the practices and the people. I really enjoyed this book even though it's not of the same caliber as the "Wrinkle in Time" quartet. I recommend this book highly for all who are interested in seeing how summer stock works as well as those who want a good read.

Summary of The Joys of Love

During the summer of 1946, twenty-year-old Elizabeth is doing what she has dreamed of since she was a little girl: working in the theatre. Elizabeth is passionate about her work and determined to learn all she can at the summer theatre company on the sea where she is an apprentice actress. She’s never felt so alive. And soon she finds another passion: Kurt Canitz, the dashing young director of the company, and the first man Elizabeth’s ever kissed who has really meant something to her. Then Elizabeth’s perfect summer is profoundly shaken when Kurt turns out not to be the kind of man she thought he was.

Moving and romantic, this coming-of-age story was written during the 1940s. As revealed in an introduction by the author’s granddaughter L?na Roy, the protagonist Elizabeth is close to an autobiographical portrait of L’Engle herself as a young woman—“vibrant, vulnerable, and yearning for love and all that life has to offer.”


During the summer of 1946, twenty-year-old Elizabeth is doing what she has dreamed of since she was a little girl: working in the theatre. Elizabeth is passionate about her work and determined to learn all she can at the summer theatre company on the sea where she is an apprentice actress. She’s never felt so alive. And soon she finds another passion: Kurt Canitz, the dashing young director of the company, and the first man Elizabeth’s ever kissed who has really meant something to her. Then Elizabeth’s perfect summer is profoundly shaken when Kurt turns out not to be the kind of man she thought he was.

Moving and romantic, this coming-of-age story was written during the 1940s. As revealed in an introduction by the author’s granddaughter L?na Roy, the protagonist Elizabeth is close to an autobiographical portrait of L’Engle herself as a young woman—“vibrant, vulnerable, and yearning for love and all that life has to offer.”

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