And Both Were Young

And Both Were Young is a novel by Madeleine L'Engle. It tells the story of a girl at boarding school in Switzerland and the relationship she develops with a boy she meets there.

Plot summary

Flip doesn't think she'll ever fit in at the Swiss boarding school. Besides being homesick for her father and Connecticut, she isn't sophisticated like the other girls, and discussions about boys leave her tongue-tied. Her happiest times are spent apart from the others, sketching or wandering in the mountains.

But the day she's out walking alone and meets a French boy, Paul, things change for Flip. As their relationship grows, so does her self-confidence. Despite her newfound happiness, there are times when Paul seems a stranger to her. And since dating is forbidden except to seniors, their romance must remain a secret. With so many new feelings and obstacles to overcome in her present, can Flip help Paul to confront his troubled past and find a future?

(Source: Madeline L'Engle Online) And Both Were Young is distinctive among L'Engle's works because she restored some of the original story decades after its original publication. Her first editor softened the relationship between Flip's father and Eunice Jackman. The introduction to the later edition details the changes both at the time and why the author felt it worthwhile to restore her original intent. Philippa Hunter also makes an offstage appearance in A Severed Wasp when one of her paintings becomes a plot point.

Main characters

~ Philippa "Flip" Hunter- A young girl who is being sent to boarding school against her will because of Eunice Jackman
~ Paul Laurens- A French boy who has no memory of his past
~ Mademoiselle Dragonet- Flip's boarding school superintendent
~ Madame Perceval- One of Flip's teachers, and also Paul's aunt
~ Philip Hunter- Flip's frequently absent father
~ Eunice Jackman- A gorgeous widow who is, as Flip says, "lusting after her father"

~ Erna- Erna is one of Flip's friend at the school. Erna believes that her mother doesn't like her and wants to be with Jackie's mom.

External links

• And Both Were Young, work profile at LibraryThing