An Acceptable Time
Encyclopedia
An Acceptable Time is a 1989 young adult science fiction
novel by Madeleine L'Engle
, the last of her books to feature Polyhymnia O'Keefe, better known as Poly (The Arm of the Starfish
, Dragons in the Waters
) or Polly (A House Like a Lotus
, An Acceptable Time),. Marketed as part of the author's Time Quintet (the other four volumes of which are called the Time Quartet
), An Acceptable Time connects Polly's adventures with those of her parents, Meg Murry
and Calvin O'Keefe
, which take place a generation earlier. The book's title is taken from Psalm 69:13, "But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable time."
Plot Summary
Happy to be away from her large family for a while, Polly O'Keefe
is spending the autumn with her maternal grandparents, Dr. Kate Murry and Dr. Alex Murry, getting a better education from them in science than she would have received at home. Soon, however, surprising things start to happen, including the unexpected arrival of Zachary Gray
, a charming but troubled college student whom Polly met in Greece
and dated on Cyprus
the year before (in A House Like a Lotus).
Then, while walking near her grandparents' Connecticut
home, Polly meets druid
s Karralys and Anaral and a warrior named Tav, all of whom lived in the area some three thousand years ago. She soon learns that she is not the first person from her time to meet the Murrys' Pre-Columbian
neighbors. Bishop Nason Colubra, the brother of a family friend, Dr. Louise Colubra, has been investigating the hieroglyphs
found on rocks in nearby, relics of Karralys' time. In doing so, he has also come into repeated contact with Anaral's tribe, the People of the Wind (a tribe that previously appeared in A Swiftly Tilting Planet). The retired bishop is initially reluctant to discuss this, having been met with his sister's skepticism
in previous attempts. However, he feels responsible for exposing Polly to the potential dangers of a tesseract
of intersecting periods of time.
The Murrys and the Colubras try to protect Polly from being drawn into the past, but although she tries to obey their restrictions on her movements, she continues to encounter Anaral and the others. Karralys and Tav formerly lived in ancient Britain, but have since crossed the ocean and made their home with the People of the Wind. On Samhain
, Polly feels a compulsion to visit the Murrys' indoor swimming pool
, the modern location of a site considered sacred by Karralys and Anaral. Polly is suddenly transported to the past, where she learns that Tav wants to offer Polly in blood sacrifice in order to avert a drought. Already the People Across the Lake are conducting raids due to the privations of drought, and Tav wants to protect his adopted people. Karralys sends Polly home.
Zachary, however, is intrigued when he learns that the odd people he has seen are from the ancient past. His heart, previously seen as damaged by rheumatic fever
in the Austin family novel The Moon by Night
, is now so weak that he does not expect to live much longer. On the slight possibility that the solution to his problem lies with the ancient druids, Zach rashly leads Polly back to the star-watching rock, a place where Polly found herself in the past once before. Polly and Zach are drawn through a time gate and trapped in ancient Connecticut, with neither the Murrys nor Louise Colubra there to help Polly out of a potentially fatal situation. Tav soon changes his mind about whether his goddess wants Polly to be sacrificed. Her primary danger is not from the People of the Wind, but from their neighbors across the lake, where the drought is more severe.
The People Across the Lake conduct another raid, and leave behind two of their injured members as they withdraw. One of them, Klep, is expected to be his tribe's future leader. He develops an attachment to his healer, Anaral, and learns from Polly the concept of love. The other injured man, Brown Earth, persuades Zachary to cross the lake with him during the night. Tynak, the current leader of the People Across the Lake, promises to let the tribe's medicine man
heal Zachary's heart if he helps bring Polly to them. Zach agrees. He participates in another raid, with Polly's capture as the goal. Polly tries to convince Zach that the People Across the Lake intend to sacrifice
her for her blood, but he refuses to admit this. Polly escapes, but returns for Zachary's sake. Ultimately, Polly's spirit of self-sacrifice and love, accompanied by the timely return of rain on her captors' side of the lake, wins out as a better way to interact with the Divine than an offering of death. The two tribes agree to unite and help each other. Zachary repents his betrayal of Polly, and his heart is physically healed (at least in part) before they return to their own time. When they return Polly tells Zachary they shouldn't see each other any more.
, the first book in the Time Quartet
, but were not initially given first names. A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door
and A Swiftly Tilting Planet
are primarily about Polly's mother, Meg Murry (later Meg Murry O'Keefe) in her teen years and young adulthood, and about Meg's brother Charles Wallace Murry
. The other volume in the Time Quartet
, Many Waters
, is about Polly's other uncles on her mother's side, Sandy and Dennys Murry
. Together with the four books in which Polly appears, they are known as the Murry-O'Keefe books.
Crossover characters Canon Tallis
(who was responsible for Polly's unusual first name), Zachary Gray
, and Adam Eddington
(who met "Poly" in The Arm of the Starfish
) connect the Polly O'Keefe books to Madeleine L'Engle's series about the Austin family. In An Acceptable Time, Zachary makes specific reference to his desertion of Vicky Austin
at the end of A Ring of Endless Light
.
An Acceptable Time is the continuation and culmination of both the Time Quartet
and the O'Keefe series (The Arm of the Starfish, Dragons in the Waters and A House Like a Lotus), with references to many places and events from previous books. Alex Murry's interest in the space/time continuum, which led to the events of A Wrinkle in Time, is revisited in depth here. Kate Murry comments on her daughter Meg having had too low an opinion of herself, as seen in A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door; Kate's research in subcellular biology, a major component of A Wind in the Door, is also mentioned repeatedly. The snake Louise the Larger and her human counterpart, Dr. Louise Colubra, both introduced in A Wind in the Door, return in An Acceptable Time. Sandy Murry is quoted as having said that "some things have to be believed to be seen", a lesson he learned in Many Waters. There is also a reference to Kate Murry's lab being twice tampered with in the beginning of the book, clearly referencing the actions of Sandy and Dennys of "Many Waters", although the Murrys attribute the break-in to some "local kids". Last but not least, Polly's experience with the People of the Wind is consistent with Charles Wallace's interactions with the same tribe in A Swiftly Tilting Planet.
As for Polly's own past adventures, she refers repeatedly to Gaea, her home in The Arm of the Starfish
, and mentions the Quiztano people from Dragons in the Waters
. An Acceptable Time takes place about six months after Polly's trip to Greece
and Cyprus
in A House Like a Lotus
. In the interim, her friend Max has died. and Polly is still grieving. It is implied that one of the reasons she has left fictional Benne Seed Island to study with her grandparents is that Max's death has left her with painful memories of her island home.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her young-adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time...
, the last of her books to feature Polyhymnia O'Keefe, better known as Poly (The Arm of the Starfish
The Arm of the Starfish
The Arm of the Starfish is a young adult novel by Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1965. It is the first novel featuring Polly O'Keefe and the O'Keefe family, a generation after the events of A Wrinkle in Time...
, Dragons in the Waters
Dragons in the Waters
Dragons in the Waters is a 1976 young adult murder mystery by Madeleine L'Engle, the second title to feature her character Polly O'Keefe. Its protagonist is thirteen-year-old Simon Bolivar Quentin Phair Renier, an impoverished orphan from an aristocratic Southern family...
) or Polly (A House Like a Lotus
A House Like a Lotus
A House Like a Lotus is a 1984 young adult novel by Madeleine L'Engle. Its protagonist is sixteen-year-old Polly O'Keefe, whose friend and mentor, Maximiliana Horne, has sent her on a trip to Greece and Cyprus. As she travels, Polly must come to terms with a recent traumatic event involving Max...
, An Acceptable Time),. Marketed as part of the author's Time Quintet (the other four volumes of which are called the Time Quartet
Time Quartet
The Time Quartet/Quintet is a fantasy/science fiction series of five young adult novels written by Madeleine L'Engle.Those novels are:*A Wrinkle in Time , , ISBN 0-374-38613-7*A Wind in the Door , ISBN 0-374-38443-6...
), An Acceptable Time connects Polly's adventures with those of her parents, Meg Murry
Meg Murry
Margaret "Meg" Murry O'Keefe is the main character and main protagonist in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet of Science fantasy novels, the daughter of two scientists, the sister of twins Sandy and Dennys Murry and telepath Charles Wallace Murry, and the mother of Polly O'Keefe and others in the...
and Calvin O'Keefe
Calvin O'Keefe
Calvin O'Keefe is a major character in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet series of books, and, as "Dr. Calvin O'Keefe", an important character in her O'Keefe series of young adult novels. In an interview released on the DVD of the TV adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, L'Engle describes Calvin as "the...
, which take place a generation earlier. The book's title is taken from Psalm 69:13, "But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable time."
Plot Summary
Happy to be away from her large family for a while, Polly O'Keefe
Polly O'Keefe
Polyhymnia O'Keefe is the protagonist of the Madeleine L'Engle novels A House Like a Lotus and An Acceptable Time, and a major character in two previous books, The Arm of the Starfish and Dragons in the Waters. The eldest daughter of Meg Murry O'Keefe and Dr...
is spending the autumn with her maternal grandparents, Dr. Kate Murry and Dr. Alex Murry, getting a better education from them in science than she would have received at home. Soon, however, surprising things start to happen, including the unexpected arrival of Zachary Gray
Zachary Gray
Zachary Gray is a fictional character in the young adult novels of Madeleine L'Engle...
, a charming but troubled college student whom Polly met in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and dated on Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
the year before (in A House Like a Lotus).
Then, while walking near her grandparents' Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
home, Polly meets druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s Karralys and Anaral and a warrior named Tav, all of whom lived in the area some three thousand years ago. She soon learns that she is not the first person from her time to meet the Murrys' Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
neighbors. Bishop Nason Colubra, the brother of a family friend, Dr. Louise Colubra, has been investigating the hieroglyphs
Logogram
A logogram, or logograph, is a grapheme which represents a word or a morpheme . This stands in contrast to phonograms, which represent phonemes or combinations of phonemes, and determinatives, which mark semantic categories.Logograms are often commonly known also as "ideograms"...
found on rocks in nearby, relics of Karralys' time. In doing so, he has also come into repeated contact with Anaral's tribe, the People of the Wind (a tribe that previously appeared in A Swiftly Tilting Planet). The retired bishop is initially reluctant to discuss this, having been met with his sister's skepticism
Skepticism
Skepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
in previous attempts. However, he feels responsible for exposing Polly to the potential dangers of a tesseract
Tesseract
In geometry, the tesseract, also called an 8-cell or regular octachoron or cubic prism, is the four-dimensional analog of the cube. The tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of 6 square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of 8...
of intersecting periods of time.
The Murrys and the Colubras try to protect Polly from being drawn into the past, but although she tries to obey their restrictions on her movements, she continues to encounter Anaral and the others. Karralys and Tav formerly lived in ancient Britain, but have since crossed the ocean and made their home with the People of the Wind. On Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
, Polly feels a compulsion to visit the Murrys' indoor swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, the modern location of a site considered sacred by Karralys and Anaral. Polly is suddenly transported to the past, where she learns that Tav wants to offer Polly in blood sacrifice in order to avert a drought. Already the People Across the Lake are conducting raids due to the privations of drought, and Tav wants to protect his adopted people. Karralys sends Polly home.
Zachary, however, is intrigued when he learns that the odd people he has seen are from the ancient past. His heart, previously seen as damaged by rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...
in the Austin family novel The Moon by Night
The Moon by Night
The Moon by Night is the title of a young adult novel by Madeleine L'Engle. Published in 1963, it is the second novel about Vicky Austin and her family, taking place between the events of Meet the Austins and The Young Unicorns , and more or less concurrently with the O'Keefe family novel The...
, is now so weak that he does not expect to live much longer. On the slight possibility that the solution to his problem lies with the ancient druids, Zach rashly leads Polly back to the star-watching rock, a place where Polly found herself in the past once before. Polly and Zach are drawn through a time gate and trapped in ancient Connecticut, with neither the Murrys nor Louise Colubra there to help Polly out of a potentially fatal situation. Tav soon changes his mind about whether his goddess wants Polly to be sacrificed. Her primary danger is not from the People of the Wind, but from their neighbors across the lake, where the drought is more severe.
The People Across the Lake conduct another raid, and leave behind two of their injured members as they withdraw. One of them, Klep, is expected to be his tribe's future leader. He develops an attachment to his healer, Anaral, and learns from Polly the concept of love. The other injured man, Brown Earth, persuades Zachary to cross the lake with him during the night. Tynak, the current leader of the People Across the Lake, promises to let the tribe's medicine man
Medicine man
"Medicine man" or "Medicine woman" are English terms used to describe traditional healers and spiritual leaders among Native American and other indigenous or aboriginal peoples...
heal Zachary's heart if he helps bring Polly to them. Zach agrees. He participates in another raid, with Polly's capture as the goal. Polly tries to convince Zach that the People Across the Lake intend to sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
her for her blood, but he refuses to admit this. Polly escapes, but returns for Zachary's sake. Ultimately, Polly's spirit of self-sacrifice and love, accompanied by the timely return of rain on her captors' side of the lake, wins out as a better way to interact with the Divine than an offering of death. The two tribes agree to unite and help each other. Zachary repents his betrayal of Polly, and his heart is physically healed (at least in part) before they return to their own time. When they return Polly tells Zachary they shouldn't see each other any more.
Major characters
- Alexander Murry — an astrophysicist in the employ of the Federal government of the United States in earlier books, he appears to be semi-retired (or at least self-employed) in An Acceptable Time. His theories about the tesseractTesseractIn geometry, the tesseract, also called an 8-cell or regular octachoron or cubic prism, is the four-dimensional analog of the cube. The tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of 6 square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of 8...
and "tessering", first seen in A Wrinkle in Time, continue to be his life's work. He suffers from arthritis and sometimes rides a tractor on the family's farm land. He is Polly's grandfather.
- Katherine Murry — a microbiologist and Nobel laureate, Polly's grandmother works from the lab located at her rural home. Although she has an electron microscopeElectron microscopeAn electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses a beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and produce a magnified image. Electron microscopes have a greater resolving power than a light-powered optical microscope, because electrons have wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than...
, her work in recent years consists primarily of thought experimentThought experimentA thought experiment or Gedankenexperiment considers some hypothesis, theory, or principle for the purpose of thinking through its consequences...
s.
- Polly O'KeefePolly O'KeefePolyhymnia O'Keefe is the protagonist of the Madeleine L'Engle novels A House Like a Lotus and An Acceptable Time, and a major character in two previous books, The Arm of the Starfish and Dragons in the Waters. The eldest daughter of Meg Murry O'Keefe and Dr...
— The eldest child of Meg MurryMeg MurryMargaret "Meg" Murry O'Keefe is the main character and main protagonist in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet of Science fantasy novels, the daughter of two scientists, the sister of twins Sandy and Dennys Murry and telepath Charles Wallace Murry, and the mother of Polly O'Keefe and others in the...
and Calvin O'KeefeCalvin O'KeefeCalvin O'Keefe is a major character in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet series of books, and, as "Dr. Calvin O'Keefe", an important character in her O'Keefe series of young adult novels. In an interview released on the DVD of the TV adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, L'Engle describes Calvin as "the...
, Polly was named Polyhymnia by her eccentric godfather, Canon Tallis, but uses the name Polly in later books (and Poly in earlier ones). PolyhymniaPolyhymniaPolyhymnia , was in Greek mythology the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn and eloquence as well as agriculture and pantomime. She is depicted as very serious, pensive and meditative, and often holding a finger to her mouth, dressed in a long cloak and veil and resting her elbow on a pillar...
is the name of one of the Greek museMuseThe Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
s. Tall, thin and red-haired like her father, Polly has only recently become attractive to adolescent boys. She speaks a number of languages, and her facility for learning them enables her to learn OgamOghamOgham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...
well enough to communicate with the ancient tribes.
- Dr. Louise Colubra — The Murry family doctor and a close friend of the family, she lost her husband many years ago and never remarried. Louise the Larger, a telepathic snake, was named for her. She consulted with Dr. Kate Murry about Charles Wallace's "mitochondritis" in A Wind in the Door, but is generally adverse to fantastical explanations for events around her. Sister of retired Bishop Nason Colubra
- Bishop Nason Colubra — Louise's brother, a retired bishop and amateur archaeologist, he studies Ogam artifacts and is the first character to encounter the time-traveling druids of the People of the Wind, sometime prior to the start of the novel. He is the third of L'Engle's characters to be based on a real person, in this case David SomervilleDavid SomervilleDavid Somerville is a Scottish judoka.-Achievements:-References:* on JudoInside.com...
, the retired archbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
- Zachary GrayZachary GrayZachary Gray is a fictional character in the young adult novels of Madeleine L'Engle...
— An on-again, off-again student, Zach is interning in a law office at the beginning of An Acceptable Time. His boss there is interested in Ogam writing and Zach learns enough of this language to communicate somewhat with the People of the Wind and the People Across the Lake. Zachary grew up with an abundance of money and freedom but little love or stability, and vacillates between his desires for redemption and self-destruction. As of An Acceptable Time, his desire for self-preservation in the face of serious heart disease overrides all other considerations. Charming, exciting, unpredictable and emotionally needy, Zach brings out the best in Polly, but she cannot save him from himself.
Series notes
Polly's grandparents, Kate and Alex Murry, were first introduced in A Wrinkle in TimeA Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel by Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1962. The story revolves around a young girl whose father, a government scientist, has gone missing after working on a mysterious project called a tesseract. The book won a Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and...
, the first book in the Time Quartet
Time Quartet
The Time Quartet/Quintet is a fantasy/science fiction series of five young adult novels written by Madeleine L'Engle.Those novels are:*A Wrinkle in Time , , ISBN 0-374-38613-7*A Wind in the Door , ISBN 0-374-38443-6...
, but were not initially given first names. A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door
A Wind in the Door
A Wind in the Door is a young adult science fantasy novel by Madeleine L'Engle. It is a companion book to A Wrinkle in Time, and part of the Time Quartet .-Plot summary:...
and A Swiftly Tilting Planet
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
A Swiftly Tilting Planet is a 1978 science fiction novel by Madeleine L'Engle, part of the Time Quartet. In it, Charles Wallace Murry, an advanced and perceptive child in A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door, has grown into adolescence...
are primarily about Polly's mother, Meg Murry (later Meg Murry O'Keefe) in her teen years and young adulthood, and about Meg's brother Charles Wallace Murry
Charles Wallace Murry
Charles Wallace Murry is a major character in Madeleine L'Engle's young adult science fiction novels A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet, sometimes referred to as the Time Trilogy...
. The other volume in the Time Quartet
Time Quartet
The Time Quartet/Quintet is a fantasy/science fiction series of five young adult novels written by Madeleine L'Engle.Those novels are:*A Wrinkle in Time , , ISBN 0-374-38613-7*A Wind in the Door , ISBN 0-374-38443-6...
, Many Waters
Many Waters
Many Waters is a 1986 novel by Madeleine L'Engle, part of the author's Time Quartet . The title is taken from the Song of Solomon 8:7: "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it...
, is about Polly's other uncles on her mother's side, Sandy and Dennys Murry
Sandy and Dennys Murry
Alexander "Sandy" Murry and Dennys Murry are fictional identical twins in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet. They play only minor roles in three of the books but are the protagonists of Many Waters...
. Together with the four books in which Polly appears, they are known as the Murry-O'Keefe books.
Crossover characters Canon Tallis
Canon Tallis
Canon John Tallis is a major character in the young adult novels of Madeleine L'Engle, appearing in four books. The character is based on L'Engle's real-life spiritual advisor, Canon Edward Nason West of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City....
(who was responsible for Polly's unusual first name), Zachary Gray
Zachary Gray
Zachary Gray is a fictional character in the young adult novels of Madeleine L'Engle...
, and Adam Eddington
Adam Eddington
Adam Eddington III is a major character in three young adult novels by Madeleine L'Engle. A marine biology student, he is the protagonist of The Arm of the Starfish , and a reluctant love interest for Vicky Austin in A Ring of Endless Light , a relationship that continues in Troubling a Star...
(who met "Poly" in The Arm of the Starfish
The Arm of the Starfish
The Arm of the Starfish is a young adult novel by Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1965. It is the first novel featuring Polly O'Keefe and the O'Keefe family, a generation after the events of A Wrinkle in Time...
) connect the Polly O'Keefe books to Madeleine L'Engle's series about the Austin family. In An Acceptable Time, Zachary makes specific reference to his desertion of Vicky Austin
Vicky Austin
Victoria "Vicky" Austin is one of Madeleine L'Engle's most frequently-used fictional characters, appearing in eight books and referred to in at least one more. She is the main protagonist of the Austin family series of books...
at the end of A Ring of Endless Light
A Ring of Endless Light
A Ring of Endless Light is a 1980 novel by Madeleine L'Engle. The book tells of a girl named Vicky and her struggle to understand life and significance in the universe as she deals with her dying grandfather, while at the same time finding love....
.
An Acceptable Time is the continuation and culmination of both the Time Quartet
Time Quartet
The Time Quartet/Quintet is a fantasy/science fiction series of five young adult novels written by Madeleine L'Engle.Those novels are:*A Wrinkle in Time , , ISBN 0-374-38613-7*A Wind in the Door , ISBN 0-374-38443-6...
and the O'Keefe series (The Arm of the Starfish, Dragons in the Waters and A House Like a Lotus), with references to many places and events from previous books. Alex Murry's interest in the space/time continuum, which led to the events of A Wrinkle in Time, is revisited in depth here. Kate Murry comments on her daughter Meg having had too low an opinion of herself, as seen in A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door; Kate's research in subcellular biology, a major component of A Wind in the Door, is also mentioned repeatedly. The snake Louise the Larger and her human counterpart, Dr. Louise Colubra, both introduced in A Wind in the Door, return in An Acceptable Time. Sandy Murry is quoted as having said that "some things have to be believed to be seen", a lesson he learned in Many Waters. There is also a reference to Kate Murry's lab being twice tampered with in the beginning of the book, clearly referencing the actions of Sandy and Dennys of "Many Waters", although the Murrys attribute the break-in to some "local kids". Last but not least, Polly's experience with the People of the Wind is consistent with Charles Wallace's interactions with the same tribe in A Swiftly Tilting Planet.
As for Polly's own past adventures, she refers repeatedly to Gaea, her home in The Arm of the Starfish
The Arm of the Starfish
The Arm of the Starfish is a young adult novel by Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1965. It is the first novel featuring Polly O'Keefe and the O'Keefe family, a generation after the events of A Wrinkle in Time...
, and mentions the Quiztano people from Dragons in the Waters
Dragons in the Waters
Dragons in the Waters is a 1976 young adult murder mystery by Madeleine L'Engle, the second title to feature her character Polly O'Keefe. Its protagonist is thirteen-year-old Simon Bolivar Quentin Phair Renier, an impoverished orphan from an aristocratic Southern family...
. An Acceptable Time takes place about six months after Polly's trip to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
in A House Like a Lotus
A House Like a Lotus
A House Like a Lotus is a 1984 young adult novel by Madeleine L'Engle. Its protagonist is sixteen-year-old Polly O'Keefe, whose friend and mentor, Maximiliana Horne, has sent her on a trip to Greece and Cyprus. As she travels, Polly must come to terms with a recent traumatic event involving Max...
. In the interim, her friend Max has died. and Polly is still grieving. It is implied that one of the reasons she has left fictional Benne Seed Island to study with her grandparents is that Max's death has left her with painful memories of her island home.