Adam Eddington
Encyclopedia
Adam Eddington III is a major character in three young adult
novel
s by Madeleine L'Engle
. A marine biology
student, he is the protagonist of The Arm of the Starfish
(1965
), and a reluctant love interest for Vicky Austin
in A Ring of Endless Light
(1980
), a relationship that continues in Troubling a Star
(1994
). He is one of three characters to have major appearances in both L'Engle's O'Keefe family series of books and her Austin family series.
student, he has recently graduated from high school
and plans to attend the University of California, Berkeley
the following winter. The son of a physicist
who teaches at Columbia University
, Adam has been spending his summers with his family in Woods Hole, Massachusetts
, where he has assisted elderly marine biologist "Old Doc" Didymus "ever since I was a kid." It is said that he considered himself "worldly" due to growing up in New York City
, but this changes when Carolyn "Kali" Cutter exposes him to the wider world. Principled but naive, Adam has trouble determining who can or cannot be trusted in the struggle between the Cutters, the O'Keefes and their respective allies.
, and recruits her for his experiments in dolphin communication. Because of his negative experience with Kali Cutter in The Arm of the Starfish (as theorized by John Austin, Vicky's brother), Adam is initially unwilling to think of Vicky as a potential girlfriend, choosing instead to think of her as a "child." However, by the end of the book, he has become so close to Vicky that he hears her telepathically "call" him to the hospital.
(especially from Hamlet
) to Vicky in his letters and postcards, trying to obliquely warn her of the same kind of dangers that resulted in his uncle's murder a generation earlier. When Vicky inadvertently runs afoul of soldiers and a drug kingpin from the fictional South America
n dictatorship of Vespugia, she is stranded on an iceberg, but Adam finds her.
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s 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...
. A marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
student, he is the protagonist of 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...
(1965
1965 in literature
The year 1965 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Lloyd Alexander - The Black Cauldron*J. G. Ballard - The Drought*Ray Bradbury - The Vintage Bradbury*John Brunner...
), and a reluctant love interest for 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...
in 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....
(1980
1980 in literature
The year 1980 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Marguerite Yourcenar becomes the first woman to be elected to the Académie française....
), a relationship that continues in Troubling a Star
Troubling a Star
Troubling a Star is the last full length novel in the Austin family series by Madeleine L'Engle. The young adult suspense thriller, published in 1994, reunites L'Engle's most frequent protagonist, Vicky Austin, with Adam Eddington, both of whom become enmeshed in international intrigue as they...
(1994
1994 in literature
The year 1994 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Kevin J. Anderson - Champions of the Force, Dark Apprentice and Jedi Search*Reed Arvin - The Wind in the Wheat*Greg Bear - Songs of Earth and Power...
). He is one of three characters to have major appearances in both L'Engle's O'Keefe family series of books and her Austin family series.
Major traits
Adam is highly intelligent, with a strong aptitude for science, especially marine biology, a field in which Adam's uncle and namesake made a name for himself a generation earlier. Although he describes himself as "not a churchgoer", he sang in a church choir as a child, and retains a strong moral sense along with a questioning, philosophical nature. Initially somewhat naive, Adam unwisely trusts a beautiful young woman in The Arm of the Starfish, which results in the death of a friend. Because of this, Adam tries unsuccessfully to maintain an emotional distance from Vicky Austin when he meets her the following summer. He appreciates Vicky for her kind, forthright and poetic nature, and the two become close to each other anyway. By the end of his third and final appearance, Adam and Vicky appear to have formed a deep and lasting relationship.The Arm of the Starfish
The Arm of the Starfish (1965, ISBN 0-374-30027-5) introduces readers to the character, and establishes much of his early history in its opening pages. A 16-year-old marine biologyMarine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
student, he has recently graduated from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and plans to attend the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
the following winter. The son of a physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who teaches at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Adam has been spending his summers with his family in Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands...
, where he has assisted elderly marine biologist "Old Doc" Didymus "ever since I was a kid." It is said that he considered himself "worldly" due to growing up in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but this changes when Carolyn "Kali" Cutter exposes him to the wider world. Principled but naive, Adam has trouble determining who can or cannot be trusted in the struggle between the Cutters, the O'Keefes and their respective allies.
A Ring of Endless Light
A Ring of Endless Light (1980, ISBN 0-374-36299-8) finds Adam working with dolphins on Seven Bay Island. Here he meets Vicky AustinVicky 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...
, and recruits her for his experiments in dolphin communication. Because of his negative experience with Kali Cutter in The Arm of the Starfish (as theorized by John Austin, Vicky's brother), Adam is initially unwilling to think of Vicky as a potential girlfriend, choosing instead to think of her as a "child." However, by the end of the book, he has become so close to Vicky that he hears her telepathically "call" him to the hospital.
Troubling a Star
Troubling a Star (1994, ISBN 0-374-37783-9) continues the story of Adam's relationship with Vicky, and also the progress of his education and career in marine biology. He has the opportunity to live and work in Antarctica, where his uncle, Adam Eddington II, worked and died. (In the book, Eddington Point in Antarctica,where LeNoir Station is located, is named after Adam's uncle.) Adam's Great Aunt Serena, widow of Adam Eddington I (a banker) and mother of Adam Eddington II, is introduced. She gives Vicky the trip to Antarctica that drives the story. Adam quotes William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(especially from Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
) to Vicky in his letters and postcards, trying to obliquely warn her of the same kind of dangers that resulted in his uncle's murder a generation earlier. When Vicky inadvertently runs afoul of soldiers and a drug kingpin from the fictional South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n dictatorship of Vespugia, she is stranded on an iceberg, but Adam finds her.