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{{Short description|American fantasy writer (1931–2009)}} | |||
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see ] --> | {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see ] --> | ||
| name =David Eddings | | name = David Eddings | ||
| image = David Eddings portrait.jpg | | image = David Eddings portrait.jpg | ||
| caption = | | caption = | ||
| pseudonym = | | pseudonym = | ||
| birth_name =David Carroll Eddings | | birth_name = David Carroll Eddings | ||
| birth_date={{birth date|1931|7|7}} | | birth_date = {{birth date|1931|7|7}} | ||
| birth_place=] | | birth_place = ], U.S. | ||
| death_date={{death date and age|2009|6|2|1931|7|7|mf=yes}} | | death_date = {{death date and age|2009|6|2|1931|7|7|mf=yes}} | ||
| death_place=], |
| death_place = ], U.S. | ||
| spouse=] (1962–2007) | | spouse = ] (1962–2007) | ||
| occupation=Novelist | | occupation = Novelist | ||
| alma_mater=] | | alma_mater = ] (])<br/>] (]) | ||
| genre =] | | genre = ] | ||
| movement = | | movement = | ||
| notableworks = {{plainlist| | | notableworks = {{plainlist| | ||
*'']'' | *'']'' | ||
*'']'' | *'']'' | ||
Line 20: | Line 21: | ||
*'']'' | *'']'' | ||
*'']''}} | *'']''}} | ||
| period = 1953–2006 | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''David Carroll Eddings''' (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fictionmatters.com/2009/06/03/david-eddings-dead-at-77/|title=David Eddings, Dead at 77|last=Robb|first=P. Bradley|date=2009-06-03|publisher=Fiction Matters| |
'''David Carroll Eddings''' (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fictionmatters.com/2009/06/03/david-eddings-dead-at-77/|title=David Eddings, Dead at 77|last=Robb|first=P. Bradley|date=2009-06-03|publisher=Fiction Matters|access-date=2009-06-03}}</ref>) was an American ] writer. With his wife ], he authored several best-selling ] novel series, including '']'' (1982–84), '']'' (1987–91), '']'' (1989–91), '']'' (1992–94), and '']'' (2003–06). | ||
==Early life and career== | |||
==Biography== | |||
Eddings was born in ], to George Wayne Eddings and Theone (Berge) Eddings,<ref></ref> in 1931. Eddings was known to claim to be part ].<ref name="starlog.com">{{cite web|title=Recalling the late David Eddings, Lord of Creation|url=http://www.starlog.com/franchises/fantasy-worlds/256-recalling-the-late-david-eddings-lord-of-creation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815062441/http://www.starlog.com/franchises/fantasy-worlds/256-recalling-the-late-david-eddings-lord-of-creation|archive-date=15 August 2009|access-date=19 August 2015|work=starlog.com}}</ref> | |||
Eddings grew up near ] in the City of ].<ref>]</ref> After graduating from ] in 1949, he worked for a year before majoring in speech, drama and English at junior college.<ref>David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, {{ISBN|0006483496}}, p. 9</ref> Eddings displayed an early talent for drama and literature, winning a national oratorical contest, and performing the male lead in most of his drama productions. He graduated with a BA from ] in 1954, writing his first novel, ''How Lonely Are The Dead'', as his senior thesis. After graduating from Reed College, Eddings was drafted into the U.S. Army,<ref name="auto">David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, {{ISBN|0006483496}}, p. 10</ref> having also previously served in the National Guard.<ref name="starlog210">{{cite magazine |last=Nicholls |first=Stan |authorlink=Stan Nicholls |date=January 1995 |editor-last=McDonnell |editor-first=David |title=Ring Bearer |url=https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-210 |magazine=] |issue=210 |pages=76–81 |issn=0191-4626}}</ref> After being discharged in 1956, Eddings attended the graduate school of the ] for four years, graduating with an MA in 1961 after submitting a novel in progress, ''Man Running'', for his thesis.<ref>David and Leigh Eddings, ''The Rivan Codex'', {{ISBN|0006483496}}, p. 3</ref> | |||
) After being discharged in 1956, Eddings attended the graduate school of the ] for four years, graduating with an MA in 1961.<ref>David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, {{ISBN|0006483496}}, p. 3</ref> Eddings then worked as a purchaser for ], where he met his future wife.<ref name="auto" /> | |||
After earning his Master's, Eddings worked as a purchaser for ], where he met his future wife, then known as Judith Leigh Schall.<ref name="auto" /> They married in 1962, she taking the name Leigh Eddings, and through most of the 1960s, Eddings worked as an assistant professor at ] in South Dakota. | |||
They adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David.<ref name="queencitymail-1966mar"/><ref name="queencitymail-1970may"/> They adopted a younger girl between 1966 and 1969.<ref name="queencitymail-1970may"/> In 1969 they lost custody of both children and each were sentenced to a year in jail from separate trials after pleading guilty to ].<ref name="blackhillsweekly-1970feb"/><ref>{{cite news |title=1-year sentences begin for Eddings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/94115814/ |accessdate=16 June 2019 |issue=37 |publisher=Queen City Mail |date=September 17, 1970}}</ref> After seven years as a college lecturer, Eddings moved to Denver in 1971 to work in a grocery store.<ref name="themodernistreview.co.uk">{{cite web|last=Gifford|first=James|date=2016-09-30|url=https://gifford.mla.hcommons.org/2017/08/26/a-frightful-hobgoblin//|title=A Frightful Hobgoblin Stalks Through Modernism?|accessdate=7 October 2016}}</ref> He later said this was because of a failure to receive a pay raise, but it coincided with the year in jail for both David and Leigh. | |||
==Child Abuse Conviction== | |||
⚫ | |||
Eddings and his wife Leigh plead guilty to 11 counts of ] ]<ref name="blackhillsweekly-1970feb" /> of their adopted children. They adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David, then two months old,<ref name="queencitymail-1966mar" /><ref name="queencitymail-1970may" /> and subsequently adopted a girl between 1966 and 1969.<ref name="queencitymail-1970may" /> In 1970 the couple lost custody of both children and were each sentenced to a year in jail in separate trials<ref name="blackhillsweekly-1970feb" /> for extensive child abuse of both children.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1970-02-11 |title=David Eddings, child abuse charges |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-black-hills-weekly-david-eddings-ch/69934191/ |access-date=2025-01-06 |work=The Black Hills Weekly |pages=1}}</ref> | |||
After both served their sentences, David and Leigh Eddings moved to ] in 1971, where David found work in a grocery store.{{Cn|date=May 2023}} | |||
Eddings' call to the world of fantasy came from a doodled map he drew one morning before work. This doodle later became the geographical basis for the country of Aloria, but Eddings did not realize it until several years later. Eddings' story of this was that upon seeing a copy of ]'s '']'', in a bookshop, he muttered, "Is this old turkey still floating around?", and was shocked to learn that it was in its seventy-eighth printing. Eddings realized that the world of fantasy might hold some promise for his talents, and immediately began to annotate his previously forgotten doodle.<ref name="auto1"/> Over the course of a year he added names to various kingdoms, races and characters, and invented various theologies and a mythology, all of which counted about 230 pages. Because the ''Lord of the Rings'' had been published as three books, he genuinely believed fantasy in general was supposed to be trilogies, which is why he intended ''The Belgariad'' to be a trilogy as well, and had it all laid out, when his editor ] told him the booksellers would refuse to accept 600-page books. Instead he suggested the trilogy should be published as five books. Eddings at first refused, but having already signed the contract, and with Del Rey's promise that he would receive advances for five books instead of three, he eventually gave in to the suggestion.<ref></ref> He had also included Tolkien's work in the syllabus for at least three sections of his English Literature survey courses in the summer of 1967 and the Springs of 1968 and 1969.<ref name="themodernistreview.co.uk"/> | |||
== Literary career == | |||
⚫ | On January 26, 2007 |
||
=== Early literary career === | |||
⚫ | On February 28, 2007, David Eddings' wife |
||
Eddings had completed the first draft of his first published novel, ''High Hunt'', in March 1971 while serving his jail term.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gifford.mla.hcommons.org/2020/02/03/on-reading-monsters/#13n|title = On Reading Monsters – James Gifford| date=3 February 2020 }}</ref> ''High Hunt'' was a contemporary story of four young men hunting deer, and like many of his later novels, it explores themes of manhood and coming of age. Convinced that being an author was his future career, after a short period in Denver, David and Leigh Eddings moved to ], where he once again relied on a job at a grocery shop for his funds. ''High Hunt'' was published in early 1972 by ] to modestly positive reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-eddings/high-hunt/|title = HIGH HUNT | Kirkus Reviews}}</ref> | |||
⚫ | Eddings continued to work on several unpublished novels, including ''Hunseeker's Ascent'', a story about mountain climbing, which was later burned, as Eddings claimed it was "a piece of tripe so bad it even bored me."<ref name="auto1">David and Leigh Eddings, ''The Rivan Codex'', {{ISBN|0006483496}}, p. 11</ref> Most of his attempts followed the same vein as ''High Hunt'': adventure stories and contemporary tragedies. None were sold or published, with the eventual exception of ''The Losers'', which tells the story of God and the Devil, cast in the roles of Raphael Taylor, gifted student and athlete, and Damon Flood, scoundrel determined to bring Raphael down. Though written in the 1970s, ''The Losers'' was not published until June 1992, well after Eddings' success as an author was established.<ref name="starlog210"/> | ||
⚫ | Eddings |
||
===Success in fantasy=== | |||
⚫ | Dennis, Eddings' brother, said that he had |
||
Eddings doodled a fantasy map one morning before work. According to Eddings, several years later, upon seeing a copy of ]'s '']'' in a bookshop, he muttered, "Is this old turkey still floating around?", and was shocked to learn that it was in its 78th printing. However, he had already included Tolkien's work in the syllabuses for at least three sections of his English Literature survey courses in the summer of 1967 and the springs of 1968 and 1969.<ref name="themodernistreview.co.uk">{{cite web |last=Gifford |first=James |date=2016-09-30 |title=A Frightful Hobgoblin Stalks Through Modernism? |url=https://gifford.mla.hcommons.org/2017/08/26/a-frightful-hobgoblin// |access-date=7 October 2016}}</ref> Eddings subsequently began to ] his previous doodle, which became the geographical basis for the country of Aloria.<ref name="auto1"/> Over the course of a year he added names to various kingdoms, races, and characters, and invented various theologies and a mythology, all of which counted about 230 pages. | |||
Because the ''Lord of the Rings'' had been published as three books, Eddings believed fantasy in general was supposed to be trilogies. He initially laid out ''The Belgariad'' as a trilogy as well, until his editor ] told him the booksellers would refuse to accept 600-page books. Instead del Rey suggested the series should be published as five books. Eddings at first refused, but having already signed the contract, and with Del Rey's promise that he would receive advances for five books instead of three, eventually agreed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~cjwatson/eddings/interview.html |title=Guardians of the West: An Interview with David Eddings - Chiark |access-date=2018-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012083706/http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~cjwatson/eddings/interview.html |archive-date=2018-10-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> '']'', the first volume in the series, was issued in April 1982. | |||
''The Belgariad'' series of books (published in five volumes between 1982 and 1984) were popular, and Eddings continued to produce fantasy material for the rest of his life, usually producing a book every year or two. | |||
By 1995, new books were credited jointly to David and Leigh Eddings; Eddings explained in a brief foreword that their working together as authors "had been the case from the beginning." This is generally accepted to be broadly accurate,<ref name="PWrivan">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of the Belgariad and the Malloreon.|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-345-42402-0|access-date=25 January 2021|website=]|language=en}}</ref><ref name="dammassa">{{Cite book|last=D'Ammassa|first=Don|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdS-zQEACAAJ|title=Masters of Fantasy: Volume II|date=11 August 2020|publisher=Independently Published|isbn=979-8-6730-5251-8|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Palmer-Patel, Charul|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1125007425|title=The Shape of Fantasy : Investigating the Structure of American Heroic Epic Fantasy|publisher=|year=|isbn=978-0-429-19926-4|edition=|location=|page=171|oclc=1125007425}}</ref> although Eddings scholar James Gifford notes that collaboration would have been "impossible" with Eddings' first published novel ''High Hunt'', as David Eddings' own notes show that the first draft was completed while he and Leigh were both in different jails, about half-way through their terms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gifford.mla.hcommons.org/2020/02/03/on-reading-monsters/#13|title = On Reading Monsters – James Gifford| date=3 February 2020 }}</ref> | |||
The Eddingses' final work, the novel series '']'', was published in four volumes between 2003 and 2006. | |||
== Later life == | |||
⚫ | On January 26, 2007, Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his ] sports car.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20070126/NEWS/101260101 |author=F.T. Norton |title=Novelist accidentally burns down office |publisher=Nevada Appeal |year=2007 |access-date=2007-01-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202025010/http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20070126/NEWS/101260101 |archive-date=February 2, 2007 }}</ref> | ||
⚫ | On February 28, 2007, David Eddings' wife Leigh died following a series of strokes that left her unable to communicate. She was 69.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.elbakin.net/fantasy/news/3407-Deces-De-Leigh-Eddings| title=Décès de Leigh Eddings| publisher=Elbakin.net| year=2007| access-date=2007-03-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n6qeBAAAQBAJ&dq=David+Eddings+%22grocery+store%22&pg=PT385 |title=The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 21 |date=2010-10-28 |publisher=Little, Brown Book Group |isbn=978-1-84901-672-8 |language=en}}</ref> Eddings cared for her at home with her mother after her first stroke, which occurred three years before he finished writing ''The Dreamers''.<ref name="themodernistreview.co.uk"/> | ||
⚫ | Eddings died of natural causes on June 2, 2009, in ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/fantasy-writer-david-eddings-dies|title=Fantasy writer David Eddings dies|last=Neill|first=Graeme|date=2009-06-03|publisher=Bookseller.com|access-date=2009-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_nv_obit_eddings.html|title=Fantasy writer Eddings dies|date=2009-06-04|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|access-date=2009-06-05}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> | ||
⚫ | Dennis, Eddings' brother, said that he had suffered from dementia for a long time, but that the disease had progressed rapidly since September 2008, and that he needed 24-hour care. He also confirmed that in his last months, his brother had been working on a manuscript that was unlike any of his other works, stating "It was very, very different. I wouldn't call it exactly a satire of fantasy but it sure plays with the genre". The unfinished work, along with his other manuscripts, went to his alma mater, Reed College,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20090604/NEWS/906039854/1070&ParentProfile=1058|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612023231/https://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20090604/NEWS/906039854/1070%26ParentProfile%3D1058|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 June 2009|title=Fantasy writer David Eddings dies in Carson City home|work=The Nevada Appeal|access-date=19 August 2015}}</ref> along with a bequest of $18 million to fund "students and faculty studying languages and literature."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2009/07/fantasy_writer_leaves_reed_18.html |work=The Oregonian |title=Fantasy writer David Eddings leaves Reed College $18 million |date=2009-07-15}}</ref> Eddings also bequeathed $10 million to the ] in ] for pediatric asthma treatment and research; Eddings' wife Leigh had asthma throughout her life.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_12856825 |work=Denver Post |first=Claire |last=Trageser |title=Late author leaves $10 million to National Jewish |date=2009-07-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090718230708/http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_12856825 |archive-date=2009-07-18}}</ref> | ||
== Bibliography == | == Bibliography == | ||
Line 48: | Line 70: | ||
{{Reflist|refs= | {{Reflist|refs= | ||
<ref name="queencitymail-1966mar">{{cite news |title=Mr. and Mrs. David Eddings Adopt First Child, Scott |
<ref name="queencitymail-1966mar">{{cite news |title=Mr. and Mrs. David Eddings Adopt First Child, Scott David |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2768534/eddings_adoptions_of_1st_child_1966/ |access-date=3 May 2019 |work=Queen City Mail |date=1966-03-10 |page=5}}</ref> | ||
<ref name="blackhillsweekly-1970feb">{{cite news |title=Witnesses Tell of |
<ref name="blackhillsweekly-1970feb">{{cite news |title=Witnesses Tell of 'Child Abuse' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2768515/eddings_emailed_jc/ |access-date=3 May 2019 |work=The Black Hills Weekly |date=1970-02-11}}</ref> | ||
<ref name="queencitymail-1970may">{{cite news |title=Separate Trials Set for Eddings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2768521/eddings_emailed_jc/ | |
<ref name="queencitymail-1970may">{{cite news |title=Separate Trials Set for Eddings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2768521/eddings_emailed_jc/ |access-date=3 May 2019 |work=Queen City Mail |date=1970-05-07 |quote=In other action Friday, Mattson and Judge Richard A. Furze were served with papers calling for a hearing May 14 on a petition by the Eddings to regain custody of their two adopted children, Scott David, 4, upon whom the abuse was allegedly inflicted, and a younger daughter.}}</ref> | ||
}} | }} | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
{{Wikiquote}} | |||
* with David Eddings at | * with David Eddings at | ||
⚫ | * {{ISFDB name|id=David_Eddings|name=David Eddings}} | ||
* at SciFan | |||
⚫ | * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510153212/http://www.fantasyliterature.net/eddingsdavid.html |date=2008-05-10 }} | ||
⚫ | * {{ |
||
⚫ | * {{usurped|1=}} | ||
⚫ | * | ||
⚫ | * of John Eddings and Elizabeth Weaver (Cherokee) |
||
{{David Eddings}} | {{David Eddings}} | ||
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Latest revision as of 05:44, 6 January 2025
American fantasy writer (1931–2009)David Eddings | |
---|---|
Born | David Carroll Eddings (1931-07-07)July 7, 1931 Spokane, Washington, U.S. |
Died | June 2, 2009(2009-06-02) (aged 77) Carson City, Nevada, U.S. |
Occupation | Novelist |
Alma mater | Reed College (BA) University of Washington (MA) |
Period | 1953–2006 |
Genre | Fantasy |
Notable works | |
Spouse | Leigh Eddings (1962–2007) |
David Carroll Eddings (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009) was an American fantasy writer. With his wife Leigh, he authored several best-selling epic fantasy novel series, including The Belgariad (1982–84), The Malloreon (1987–91), The Elenium (1989–91), The Tamuli (1992–94), and The Dreamers (2003–06).
Early life and career
Eddings was born in Spokane, Washington, to George Wayne Eddings and Theone (Berge) Eddings, in 1931. Eddings was known to claim to be part Cherokee.
Eddings grew up near Puget Sound in the City of Snohomish. After graduating from Snohomish High School in 1949, he worked for a year before majoring in speech, drama and English at junior college. Eddings displayed an early talent for drama and literature, winning a national oratorical contest, and performing the male lead in most of his drama productions. He graduated with a BA from Reed College in 1954, writing his first novel, How Lonely Are The Dead, as his senior thesis. After graduating from Reed College, Eddings was drafted into the U.S. Army, having also previously served in the National Guard. After being discharged in 1956, Eddings attended the graduate school of the University of Washington in Seattle for four years, graduating with an MA in 1961 after submitting a novel in progress, Man Running, for his thesis.
After earning his Master's, Eddings worked as a purchaser for Boeing, where he met his future wife, then known as Judith Leigh Schall. They married in 1962, she taking the name Leigh Eddings, and through most of the 1960s, Eddings worked as an assistant professor at Black Hills State College in South Dakota.
Child Abuse Conviction
Eddings and his wife Leigh plead guilty to 11 counts of physical child abuse of their adopted children. They adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David, then two months old, and subsequently adopted a girl between 1966 and 1969. In 1970 the couple lost custody of both children and were each sentenced to a year in jail in separate trials for extensive child abuse of both children.
After both served their sentences, David and Leigh Eddings moved to Denver in 1971, where David found work in a grocery store.
Literary career
Early literary career
Eddings had completed the first draft of his first published novel, High Hunt, in March 1971 while serving his jail term. High Hunt was a contemporary story of four young men hunting deer, and like many of his later novels, it explores themes of manhood and coming of age. Convinced that being an author was his future career, after a short period in Denver, David and Leigh Eddings moved to Spokane, where he once again relied on a job at a grocery shop for his funds. High Hunt was published in early 1972 by G. P. Putnam's Sons to modestly positive reviews.
Eddings continued to work on several unpublished novels, including Hunseeker's Ascent, a story about mountain climbing, which was later burned, as Eddings claimed it was "a piece of tripe so bad it even bored me." Most of his attempts followed the same vein as High Hunt: adventure stories and contemporary tragedies. None were sold or published, with the eventual exception of The Losers, which tells the story of God and the Devil, cast in the roles of Raphael Taylor, gifted student and athlete, and Damon Flood, scoundrel determined to bring Raphael down. Though written in the 1970s, The Losers was not published until June 1992, well after Eddings' success as an author was established.
Success in fantasy
Eddings doodled a fantasy map one morning before work. According to Eddings, several years later, upon seeing a copy of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in a bookshop, he muttered, "Is this old turkey still floating around?", and was shocked to learn that it was in its 78th printing. However, he had already included Tolkien's work in the syllabuses for at least three sections of his English Literature survey courses in the summer of 1967 and the springs of 1968 and 1969. Eddings subsequently began to annotate his previous doodle, which became the geographical basis for the country of Aloria. Over the course of a year he added names to various kingdoms, races, and characters, and invented various theologies and a mythology, all of which counted about 230 pages.
Because the Lord of the Rings had been published as three books, Eddings believed fantasy in general was supposed to be trilogies. He initially laid out The Belgariad as a trilogy as well, until his editor Lester del Rey told him the booksellers would refuse to accept 600-page books. Instead del Rey suggested the series should be published as five books. Eddings at first refused, but having already signed the contract, and with Del Rey's promise that he would receive advances for five books instead of three, eventually agreed. Pawn of Prophecy, the first volume in the series, was issued in April 1982.
The Belgariad series of books (published in five volumes between 1982 and 1984) were popular, and Eddings continued to produce fantasy material for the rest of his life, usually producing a book every year or two.
By 1995, new books were credited jointly to David and Leigh Eddings; Eddings explained in a brief foreword that their working together as authors "had been the case from the beginning." This is generally accepted to be broadly accurate, although Eddings scholar James Gifford notes that collaboration would have been "impossible" with Eddings' first published novel High Hunt, as David Eddings' own notes show that the first draft was completed while he and Leigh were both in different jails, about half-way through their terms.
The Eddingses' final work, the novel series The Dreamers, was published in four volumes between 2003 and 2006.
Later life
On January 26, 2007, Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car.
On February 28, 2007, David Eddings' wife Leigh died following a series of strokes that left her unable to communicate. She was 69. Eddings cared for her at home with her mother after her first stroke, which occurred three years before he finished writing The Dreamers.
Eddings died of natural causes on June 2, 2009, in Carson City, Nevada.
Dennis, Eddings' brother, said that he had suffered from dementia for a long time, but that the disease had progressed rapidly since September 2008, and that he needed 24-hour care. He also confirmed that in his last months, his brother had been working on a manuscript that was unlike any of his other works, stating "It was very, very different. I wouldn't call it exactly a satire of fantasy but it sure plays with the genre". The unfinished work, along with his other manuscripts, went to his alma mater, Reed College, along with a bequest of $18 million to fund "students and faculty studying languages and literature." Eddings also bequeathed $10 million to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver for pediatric asthma treatment and research; Eddings' wife Leigh had asthma throughout her life.
Bibliography
Main article: David Eddings bibliographyReferences
- Robb, P. Bradley (2009-06-03). "David Eddings, Dead at 77". Fiction Matters. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- The alt.fan.eddings David Eddings Frequently Asked Questions List
- "Recalling the late David Eddings, Lord of Creation". starlog.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- Sorceress of Darshiva
- David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 9
- ^ David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 10
- ^ Nicholls, Stan (January 1995). McDonnell, David (ed.). "Ring Bearer". Starlog. No. 210. pp. 76–81. ISSN 0191-4626.
- David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 3
- ^ "Witnesses Tell of 'Child Abuse'". The Black Hills Weekly. 1970-02-11. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- "Mr. and Mrs. David Eddings Adopt First Child, Scott David". Queen City Mail. 1966-03-10. p. 5. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ "Separate Trials Set for Eddings". Queen City Mail. 1970-05-07. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
In other action Friday, Mattson and Judge Richard A. Furze were served with papers calling for a hearing May 14 on a petition by the Eddings to regain custody of their two adopted children, Scott David, 4, upon whom the abuse was allegedly inflicted, and a younger daughter.
- "David Eddings, child abuse charges". The Black Hills Weekly. 1970-02-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- "On Reading Monsters – James Gifford". 3 February 2020.
- "HIGH HUNT | Kirkus Reviews".
- ^ David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 11
- ^ Gifford, James (2016-09-30). "A Frightful Hobgoblin Stalks Through Modernism?". Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- "Guardians of the West: An Interview with David Eddings - Chiark". Archived from the original on 2018-10-12. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
- "The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of the Belgariad and the Malloreon". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- D'Ammassa, Don (11 August 2020). Masters of Fantasy: Volume II. Independently Published. ISBN 979-8-6730-5251-8.
- Palmer-Patel, Charul. The Shape of Fantasy : Investigating the Structure of American Heroic Epic Fantasy. . p. 171. ISBN 978-0-429-19926-4. OCLC 1125007425.
- "On Reading Monsters – James Gifford". 3 February 2020.
- F.T. Norton (2007). "Novelist accidentally burns down office". Nevada Appeal. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
- "Décès de Leigh Eddings". Elbakin.net. 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
- Jones, Stephen (2010-10-28). The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 21. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-1-84901-672-8.
- Neill, Graeme (2009-06-03). "Fantasy writer David Eddings dies". Bookseller.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- "Fantasy writer Eddings dies". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
- "Fantasy writer David Eddings dies in Carson City home". The Nevada Appeal. Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- "Fantasy writer David Eddings leaves Reed College $18 million". The Oregonian. 2009-07-15.
- Trageser, Claire (2009-07-17). "Late author leaves $10 million to National Jewish". Denver Post. Archived from the original on 2009-07-18.
External links
- Interview with David Eddings at sffworld.com
- David Eddings at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Novel synopses, cover art, and reviews at FantasyLiterature.netArchived 2008-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Descendants of John Eddings and Elizabeth Weaver (Cherokee)
Bibliography by David Eddings | |
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Belgarion novels | |
Sparhawk novels | |
The Dreamers novels | |
Characters | |
Standalone fantasy | |
Contemporary fiction |
- 1931 births
- 2009 deaths
- American fantasy writers
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- People from Carson City, Nevada
- Writers from Spokane, Washington
- Reed College alumni
- University of Washington alumni
- Writers from Nevada
- American male novelists
- 20th-century American male writers
- 21st-century American male writers
- Novelists from Washington (state)
- American people who self-identify as being of Cherokee descent