Leigh Eddings

Leigh Eddings (30 September 1937 – 28 February 2007; née Judith Leigh Schall), was the wife of David Eddings and co-author of many of his later works and uncredited co-author of his early works,[1] and married him 27 October 1962.[2]

Leigh Eddings
BornJudith Leigh Schall
(1937-09-30)September 30, 1937
DiedFebruary 28, 2007(2007-02-28) (aged 69)
Carson City, Nevada, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
NationalityAmerican
Spouse
​
(m. 1962)​

Biography

Born Judith Leigh Schall in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, she met Eddings in Seattle.[3] According to her husband she was part Choctaw.[4]

She had been in the Air Force and had been described by her husband as a world-class cook, a highly skilled fisherwoman and an excellent markswoman.[5]

Leigh married David Eddings in 1962, and adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David.[6][7] They adopted a younger girl between 1966 and 1969.[7] In 1969 they lost custody of both children and each were sentenced to a year in jail from separate trials after pleading guilty to child abuse.[8][9] Though the nature of the abuse, the trial and the sentencing were all extensively reported in South Dakota newspapers at the time, these details of the Eddings' life never resurfaced during their later successful joint career as fantasy authors, only reappearing several years after both had died.

After both served their sentences, David and Leigh Eddings moved to Denver in 1971, where David found work in a grocery store.[10]

She co-authored High Hunt (1973) with David,[11][12][13] and all of David's subsequent books, but was not credited as a co-author until the publication of Belgarath the Sorcerer in 1995. It was Lester del Rey who believed that multi-authorships were a problem and that it would be better if David Edding's name alone appeared on the books.[14]

Suffering a series of strokes, Leigh died 28 February 2007 in Carson City, Nevada.

References
  1. Goodreads, Leigh Eddings profile
  2. "BBC – h2g2 – David and Leigh Eddings – Authors – A683651". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  3. "Reed Magazine: In Memoriam (4 of 4)". reed.edu. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  4. "Recalling the late David Eddings, Lord of Creation". starlog.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  5. David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 10
  6. "Mr. and Mrs. David Eddings Adopt First Child, Scott Davis". Queen City Mail. 1966-03-10. p. 5. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  7. "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.
  8. "Witnesses Tell of 'Child Abuse'". The Black Hills Weekly. 1970-02-11. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  9. "1-year sentences begin for Eddings". No. 37. Queen City Mail. September 17, 1970. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  10. Gifford, James (2016-09-30). "A Frightful Hobgoblin Stalks Through Modernism?". Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  11. David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 11
  12. D'Ammassa, Don (11 August 2020). Masters of Fantasy: Volume II. Independently Published. ISBN 979-8-6730-5251-8.
  13. Palmer-Patel, Charul. The Shape of Fantasy : Investigating the Structure of American Heroic Epic Fantasy. [New York]. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-429-19926-4. OCLC 1125007425.
  14. "David Eddings biography". fantasybookreview.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2015.


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