David Eddings

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David Eddings

Born

David Carroll Eddings

July 7, 1931
Spokane, Washington

Died

June 2, 2009 (aged 77)

Carson City, Nevada

Occupation

Novelist

Alma mater

Reed College

Genre

Fantasy

Notable works
The Belgariad
The Mallorean

The Elenium
The Tamuli
The Dreamers
Spouse

Leigh Eddings (19622007)

David Eddings (July 7, 1931 June 2, 2009[1]) was an American fantasy writer. With his wife Leigh,
he authored several best-selling epic fantasy novel series, including The Belgariad (198284), The
Malloreon (198791), The Elenium (198991), The Tamuli(199294) and The Dreamers (200306).
Contents
[hide]

1 Biography

2 Bibliography

3 References

4 External links

Biography[edit]
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (March 2008)
Part Cherokee[2] and born in Spokane, Washington, to George Wayne Eddings and Theone (Berge)
Eddings,[3] in 1931, Eddings grew up near Puget Sound in the City of Snohomish.[4] In the Rivan
Codex, he described a good day in Seattle as "when it isnt raining up". Rain became a consequent
feature in many of his novels. After graduating from Snohomish high school in 1949, he worked for a
year before majoring in speech, drama and English at junior college. [5] 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. He wrote a
novel for a thesis at Reed College before being drafted into the U.S. Army.[6] (He had also previously
served in the National Guard.[7]) 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.
[8]
Eddings then worked as a purchaser for Boeing, where he met his future wife.[6]
After several years as a college lecturer, a failure to receive a pay raise drove Eddings to leave his
job, move to Denver and seek work in a grocery store. He also began work on his first published
novel High Hunt, the story of four young men hunting deer. Like many of his later novels, it explores
themes of manhood and coming of age. Convinced that being an author was his future career,
Eddings moved to Spokane where he once again relied on a job at a grocery shop for his funds. He
worked on several unpublished novels, including Hunseekers 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."[9] Most of his attempts followed the same vein as High Hunt, adventure stories and
contemporary tragedies. The Losers, tells the story of God and the Devil, cast in the roles of a one-

eyed Indian and Jake Flood. It was not published until June 1992, well after Eddings's success as an
author was established, although it was written in the seventies.
Eddings's 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 world of Aloria, but Eddings did not realize it
until 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 seventyeighth printing. Eddings realized that the world of fantasy might hold some promise for his talents,
and immediately began to annotate his previously forgotten doodle.[9]
On January 26, 2007 it was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office,
next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of
his novels. He was flushing the fuel tank of the car with water when he lit a piece of paper and threw
it into the puddle to test if it was still flammable. When asked to explain it to the firefighter he said
"One word comes to mind. Dumb."[10]
On February 28, 2007, David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings (born Judith Leigh Schall), whom he
married in 1962, died following a series of strokes. She was 69. [11]
Eddings resided in Carson City, Nevada, where he died of natural causes on June 2, 2009. [12]
[13]
Dennis, Eddings' brother, confirmed that in his last months, Eddings had been working on a
manuscript that was unlike any of his other works, stating "It was very, very different. I wouldnt call it
exactly a satire of fantasy but it sure plays with the genre". The unfinished work, along with his other
well renowned manuscripts, will go to his alma mater, Reed College in Portland, Ore., [14] along with a
bequest of $18 million to fund "students and faculty studying languages and literature." [15] Eddings
also bequeathed $10 million to National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver for
pediatric-asthma treatment and research. Eddings's wife Leigh had asthma throughout her life. [16]

Bibliography[edit]
Main article: David Eddings bibliography

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ Robb, P. Bradley (2009-06-03). "David Eddings, Dead at 77". Fiction Matters.
Retrieved 2009-06-03.

2.

Jump up^ "Recalling the late David Eddings, Lord of Creation". starlog.com. Archived
from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2015.

3.

Jump up^ The alt.fan.eddings David Eddings Frequently Asked Questions List

4.

Jump up^ Sorceress of Darshiva

5.

Jump up^ David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 9

6.

^ Jump up to:a b David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 10

7.

Jump up^ "Starlog Interview with David Eddings SFBookcase Archive". farris.co.uk.
Retrieved 19 August 2015.

8.

Jump up^ David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 3

9.

^ Jump up to:a b David and Leigh Eddings, The Rivan Codex, ISBN 0006483496, p. 11

10.

Jump up^ F.T. Norton (2007). "Novelist accidentally burns down office". Nevada Appeal.
Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-27.

11.

Jump up^ "Dcs de Leigh Eddings". Elbakin.net. 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-06.

12.

Jump up^ Neill, Graeme (2009-06-03). "Fantasy writer David Eddings dies". Bookseller.com.
Retrieved 2009-06-03.

13.

Jump up^ "Fantasy writer Eddings dies". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2009-06-04.

Retrieved 2009-06-05.[dead link]

14.

Jump up^ "Fantasy writer David Eddings dies in Carson City home". The Nevada Appeal.
Retrieved 19 August 2015.

15.

Jump up^ "Fantasy writer David Eddings leaves Reed College $18 million". The Oregonian.
2009-07-15.

16.

Jump up^ Trageser, Claire (2009-07-17). "Late author leaves $10 million to National
Jewish". Denver Post.

External links[edit]

Interview with David Eddings at sffworld.com

Bibliography at SciFan

David Eddings at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Novel synopses, cover art, and reviews at FantasyLiterature.net

[hide]

Works by David Eddings

The Belgariad
The Malloreon
Belgarion novels

Belgarath the Sorcerer

Polgara the Sorceress
The Rivan Codex

Sparhawk novels

Characters

The Elenium
The Tamuli
The Belgariad and The Malloreon

The Elenium and The Tamuli

The Dreamers
Other

The Redemption of Althalus

Regina's Song
WorldCat
VIAF: 111612308
LCCN: n82075661
ISNI: 0000 0001 2284 1773

Authority control

GND: 129035998
SUDOC: 030229766
BNF: cb12169001c (data)
MusicBrainz: dc1a6141-a18f-44a7-bb45-38f3bf7b4b40
NDL: 00465974
NKC: jn19992000189

Categories:
1931 births

2009 deaths

American fantasy writers

20th-century American novelists

21st-century American novelists

Disease-related deaths in Nevada

People from Carson City, Nevada

People from Spokane, Washington

Reed College alumni

University of Washington alumni

Writers from Nevada

Writers from Washington (state)

20th-century American writers

American male novelists