Leslyn Heinlein, ca. 1933.
As I understand it (my information on this point is a little iffy), Robert A. Heinlein was married at least three times, maybe more. The only early wife I know anything about, though, was the one just before Ginny. Her name was Leslyn.
What I know about Leslyn is really just two things. First, she must have been a pretty nice person, because John Campbell and his then wife Dona named one of their daughters after her. Second, a few years after Robert had divorced Leslyn and married Ginny, I began to receive sad, wistful, lonesome letters from Leslyn reminding me over and over of the wonderful times she and Bob and I and other local science-fiction writers and fans had had sitting around her kitchen table in the old days.
This worried me. You see, it had never happened. I had never been in her kitchen, nor indeed had I met Leslyn anywhere else, either. The woman clearly was not in close touch with reality. I could think of nothing to do about it other than to reply to her letters as pleasantly and noncommittally — and briefly — as I could.
But I did, and still do, wonder what it did to a person with as hypertrophied a sense of duty as Heinlein’s to have been unable to save the woman he had vowed to love and protect.
To be continued. . . .
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Bald Guy says:
How sad.
May 19, 2010, 8:41 amKen Houghton says:
Someone at Tor: please send Mr. Pohl that first volume of the Heinlein biography you’re publishing later this year. The subject is addressed there.
May 19, 2010, 8:53 amEdward Kmett says:
Perhaps she just had you confused with another author/editor?
May 19, 2010, 9:13 amRBH says:
I see a NASA history (largish PDF) that says that Leslyn was RH’s second wife.
May 19, 2010, 12:12 pmRobert Nowall says:
I’m thinking maybe she remembered hanging out with the Los Angeles SF community of 1939 / 40 / 41, where the Heinleins are reported to have lived at the time…maybe she’s just a little confused on who was actually there…maybe not so far out as some, but not completely out of touch.
About all I know of Leslyn Heinlein is what Asimov said in his two memoirs…chiefly an incident where Asimov freaked her out with his disgusting eating habits…that and some comments about politics…
I look forward to picking up that Heinlein biography, too. I learned about it right here, several entries ago…I think I would’ve stumbled across it anyway, when it came out, but who knows, for sure?
May 19, 2010, 6:42 pmGary Farber says:
To be blunt, Leslyn Heinlein declined into severe alcoholism, along with other mental health issues; it’s a very sad story.
(I’ve read early versions of Bill Patterson’s forthcoming biography.)
And, yes, she was Heinlein\’s second wife. I shouldn’t get into any trouble by quoting Wikipedia, which I can verify is true: “In 1929, he married Eleanor Curry of Kansas City in Los Angeles, Calif.[8] but this marriage lasted only about a year.[4] He soon married his second wife, Leslyn Macdonald, in 1932.”
And, yes, Bill does have much more detail.
May 20, 2010, 3:49 pmMichael Walsh says:
Yes, Bill Paterson has lots more details in his bio of RAH about Curry, the marriage, and much more.
Well worth ordering in advance from your favorite bookseller.
June 3, 2010, 2:40 pm