Leppard, Lois Gladys

Lois Gladys Leppard (1924-2008) was the author of popular series of children's mystery books, who also worked as a professional singer, actress, and playwright; resident of Greenville, S.C.; Leppard wrote her first book about Mandie in 1936 at age eleven, a work inspired by her mother's childhood experiences as an orphan in western North Carolina; although it was not published until 1985; Leppard studied at the New York School of Music and the Voice Beautiful Institute in New York under Glenn Morris Starkie. Leppard and her two sisters, Sibyl and Louise, sang professionally as the Larke Sisters, appeared in the operetta Bohemian Girl and were presented at Carnegie Hall. As a drama student, Leppard helped organize The Greenville Little Theater in her S.C. home town. During her career, she wrote several plays and was employed with Columbia Pictures.

Leppard's novels include dedications honoring various various family members, including her mother, Bessie A. Wilson Leppard; her father, James William Leppard (1886-1960); a brother, Arnold O. Leapard [sic] (1909-1975), an artist; and her son, Donn William Leppard