The Last Unicorn
by Peter S. Beagle
She was magical, beautiful beyond belief – and completely alone...
The unicorn had lived since before memory in a forest where death could touch nothing. Maidens who caught a glimpse of her glory were blessed by enchantment they would never forget. But outside her wondrous realm, dark whispers and rumors carries a message she could not ignore: 'Unicorns are gone from the world.'
Aided by a bumbling magician and an indominable spinster, she set out to learn the truth. But she geared even her immortal wisdom meant nothing in a world where a mad king's curse and terror incarnate lived only to stalk the last unicorn to her doom...
Details updated August 19, 2021
Peter S. Beagle
Peter Soyer Beagle (born 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. He is also a talented guitarist and folk singer. He wrote his first novel, urban fantasy A Fine and Private Place (1960), when he was only 19 years old. Travel book I See By My Outfit (1965) is a nonfiction classic. Today he is best known as the author of The Last Unicorn (1968), a modern fantasy classic.
Beagle's work as a screenwriter interrupted his early career direction as a fiction author, but in the 1990s he returned to prose fiction. Beagle's own favourite is a literary fantasy novel The Innkeeper's Song (1993). Four years later Beagle returned to the land that was the novels setting for a collection of short stories The Magician of Karakosk and Other Stories (1997, known as Giant Bones).
In 2005 Beagle finally published a coda to The Last Unicorn, a novelette entitled ”Two Hearts,” and began work on a full-novel sequel. In 2006, ”Two Hearts” won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette and in 2007 it won the Nebula Award in the same category. The story was also nominated as a short fiction finalist for the World Fantasy Award. In 2006, Beagle won the Inkpot Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Peter S. Beagle lives today in Oakland, California.
Community Reviews & Rates
3 reviews
0 posts
Authors are warned not to expect literary fiction to succeed commercially. Yet one of the most popular fantasies ever is a beautiful example of literary fantasy. I read The Last Unicorn recently for the first time.
No story is the same for every reader. We shape our own version with our widely varied personal memories and perspective. This is especially true with literary fiction, which relies on the audience's interest in such things as allusions and undercurrents of meaning.
260 reviews
3594 posts
The Last Unicorn is a classic of fantasy literature. I like this book very much. The Last Unicorn is an amazingly beautiful and touching fantasy book. If you call yourself a fantasy fan and haven't read this book, you should read it as soon as possible. You'll probably like it.
