Last Unicorn: The Lost Version

An enchanted fantasy full of unforgettable characters and profound themes, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle has charmed and delighted readers for over half a century. Magical, beautiful beyond belief and completely alone, the unicorn has 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 carried a message she could not ignore: “Unicorns are gone from the world.” Aided by a bumbling magician and an indomitable spinster, the unicorn embarks on a dangerous quest to learn the truth about what happened to her kind. One of the most enduring classics of the twentieth century, The Last Unicorn has sold more than six million copies since its original publication in 1968, and has been translated into over twenty-five languages. In 1987, The Last Unicorn was ranked number five among the 33 All-Time Best Fantasy Novels by Locus magazine, and in 2020 Time included the novel on their list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All-Time. With its lyrical prose, whimsical humor and philosophical ruminations on what it means to be human, The Last Unicorn is a quasi-medieval fairy tale that remains timeless.

In 1962, the 23 year-old Beagle was at a career crossroads. His fantasy novel A Fine and Private Place had been released in 1960, but his mainstream second book had been rejected by his publisher. What Peter wrote next was an 80-page fragment about a unicorn, the last of her kind, lost in the modern world of superhighways and Kodak cameras, with only a banished demon from Hell for a traveling companion. This version includes an introduction and commentary by the author.

An enchanted fantasy full of unforgettable characters and profound themes, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle has charmed and delighted readers for over half a century. Magical, beautiful beyond belief and completely alone, the unicorn has 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 carried a message she could not ignore: “Unicorns are gone from the world.” Aided by a bumbling magician and an indomitable spinster, the unicorn embarks on a dangerous quest to learn the truth about what happened to her kind. One of the most enduring classics of the twentieth century, The Last Unicorn has sold more than six million copies since its original publication in 1968, and has been translated into over twenty-five languages. In 1987, The Last Unicorn was ranked number five among the 33 All-Time Best Fantasy Novels by Locus magazine, and in 2020 Time included the novel on their list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All-Time. With its lyrical prose, whimsical humor and philosophical ruminations on what it means to be human, The Last Unicorn is a quasi-medieval fairy tale that remains timeless.