The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn is a fantasy novel by American author Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968, by Viking Press in the U.S. and The Bodley Head in the U.K. It follows the tale of a unicorn, who believes she is the last of her kind in the world and undertakes a quest to discover what has happened to the other unicorns. It has sold more than six million copies worldwide since its original publication, and has been translated into at least twenty-five languages (prior to the 2007 edition). In 1987, Locus ranked The Last Unicorn number five among the 33 "All-Time Best Fantasy Novels", based on a poll of subscribers; it ranked number eighteen in the 1998 rendition of the poll. Plot Two hunters pass through a forest searching for game. Unsuccessful, they believe they are in a Unicorn's forest, where animals are kept safe by a magical aura. Before they leave, one of the hunters calls out a warning to the Unicorn that she may be the last of her kind. Doubt and worry drive the Unicorn to travel through the land, discovering that humans no longer recognize her; instead they see a pretty white mare. She encounters a talking butterfly who warns that her kind have been herded to a far away land by a creature known as the Red Bull. She continues searching for other unicorns. During her journey, she is taken captive by a traveling carnival led by the witch Mommy Fortuna, who uses magical spells to make regular animals appear as mythical creatures. The Unicorn finds herself the only true legendary creature among the group, save for the harpy, Celaeno. Schmendrick, a magician traveling with the carnival, sees the Unicorn for what she is, and frees her. The Unicorn frees the other creatures including Celaeno, who kills Mommy Fortuna. The Unicorn and Schmendrick travel toward the castle of King Haggard, where the Red Bull resides. When Schmendrick is captured by bandits, the Unicorn rescues him and attracts the attention of Molly Grue, the bandit leader's wife. The three reach Hagsgate, the first town Haggard conquered when he claimed his kingdom. A villager named Drinn informs them of a curse that states that their town will share in Haggard's fortune until someone from Hagsgate brings Haggard's castle down. Drinn claims that he discovered a baby boy in the town's marketplace one night. He knew the child was the one the prophecy spoke of, but left the baby where he found it, not wanting the prophecy to come true. King Haggard found the baby and adopted it.