The Last Unicorn

Did You Know?

• Beagle came up with the idea for the novel in 1962 while on an artistic retreat in Berkshire Hills after Viking Press rejected his novel The Mirror Kingdom.
• The story Two Hearts, a coda to The Last Unicorn, won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novelette.
• In 2017, five stories linked to The Last Unicorn were collected in a short story collection titled The Overneath.

Plot

Two hunters in a forest fail to find game and believe they are in a unicorn's forest, where animals are protected by magic. Before leaving, one hunter warns the unicorn she may be the last of her kind. Troubled, the unicorn travels and finds that humans now see her as a white mare. A talking butterfly tells her the other unicorns were herded away by a creature called the Red Bull. She is captured by the witch Mommy Fortuna, who runs a carnival of enchanted animals. The only true mythical creature there is the harpy Celaeno. The magician Schmendrick recognizes the unicorn and frees her; she then frees the other creatures, and Celaeno kills Mommy Fortuna. The unicorn and Schmendrick head for King Haggard's castle, where the Red Bull lives. The three reach Hagsgate, where a villager named Drinn tells them of a curse: someone from Hagsgate will bring down Haggard's castle. Drinn once found a baby boy in the marketplace but left him, not wanting the prophecy fulfilled; King Haggard later adopted the child.

Characters

The unicorn is the protagonist, leaving her forest after learning she is the last unicorn. When she first meets the Red Bull, Schmendrick accidentally turns her into a human woman, calling her Lady Amalthea to avoid King Haggard's suspicion; the name references the Greek goddess Amalthea. The butterfly is an eccentric character who speaks in riddles and songs, giving the unicorn vital information about the other unicorns; his dialogue came from things that amused Beagle and a childhood friend during a trip to Berkshire Hills. Mommy Fortuna is a wicked witch who runs a carnival of enchanted animals, with only the harpy Celaeno being a true mythical creature; her name alludes to the Roman goddess of fortune and the German mythical hero Fortunatus. Schmendrick is a bumbling magician traveling with the carnival out of necessity, wanting to become a true magician. He frees the unicorn and joins her quest; Beagle originally created him for his children's bedtime stories as the world's worst magician. The name parodies Mandrake the Magician and comes from a Yiddish word meaning someone out of his depth. Captain Cully leads a second-rate band of outlaws opposing King Haggard; he is jealous of famous outlaws like Robin Hood, an illusion of whom Schmendrick accidentally conjures. Beagle drew Cully's name from old English slang for buddy.

Publication history

Many print editions of The Last Unicorn exist. A corrected definitive text was prepared for the 2007 Deluxe Edition, also used in the 2008 40th Anniversary Edition; the Deluxe Edition was available only from Barnes & Noble, co-published by Roc and Barnes & Noble, and included a sequel and new material with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon. The book was reissued in July 2022. In 2024, Suntup Editions produced a high-quality hardcover with illustrations by Tom Kidd, which won the 2025 Locus Award for Best Illustrated and Art Book. In 2004, Beagle recorded an unabridged audiobook for Conlan Press, sold as downloadable MP3 files, an MP3 CD, and an eight-CD collector's set that included an interview; purchasers were to receive a free autographed limited hardcover of Two Hearts. Preorders began in late 2004, but as of August 2014 the book and CDs were finished but not manufactured. Connor Freff Cochran of Conlan Press was found liable for financial elder abuse, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty in 2019; Cochran declared bankruptcy before trial, and Beagle could not collect the money owed. The rights were left in legal limbo until February 2021, when Beagle regained them. The criminal activity likely prevented this edition's release. In July 2022, an Audible edition narrated by Orlagh Cassidy was released, and a 2022 Orion/Gateway edition narrated by Clare Corbett and Christopher Ragland included an introduction by Patrick Rothfuss.

Adaptations

The novel was turned into an animated film in 1982, directed and produced by Rankin/Bass for ITC Entertainment. Peter S. Beagle wrote the screenplay, and the animation was done by Topcraft, the studio that later became Studio Ghibli. Jimmy Webb composed the music, which was performed by the band America. The voice cast included Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, René Auberjonois, and Mia Farrow. The first DVD from Lionsgate had poor quality, but a 25th Anniversary Edition with better quality came out in February 2007. A live-action version has been in development for years, but its status is uncertain. In February 2006, Continent Films launched a website saying the project was still being worked on but had no funding, script, or cast. Christopher Lee had only agreed to appear if he was available and terms could be arranged. Lee passed away in 2015, and the website later promoted his final film, Angels in Notting Hill, before switching back to The Last Unicorn. As of January 2022, the site showed only a background image, the title, and a note that it was not in service. A stage musical adaptation written by Beagle was performed in 1988 by the Intiman Playhouse in Seattle, in collaboration with Pacific Northwest Ballet. Another stage adaptation was staged in Chicago in fall 2009 by Promethean Theatre Ensemble. IDW Publishing released a six-issue comic book adaptation starting in April 2010.