| The Last Unicorn | |
 Dust-jacket for the first edition of The Last Unicorn |
|
| Author | Peter S. Beagle |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Publication date | 1968 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 218 pp |
| ISBN | 9870451450523 |
| Followed by | Two Hearts |
The Last Unicorn is a fantasy novel written by Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels nonfiction and screenplays Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It has sold more than five million copies worldwide since its original publication, and has been translated into at least twenty languages. [1]
The third-person narrative centers on a unicorn who, believing she is the last of her kind in the world, sets off on a journey to discover what has happened to the others. The third-person narrative is a Narrative mode applying the third person. A unicorn (from Latin unus 'one' and cornu 'horn' is a Mythological creature. She encounters a host of diverse characters as her journey progresses, each of them bringing her closer to her goal.
Part fractured fairy tale and part life parable, the novel provides a social commentary through the interaction of typical fairy tale characters placed in very atypical roles. A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving A parable is a brief succinct story in Prose or verse, that illustrates a Moral or Religious lesson At the same time, satire and intentional anachronism are employed to provide some comic relief. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human An anachronism (from the Greek "ana" " ανά " "against anti-" and "chronos" " χρόνος " The novel is widely believed to be Beagle's greatest book, and has been hailed by many critics and readers as one of the greatest fantasy novels of the last 100 years.
Contents |
Plot summary
The story begins in a lilac wood with two hunters discussing the disappearance of unicorns from the world. One is convinced that a unicorn still may exist, due to the almost magical properties of the forest and calls out to her warning her to stay in her forest to protect herself since she is most certainly the last of her kind. The unicorn does hear him and is troubled enough by his words to leave the safety of her forest to ascertain the truth.
On her journey through a world unknown to her, she encounters a varied range of characters, from a mad king and an old witch to an enigmatic butterfly and a band of outlaws. A king is a male Monarch, or a Head of state, who may or may not depending on the style of government of a nation exercise monarchal powers over a territory usually Witchcraft, in various historical anthropological religious and mythological contexts is the use of certain kinds of Supernatural or magical powers A butterfly is an Insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a However, she is ultimately aided by a bumbling and incompetent magician, a care-worn kitchenmaid, and a love-torn prince. A magician, wizard, sorcerer or a person known under one of many other possible terms in fiction is someone who uses or practices magic Prince, from the Latin root Princeps, is a general term for a Monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family and is a Through their friendship and assistance, the unicorn is able to discover what exactly has happened to her kind and ultimately, how to save them from being capture by the Red Bull.
Characters
The unicorn is the protagonist of the story. She seeks nothing more than the knowledge that other unicorns still exist in the world. Being an immortal creature, she cares little for the fates of those who surround her, and in this way is somewhat removed from the world in which she lives. This changes during her brief time as a mortal woman, and she learns to care and love as a human.
The butterfly is merely a passerby in the unicorn's journey. Speaking only in poems and songs and never answering anything concretely, he provides some comic relief, but also gives the unicorn her first piece of concrete information in her quest, that a Red Bull drove the unicorns to the ends of the world.
Mommy Fortuna is an old enchantress who captures the unicorn for her Midnight Carnival. When the unicorn asks her about the Red Bull, Mommy Fortuna betrays that the bull belongs to a King Haggard, and strengthens her resolve to keep the unicorn captive so that the bull will not find her.
Celaeno is a harpy kept by Mommy Fortuna in the Midnight Carnival. In Greek mythology, Celaeno /sɪˈliːnɵʊ/ (sometimes Calaeno or Kelaino) referred to several different beings In Greek mythology, a harpy ("snatcher" from harpȳia ἅρπυια harpūia) was any one of the mainly winged death-spirits best known for constantly Though a minor character, Celaeno is a true legendary creature, just like the unicorn whom she is caged beside.
Schmendrick is a bumbling magician and aide to Mommy Fortuna. A magician, wizard, sorcerer or a person known under one of many other possible terms in fiction is someone who uses or practices magic Unlike others, he sees the unicorn for what she truly is and frees her from her cage at the carnival. From that point, Schmendrick uses his often random magic to help the unicorn persevere and eventually find the other unicorns of the world. He hopes to one day find his true gift, and become a great wizard.
Captain Cully leads a band of rather pathetic forest outlaws. He desperately craves the kind of legendary status given to noble brigands like Robin Hood; unfortunately, Cully is hardly made of star material. Schmendrick is caught by one of his men shortly after escaping the Midnight Carnival and it is the unicorn who repays her debt and saves him.
Molly Grue is Captain Cully's common-law wife. As a young maiden she had eloped with him, naïvely attracted to the romance of loving a woodland fugitive and sharing his life. Unfortunately, that "fairy tale" turned into years of serving Cully's ragged vagrants as their camp cook. She seeks a different reality from the one fate decided for her, and when she discovers Schmendrick leaving with the unicorn, she decides to follow them and do whatever she can to help the unicorn in her quest.
King Haggard is the old king of a desolate castle on the barren countryside. The main antagonist, he has captured all of the unicorns in the world but one with the aid of the Red Bull, the cruel creature of magic and brute force who serves him. The king cares for nothing and no one except the unicorns, whom he greedily hoards for his personal delight.
Prince Lir is the adopted son of King Haggard: good-hearted, but something of a buffoon. He falls in love with the unicorn while she is in human guise as Lady Amalthea, and will do anything to earn her love in return. In the process of winning Amalthea's love, he transforms himself from a fool into a great Hero.
Writing the book
Background information
- See also: The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version
The final version of The Last Unicorn differs greatly from its original incarnation in many ways. The Last Unicorn The Lost Version is a version of the original manuscript of The Last Unicorn by Peter S Though the first few paragraphs remain the same (almost word-for-word), it differs greatly from there. It is a dragon that takes the place of the hunters and first interacts with the unicorn. The dragon is a Legendary creature of which some interpretation or depiction appears in almost every culture worldwide The conversation with the butterfly is largely the same, but it is the "black road," not the Red Bull, that runs behind the unicorns and covers their footsteps. The idea of modernization comes from a view of societies as having a standard Evolutionary pattern as described in the Social evolutionism theories After the butterfly encounter, instead of Mommy Fortuna, the unicorn meets a two-headed demon from Hell called Azazel and Webster, and the original draft of the story ends not too much later. Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering
In the introduction to the current American hardcover edition of the novel, Beagle states that this book was the most difficult to write of all his novels.
Film adaptations
Rankin/Bass
In 1982 the novel was made into an animated film directed and produced by Rankin/Bass for ITC Entertainment, with a screenplay written by Beagle himself. The Last Unicorn is a 1982 Fantasy film based on the novel written by Peter S Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Traditional animation, also referred to as classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular Rankin/Bass Productions Inc (formerly Videocraft International Ltd The Incorporated Television Company (ITC is a British television company largely involved in production and distribution The music was composed and written by Jimmy Webb and performed by America. Jimmy Layne Webb is an American songwriter From his initial success with " Up Up and Away," " By the Time I Get to Phoenix," " Wichita America is an English-American Folk rock band originally composed of members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek. The voice talents include Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, and Mia Farrow. Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE, CStJ (born 27 May 1922 is a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-nominated Saturn Award-winning English Actor Angela Brigid Lansbury, CBE (born October 16, 1925) is an English Golden Globe Award and Tony Award winning Actress Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26 1934 is an American Actor and director. Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is a four-time Academy Award -nominated American Actor and Musician. Maria de Lourdes Villiers-Farrow, known as Mia Farrow (born February 9, 1945) is an American Actress.
The film version is widely acclaimed for its extremely accurate portrayal of the events in the novel.
Continent Films
In addition, a live-action adaptation of the original book has been announced as in development for several years, but it is not clear what progress (if any) has been made towards production. A minor controversy erupted in 2005 over the producers' plans to create their screen unicorn by filming trained horses and then using CGI to modify them. This runs directly counter to the physical description of the unicorn in the book, which explicitly states that the unicorn looks nothing at all like "a horned horse," and has thus upset the book's fans.
In February 2006, Continent Films unveiled a new official website for the project which made clear that the film was still in development, not pre-production. It was not yet funded, did not have a shooting script, and had not been cast. In the new website, all actor names but Christopher Lee's had been removed; and even Mr. Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE, CStJ (born 27 May 1922 is a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-nominated Saturn Award-winning English Actor Lee's involvement was revealed to be nothing more than a promise to appear in the film if he was available and if terms could be worked out with his agent.
On March 8, 2006, the Internet Movie Database shut down their page for the project because they were unable to verify that the film was actually being made. Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
Peter S. Beagle has stated on his own website and in interviews that he is seeking to reacquire the live-action rights to his story, enabling the production of a single unified multi-film franchise. This announcement may explain why the new Continent Films website for their effort dropped the title Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn in favor of simply The Last Unicorn.
Sequel
In 2005, Beagle published a coda story to the Last Unicorn titled Two Hearts in the October/November issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine. Two Hearts is a Novelette written by Peter S Beagle in 2004 as a Coda to The Last Unicorn, despite his decades-long Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Coda ( Italian for "tail" from the Latin cauda, see below is a term used in Music in a number of different senses primarily to designate Two Hearts is a Novelette written by Peter S Beagle in 2004 as a Coda to The Last Unicorn, despite his decades-long The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (later Fantasy & Science Fiction and usually referred to as just F&SF) is a digest-size Though beginning with a new narrator, four main characters from the original story appear again. The story is also included in the short story anthology, The Line Between, published in July 2006. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
Audiobook
In 2005, Beagle recorded an unabridged audiobook of his novel for Conlan Press. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The audiobook is sold in three formats with varying prices. It can be purchased as downloadable MP3 files, an MP3 CD, and as an eight-CD collector's set (containing the audiobook on seven audio CDs and an exclusive interview with Beagle on the eighth).
Those who purchase the Last Unicorn audiobook from Conlan Press will be sent a free autographed 3,000-copy limited hardcover edition of Two Hearts when it is published. [2] Preorders began in early 2005, but as of the beginning of 2008, the book has not yet been published due to numerous problems with printers and finances. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common [3] It is currently unknown when the book will be published and distributed.
References
Cited references
- ^ Beagle, Peter S. : The Last Unicorn: dustjacket text, Roc/Penguin/Barnes & Noble, 2007
- ^ Two Hearts. www. conlanpress. com. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian
- ^ Conlan Press - Updates
Other references
- Library of Congress Online Catalog. Retrieved on 2007-02-08. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
External links
- Official Peter Beagle website
- Conlan Press, Beagle's affiliated American publisher and source for autographed Peter S. Beagle books, audiobooks, media, etc.
- Conlan Press champions Beagle's fight for his royalties
- Peter S. Beagle's fans speak out in support of his legal fight
- The Last Unicorn's Development Website - the development website for the proposed new adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn
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