Peter S. Beagle
Author of The Last Unicorn
About the Author
Peter S. Beagle was born in Manhattan in April of 1939. During his senior year of high school, Beagle entered a poem and a short story in the 1955 Scholastic Writing Awards Contest, not knowing that the Grand Prize was a college education. He won that prize and went on to spend four years at the show more University of Pittsburgh after graduating from high school in 1955. In his sophomore year at the University of Pittsburgh, Beagle entered another contest, winning first place again in Seventeen Magazine's Short Story Contest. At the age of 19, he published "A Fine and Private Place." Beagle graduated college with a degree in Creative Writing and a Spanish minor and then spent a year overseas. When he returned, his new-found agent had enrolled him in a writing workshop at Stanford. After his first few published stories, Beagle supported himself and his family as a freelancer for many years. In the 70's he began to write screenplays, as well as take up the hobby of singing folk songs at a local club. Beagle has published music as well as books, both his passions, and both lucrative. Beagle gives lectures and readings at universities, and also hosts writing workshops at schools such as the University of Washington and Clarion West. His works have been translated into 15 languages. Beagle has also written a script for Star Trek: The Next Generation and the screenplay for the animated feature version of The Lord of the Rings. In 1987, Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" was proclaimed the Number 5 All Time Fantasy Novel. That same year, "The Innkeeper's Song" won the Mythopoetic Fantasy Award. In 1997, "The Unicorn Sonata" won the Locus Poll Award for Best Novella, and in 1998, "Giant Bones" won the same award as well as being nominated for the 1998 World Fantasy Award. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Wikipedia
Series
Works by Peter S. Beagle
The Secret History of Fantasy (2010) — Editor; Contributor; Introduction, some editions — 202 copies
My Son Heydari and the Karkadann 17 copies
The Fantasy & Science Fiction Book of Unicorns, Volume 2 — Contributor — 13 copies
The Last Unicorn #2 9 copies
The Way It Works Out and All 8 copies
The Last Unicorn #6 7 copies
The Last Unicorn #4 7 copies
The Last Unicorn #5 6 copies
The Last Unicorn #3 6 copies
Barrens Dance 5 copies
Olfort Dapper’s Day 2 copies
The Bridge Partner 2 copies
Kaskia 2 copies
Oakland Dragon Blues 2 copies
Four Fables 2 copies
The Naga {short story} 2 copies
Mr. McCaslin 1 copy
Vanishing [Novelette] 1 copy
Music When Soft Voices Die 1 copy
Untitled Work on Fiction 1 copy
Trinity County Ca 1 copy
The Ape-man Of Mars 1 copy
Innkeeper's Song 1 copy
Associated Works
Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense (2011) — Contributor — 207 copies
Five Seasons of Angel: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Discuss Their Favorite Vampire (2004) — Contributor — 202 copies
The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology (2009) — Contributor — 132 copies
The Graphic Canon of Children's Literature: The World's Greatest Kids' Lit as Comics and Visuals (2014) — Contributor — 90 copies
For the Sake of the Game: Stories Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon (2018) — Contributor — 88 copies
New York Fantastic: Fantasy Stories from the City that Never Sleeps (2017) — Contributor — 34 copies
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction July/August 2011, Vol. 121, Nos. 1 & 2 (2011) — Contributor — 14 copies
Nuove avventure nell'ignoto — Contributor — 2 copies
Treasure Island Trek; Children's Author & Illustrator Festival Saturday Oct, 18, 1969 — Contributor, some editions — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Beagle, Peter Soyer
- Birthdate
- 1939-04-20
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Manhattan, New York, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Oakland, California, USA
New York, New York, USA - Education
- University of Pittsburgh
- Occupations
- fantasy writer
non-fiction writer
screenwriter - Awards and honors
- Guest of Honour, Eastercon, UK (1999)
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award (2018)
Members
Discussions
OT Suntup the last Unicorn in Folio Society Devotees (September 2023)
Peter S. Beagle's short story anthologies in Fairy Tale Readers (March 2013)
Reviews
This book is regarded as a classic within the fantasy genre, and it is easy to see why. It has rich themes, and mixes tragedy and sadness with funny elements. It has the tone of a fairy tale, and perhaps because of that it did not grip me as much as other novels have done. I liked it, but I did not love it.
The edition I read also had Two Hearts, a novella written decades later that can serve as a sequel. I enjoyed this one more than the original novel. It is narrated by a spunky young girl who made the story feel less distant than the fairy-tale tone of The Last Unicorn.… (more)
The edition I read also had Two Hearts, a novella written decades later that can serve as a sequel. I enjoyed this one more than the original novel. It is narrated by a spunky young girl who made the story feel less distant than the fairy-tale tone of The Last Unicorn.… (more)
This is an easy read fast paced classic about the adventures of the last Unicorn.
The Unicorn stole my heart and I was enthralled with her very interesting comrades who chose to accompany her as she sets out to find if she is indeed the very last of this immortal breed.
I realized I had read this book before about halfway thru, but it is good enough to read twice or more in a lifetime. It definitely had more depth this time though, because the last time I read it I was 15!
The book has more details and adventures than in the movie, and the story will live on in my heart for as long as the sun rises each day and the waves crash against the sand.… (more)
The Unicorn stole my heart and I was enthralled with her very interesting comrades who chose to accompany her as she sets out to find if she is indeed the very last of this immortal breed.
I realized I had read this book before about halfway thru, but it is good enough to read twice or more in a lifetime. It definitely had more depth this time though, because the last time I read it I was 15!
The book has more details and adventures than in the movie, and the story will live on in my heart for as long as the sun rises each day and the waves crash against the sand.… (more)
While I knew this was the first draft of The Last Unicorn, I didn't expect it to be so very different - unlike the final version, for example, this is set in a now-modern world.
I also didn't expect it to be utterly unfinished - not in the sense of polish but in that the story just stops abruptly in the middle. (The note from the author at the end talking about the history of this story explains that he wrote himself into a corner/got stuck there.)
I also didn't expect it to be utterly unfinished - not in the sense of polish but in that the story just stops abruptly in the middle. (The note from the author at the end talking about the history of this story explains that he wrote himself into a corner/got stuck there.)
Lists
Cats in Fiction (1)
Ghost Cats (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
2023 Reads (1)
1980s (1)
Five star books (1)
Favourite Books (1)
Ghosts (2)
First Novels (1)
Allie's Wishlist (1)
1960s (1)
Unread books (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 122
- Also by
- 95
- Members
- 18,785
- Popularity
- #1,162
- Rating
- 4.3
- Reviews
- 528
- ISBNs
- 280
- Languages
- 18
- Favorited
- 111
But their dragon-killing adventure goes tragically pear-shaped, and they realize that there's something behind these new, huge, murderous dragons...the wizard Dahr, who King Krije killed (but not permanently, it seems). Dahr has big ambitions and is out for vengeance, but he's no match for Reginald, Robert, and Cerise.
Royalty, dragons, some dry humor (the valets' negotiations were hilarious) and not one but two love triangles (Ostvald-Elfrieda-Robert and Robert-Cerise-Reginald) make for a satisfying fantasy with the feeling of a classic.
See also: Terry Pratchett, Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede, The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Quotes
...but sincerity has a way of trumping circumstance... (40)
There's just something upsetting about getting what we want. (Queen Helene to Cerise, 95)
It was like picking their way through a nightmare, and soon enough even the quiet praying stopped. (122)
"Fear cannot breed where there is action." (Reginald, 124)
"[He is] neither what he thinks he is, nor what he dreams of being." (Dahr re: Robert, 167)… (more)