Unicorn fiction

I started out looking for unicorn fiction titles- preferably fiction for adults or young adults to go with my set of illustrated Unicorn cards. Once I started looking, what little I found surprised me - and because of that, I went on a deeper dive into Unicorn mythology, which was utterly fascinating! (Article on Unicorn mythmaking will come later!)

Unicorn cards arrived - See them here!

I have read a thousand or so fantasy books, and on reflection, I couldn't name that many Unicorn fantasy books. I turned to the internet because surely there are more? After a few searches where I found a slew of picture books and stories for younger readers, I came to the realisation that unicorns are more visual than literary in modern fantasy culture.

Some books may reference a unicorn as a passing fantasy trope eg: Unicorns being killed to renew life (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Stardust) or to add a wild magic to a scene or to support the purity or nobility of a character. I'm sure there is a unicorn somewhere in Terry Pratchett's Discworld universe and C.S. Lewis' Narnia books.

Some stories spend more time with the Unicorn, like Sharan Newman's Guinevere or Neil Gaiman's Stardust. (Both affirm the special qualities of the young women). In The Halfblood Chronicles by Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton, the Alicorns or Onehorns are fierce and wild. In Isobelle Carmody's The Legendsong series, there is a contemporary scene with the Unicorn tapestries in a Museum, while the 'Unykorn' is a religious figure called the Firstborn of the Song of Making.

I know only of a few novels that use the Unicorn as a central character or figure in the story: The Unicorn series by Tanith Lee, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and, and?

Well, after asking my Patrons for their Unicorn reading recommendations, I have a longer list than when I started.

• The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

• Guinevere by Sharan Newman

• The Halfblood Chronicles by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

• The Unlikely Ones by Mary Brown

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling

• Stardust by Neil Gaiman

• The Black Unicorn, The Gold Unicorn and the Red Unicorn by Tanith Lee

• The Legendsong Series by Isobelle Carmody

• Terry Pratchett's Discworld universe, which one?

• C.S. Lewis' Narnia books, also which one?

• Short story The Unicorn by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

• Unicorn's I have Known by Robert Vara (a creative bestiary with lore and photographs!) I remember seeing a copy of this large glossy book when I was about 14.

• The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier (not quite fantasy fiction)

• The Book of Unicorns by Jacky French -Thanks, Angharad!

• Elidor by Alan Garner - Thanks, Louisa!

• The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge - Thanks, Leife!