Peter Beagle is best known for his fantasy writing. In some quarters, fantasy isn't taken seriously, and a writer of Beagles gravitas is overlooked. His early works, both fiction and non-fiction are thick with novel turns of phrase, clever metaphors and arty alliteration.
His first book A Fine and Private Place was a fantasy novel of sorts but quite a gothic one. Written when he was only 19 years old it does have some shortcomings. But it was followed in 1965 by the autobiographical novel I See by My Outfit. His 1968 novel The Last Unicorn became a phenomenon of it's own, somewhat overshadowing the rest of his career with multiple versions, sequels and both film and stage adaptations.
But getting back to I See by My Outfit. It's proved to me that it's worth digging around the dark corners of his bibliography.
"Hunched and chattering, shrunken as newborns under the high ceiling, turning as we come in, blinking in the snowy sunlight slanting through the door, they seem to share only the sullen knowledge that others have also come there to die."
