The Wandering Unicorn
El unicornio (known in English as The Wandering Unicorn) is a 1965 fantasy novel by the Argentine author Manuel Mujica Lainez based on the legend of Melusine. Set in medieval France and Palestine of the Crusades, Mujica Lainez’s novel is a mixture of fantasy and romance which is narrated from the perspective of the shapeshifting Melusine.
 First edition cover art Il fantastico uinicorno (1545) by Walter Hermann Ryff | |
| Author | Manuel Mujica Lainez |
|---|---|
| Original title | El unicornio |
| Translator | Mary Fitton |
| Country | Argentina |
| Language | Spanish |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Editorial Sudamericana (Spanish), Berkley Books (English) |
Publication date | 1965 |
Published in English | 1985 |
Background
The events of the original legend of the medieval Romance are recollected early in the novel. Melusine, a fairy, marries Raimondin of Lusignan. However, when he spies her transformed as half-serpent, she flies away with frightful screams. Associated through marriage with the Lusignan family, Melusine appears over the centuries on the towers of their castle, wailing mournfully whenever a disaster or death in the family is imminent.
Plot
Melusine embarks upon an adventure and unrequited love affair with Aiol, the son of Ozil, a crusader knight who bequeaths a unicorn's lance to his son. Together the young knight Aiol and Melusine travel across Europe encountering monsters, angels and Knights Templar, before eventually arriving in war-torn Jerusalem of the Crusades era.
Mujica Lainez’s novel generates empathy towards Melusine as she recollects her adventures, before the love affair between a mortal and an immortal concludes in a tragic ending.[1]
Editions
The Wandering Unicorn (1965) translated by Mary Fitton, with an introduction by Jorge Luis Borges, Berkley Books, 1985
Awards and nominations
- World Fantasy Award—Novel (Finalist, 1984)
- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Finalist, 1986)
See also
References
- The Wandering Unicorn trans. Mary Fritton with introduction by Jorge Luis Borges. Berkley Books 1985