A Fine and Private Place

Jonathan Rebeck is homeless. Bankrupt. He has dropped out of society and has been living quietly in a local cemetery, under the care of a raven who is quite good at stealing sandwiches. Far from being lonely, however, Jonathan is able to converse with the ghosts around him, and finds himself following two new spirits, Michael and Laura, as they fall in love with each other. He becomes invested in, and part of, their cautious romance. But the circumstances behind Michael's death are slipping from his memory, and the further from life they drift, the closer the loss of love feels. When a visiting widow stumbles across Jonathan in his graveyard home, will the living world begin to intrude on this fine and private place? Peter S. Beagle's legendary, beautiful debut novel is filled with all his characteristic warmth and humanity. With a new introduction by Neil Gaiman, A Fine and Private Place is a timeless classic from the author of The Last Unicorn.

Jonathan Rebeck is homeless. Bankrupt. He has dropped out of society and has been living quietly in a local cemetery, under the care of a raven who is quite good at stealing sandwiches. Far from being lonely, however, Jonathan is able to converse with the ghosts around him, and finds himself following two new spirits, Michael and Laura, as they fall in love with each other. He becomes invested in, and part of, their cautious romance. But the circumstances behind Michael's death are slipping from his memory, and the further from life they drift, the closer the loss of love feels. When a visiting widow stumbles across Jonathan in his graveyard home, will the living world begin to intrude on this fine and private place? Peter S. Beagle's legendary, beautiful debut novel is filled with all his characteristic warmth and humanity. With a new introduction by Neil Gaiman, A Fine and Private Place is a timeless classic from the author of The Last Unicorn.

This classic ghost story from the author of The Last Unicorn follows Jonathan who's been living in a cemetery with a raven as his only friend amongst the newly dead until he discovers a pair of ghostly lovers bearing an extraordinary gift--the final chance for his own happiness. For nineteen years, Jonathan Rebeck has hidden from the world within the confines of a Bronx's cemetery, making an abandoned mausoleum his secret home. He speaks with the newly dead as they pass from life to wherever spirits finally go, providing them with comfort, an understanding ear, and even the occasional game of chess. But Mr. Rebeck's reclusive life is disrupted. An impossible love has blossomed between two ghosts at Yorkchester Cemetery. Helped along by a cynical, talking raven and a mysterious security guard, these four souls must learn the true difference between life and death and make choices that really are forever. Told with an elegiac wisdom and beauty, Peter S. Beagle's first novel is, "One of literature's most beautiful works about ghostly times and places...told with wit, charm, and a sense of individuality" ( The New York Times Book Review ).

This classic ghost story from the author of The Last Unicorn follows Jonathan who's been living in a cemetery with a raven as his only friend amongst the newly dead until he discovers a pair of ghostly lovers bearing an extraordinary gift--the final chance for his own happiness. For nineteen years, Jonathan Rebeck has hidden from the world within the confines of a Bronx's cemetery, making an abandoned mausoleum his secret home. He speaks with the newly dead as they pass from life to wherever spirits finally go, providing them with comfort, an understanding ear, and even the occasional game of chess. But Mr. Rebeck's reclusive life is disrupted. An impossible love has blossomed between two ghosts at Yorkchester Cemetery. Helped along by a cynical, talking raven and a mysterious security guard, these four souls must learn the true difference between life and death and make choices that really are forever. Told with an elegiac wisdom and beauty, Peter S. Beagle's first novel is, "One of literature's most beautiful works about ghostly times and places...told with wit, charm, and a sense of individuality" ( The New York Times Book Review ).