Heartfelt study of the trailblazing lost maiden of English folk music

I’ve Always Kept A Unicorn The Biography of Sandy Denny. By Mick Houghton. Faber & Faber, €25.20 Reviewed by Andrew Lynch.

Sandy Denny: a tragically unfulfilled talent who succumbed to her demons at the age of just 31. Picture: Getty
Sandy Denny: a tragically unfulfilled talent who succumbed to her demons at the age of just 31. Picture: Getty

Sandy Denny was never the world’s most organised person. “I’ve got no plans for the future,” the English singer-songwriter told an interviewer in 1970, shortly after leaving the seminal folk band Fairport Convention. “I just hope the future’s got some plans for me.”

In fact, Denny’s best days were already behind her. She died of a ...