The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

William Goldman

Oct 2007 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

William Goldman’s beloved story of Buttercup, Westley, and their fellow adventurers.

A tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts—The Princess Bride is a modern storytelling classic.

As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchmen, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, and recused once again by the very crew who absconded with her in the first place. In the course of this dazzling adventure, she'll meet Vizzini—the criminal philosopher who'll do anything for a bag of gold; Fezzik—the gentle giant; Inigo—the Spaniard whose steel thirsts for revenge; and Count Rugen—the evil mastermind behind it all. Foiling all their plans and jumping into their stories is Westley, Princess Buttercup's one true love and a very good friend of a very dangerous pirate.

The Princess Bride was unforgettably depicted in the 1987 now cult classic film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Fred Savage, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Cary Elwes, and others.

Ratings and reviews

I love this book. I feel like I can read it a thousand times and feel as if it's my first time reading it, I enjoyed it so much I love the movie, but reading the book is so much better I honestly get sad when I watch the movie because of how many good parts they left out please read the book it's so good. I'm giving it a 5 star for the amount of details and love, pain, Joy that I have felt out of this book I deeply enjoy it and I hope the person to who reads this will enjoy it as much as I do.

There is no amount of hyperbole I could indulge in that would supersede the quality of this book. As a fan of the movie, the dialogue is almost verbatim, and the backstory of the characters that was new to me, was just frosting on the cake. It is a book you'll reread once a year and treasure every moment. His little 'interjections' throughout the story explaining the decision to edit something out, or a historical perspective influencing a scene are moments that raise this book from great to greatest. Please keep in mind that this book was written as entertainment and you cannot take the 'editing' of the original text story seriously. You can always find angry fans looking for the unedited version of this book, there is no such thing. This knowledge will add to your enjoyment.

I first read the book as a teenager for an independent reading class. I grew up on the movie, it being a favorite with my family. Having read other books that got turned into movies, I expected it to be quite different. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was incredibly faithful to the book, even down to small details. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a swashbuckling adventure story that the whole family can enjoy.

About the author

WILLIAM GOLDMAN (1931-2018) wrote books and movies for more than fifty years. He won two Academy Awards (for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men), and three Lifetime Achievement Awards in screenwriting.