The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The "Good Parts" Version is a 1973 fantasy romance novel written by American author William Goldman. The book mixes comedy, adventure, fantasy, drama, romance, and fairy tale elements. It is presented as a shorter version of a longer story by the fictional author S. Morgenstern, and Goldman’s comments appear throughout the book. The book was first published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, later by Random House, and in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury.
The book was adapted into a 1987 movie directed by Rob Reiner, with actors Cary Elwes and Robin Wright.
William Goldman once said, "I have received more responses about The Princess Bride than all my other works combined—many different kinds of letters. Something about The Princess Bride touches people."
When the first edition of the book did not sell well, author and editor Spider Robinson persuaded Goldman to allow him to include a part of the novel, called the "Duel Scene," in an anthology titled The Best of All Possible Worlds (1980). Robinson believes this helped the book reach the right readers.
In 2015, a book of essays about the novel and its movie version was published. The title of the book is The Princess Bride and Philosophy.
Plot
The story begins with William Goldman explaining how he wrote the book. He learned that the "historical tale" he thought he knew from his father was actually a shortened version of a longer story by a fictional author named S. Morgenstern. After finding what he believed to be the original work, Goldman decided to create his own shortened version, which becomes the main story.
In the Renaissance-era country of Florin, a young farm woman named Buttercup often gives orders to her servant, Westley. Westley always responds with "As you wish," which shows his love for her, and she loves him in return. Westley leaves to find wealth so they can marry, promising to return. Later, Buttercup hears that the Dread Pirate Roberts attacked Westley’s ship, making her believe he is dead. Many years pass, and she becomes engaged to Prince Humperdinck, the heir to Florin’s throne.
Before their wedding, Buttercup is kidnapped by three outlaws: Vizzini, a clever Sicilian criminal; Inigo Montoya, a skilled Spanish swordsman; and Fezzik, a large Turkish wrestler. As they climb the Cliffs of Insanity, a man in black follows them. Vizzini cuts their rope, but the man clings to the cliff.
The man in black reaches the top, where Inigo challenges him to a duel. Inigo explains he wants revenge on a six-fingered man who killed his father, Domingo Montoya. They fight, and the man in black wins but spares Inigo’s life out of respect.
The man in black continues chasing them. Vizzini orders Fezzik to stop him, and Fezzik, who prefers fair play, challenges the man to a wrestling match. The man outsmarts Fezzik, knocking him unconscious. He then confronts Vizzini, who has blindfolded Buttercup, and proposes a "Battle of Wits" using two goblets and a deadly poison called "iocane powder." After a series of tricks, Vizzini tricks the man into drinking poisoned wine. However, both cups were poisoned, and Vizzini dies. The man in black claims he has become immune to the poison.
The man in black taunts Buttercup, saying she no longer loves Westley. Angered, she pushes him into a gorge, shouting, "You can die, too, for all I care!" He replies, "As you wish!" Buttercup realizes the man is Westley and joins him in the gorge. They embrace but are soon chased by Prince Humperdinck’s men. Westley explains that the title "Dread Pirate Roberts" is passed down, and his love for Buttercup inspired previous Roberts to spare his life. They escape through the dangerous Fire Swamp and face giant rodents called ROUSs.
Westley and Buttercup are captured by Prince Humperdinck and his six-fingered assistant, Count Tyrone Rugen. Buttercup negotiates for Westley’s release, returning with Humperdinck to the palace. Rugen, following secret orders, takes Westley to his underground "Zoo of Death," where he tortures him with "The Machine," which drains his life force.
Meanwhile, Buttercup has nightmares about her upcoming marriage. Humperdinck secretly planned to start a war with the neighboring country of Guilder and orchestrated Buttercup’s kidnapping and murder. He believes her death on their wedding night will make his people fight harder.
On the wedding day, Fezzik finds a drunken Inigo and tells him that Count Rugen is the six-fingered man. Inigo becomes determined to seek revenge. They find the man in black, hoping he can help them storm the castle. Buttercup learns Humperdinck never sent ships to find Westley and mocks him with her love for Westley. Humperdinck tortures Westley to death. Westley’s screams lead Inigo and Fezzik to the Zoo of Death.
They rescue Westley’s body and seek help from the magician Miracle Max. Max says Westley is "mostly dead" and revives him, though Westley remains weak and partially paralyzed.
Westley plans to attack the castle during the wedding. The chaos causes Humperdinck to speed up the ceremony. Buttercup, planning to kill herself in the honeymoon suite, is stopped by Westley. Inigo fights Rugen and kills him. Westley, still weak, tricks Humperdinck into revealing his cowardice and spares his life. Westley, Buttercup, Fezzik, and Inigo escape on the prince’s horses. The story ends with the group facing more challenges but escaping successfully.
Context
This novel uses storytelling methods and writing styles, including a fictional story that explains how Goldman learned about and decided to adapt S. Morgenstern's The Princess Bride. In Goldman's "footnotes," he describes how his father used to read The Princess Bride aloud to him, making it his favorite even though he never read the book himself. As a father, Goldman wanted to share the story with his own son and worked hard to find a copy for his son's birthday. However, his son stopped reading after the first chapter. When Goldman read the book again, he realized it was not just an adventure story but also a satire about politics in Morgenstern's homeland, Florin. His father had skipped the political parts and only read the exciting scenes. This made Goldman shorten the book to match the version his father had read, adding notes to explain the parts he removed. Morgenstern and the "original version" are made-up characters used to explore how stories are changed and to compare the exciting parts of the main story with everyday life. The countries of Guilder and Florin are also fictional. Each section or chapter takes place in a specific setting, such as the Cliffs of Insanity, the Fire Swamp, or the Forest of Thieves (which is called the Thieves Quarter of Florin City in the book).
The narrator of The Princess Bride, named William Goldman, is a character who mixes real-life details with fictional elements. In the book, Goldman claims to have one son with his wife, Helen, a psychiatrist. In reality, Goldman married Ilene Jones, a photographer, in 1961. They had two daughters named Jenny and Susanna and divorced in 1991. Goldman's commentary includes references to his real-life career in Hollywood, such as the idea that the famous cliff scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid might have been inspired by the Cliffs of Insanity from The Princess Bride. While Goldman did write the screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969, it is unclear if all the career details are true. The commentary continues throughout the book until the end.
The book's origins come from stories Goldman told to his daughters, who were 7 and 4 years old. One daughter asked for a story about "princesses," and the other about "brides." Goldman used silly names for early characters, such as Buttercup and Humperdinck. The novel is often seen as a parody of adventure stories, but Goldman never intended it to be one. He wanted to write a fun fairy tale for his daughters. Themes like romance, escape, and revenge may make the book seem like a parody. The names of the countries, Guilder and Florin, are based on types of coins. The florin was originally an Italian gold coin from Florence, and the guilder was a Dutch gold coin. These names are often used interchangeably.
Goldman wrote the first chapter about Buttercup, which was about 20 pages long. He then wrote the second chapter, "The Groom," about the man Buttercup was to marry, but only managed to write four pages before stopping. He later decided to write a shorter version of the book. Goldman was especially moved by the scene in which Westley dies.
In the book's commentary, Goldman explains that he did not add anything to the "original" Morgenstern text, except for one scene: a loving reunion between Buttercup and Westley. His publisher did not allow this addition. Goldman invited readers to contact the publisher (formerly Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; now Random House) to request a copy of the "Reunion Scene." Many readers received a letter instead, which described fictional legal issues involving Goldman and the Morgenstern estate. This letter was updated over time, with the 1987 version mentioning the movie and the 25th Anniversary Edition adding details about Kermit Shog's granddaughter, Carly. The 30th Anniversary Edition noted that the reunion scene was available online, but the website only included the original letters. The website was later removed, and the current version of the letter is available as a digital download on the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt product page for the book.
Buttercup's Baby
The epilogue in some later editions of the book, including the 25th anniversary version, refers to a planned sequel called Buttercup's Baby. It explains that the sequel faced challenges in being published due to legal problems involving the estate of S. Morgenstern. Later editions of the book include a chapter written by Goldman, which serves as a sample of the sequel.
This chapter contains a mix of stories about the four main characters fleeing to a place called "One Tree Island." It also describes the kidnapping of Waverly, the daughter of Westley and Buttercup, by a man with no facial features who throws her off a mountain. The chapter ends with Fezzik, Waverly's babysitter, jumping off the mountain to save her and holding her to protect her from the fall, which could harm him. A flashback is also included, showing Inigo's past as a swordsman and his former romantic relationship.
The chapter includes footnotes written by Goldman after he learned that the Morgenstern estate had agreed to a shortened version of Buttercup's Baby created by Stephen King instead of Goldman. These footnotes describe Goldman's visit to a fictional country called Florin, where a museum displays items related to the "real" story of The Princess Bride, such as Inigo's six-fingered sword.
The 30th anniversary edition of The Princess Bride included hints about the sequel's story and promised the full version would be completed by the 50th anniversary edition in 2023.
In a 2007 interview, Goldman said he struggled to develop ideas for the sequel. Goldman passed away in 2018 without finishing the story.
Adaptations
In 1982, Ray Harryhausen met with British producer Milton Subotsky, who had written a script based on the novel. Harryhausen enjoyed the book but found many issues with the screenplay. He and Subotsky worked together to create a new script, but they eventually stopped working on the project.
The book was adapted into a 1987 movie directed by Rob Reiner, using a screenplay written by Goldman.
Goldman partnered with Adam Guettel to create a musical version of the story, with Goldman writing the book and Guettel writing the music and lyrics. However, they stopped working together when Goldman requested 75% of the royalties, even though Guettel wrote both the music and lyrics. Guettel’s score was nearly completed, but it was only performed in an orchestral suite at the Hollywood Bowl in 2006.
In November 2013, Disney Theatrical announced plans to stage a new stage musical version based on the novel and movie screenplay.
In 2008, Toy Vault, Inc. announced it was creating a card game and a board game based on the movie. The board game was the second one made for the movie, following a simple version included with some VHS releases.
Also in 2008, Worldwide Biggies released a computer game called The Princess Bride Game. Some actors from the movie, including Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, and Robin Wright, provided voices for their characters in the game.
Sierra Online created a computer game titled King’s Quest VII: The Princeless Bride, which was a humorous take on the book’s title.
In 2014, Game Salute received the rights to produce board and card games based on the movie, and released them later that year.
In 2019, Toy Vault created a role-playing game written by Steffan O’Sullivan.
On September 13, 2020, the surviving members of the original movie cast participated in a live script reading to raise funds for the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
In 2021, BBC Radio 4 produced a two-part radio adaptation by Stephen Keyworth, titled “The Best Bits of the Good Parts Version.” The first part aired on Christmas Day 2021, and the second part on New Year’s Day 2022. During the week of December 26, 2021, five short episodes called “Bitesize Backstories” were also broadcast, focusing on the book and four main characters.
In 2023, Wizards of the Coast released a Secret Lair collection featuring Magic: the Gathering cards reimagined as characters and scenes from the movie.