# The Princess Bride (novel)
*The Princess Bride* is a 1973 novel by the American writer [William Goldman](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-goldman), presented on its title page as *The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure*, the "Good Parts" Version, abridged by Goldman[1](https://danielsherrier.substack.com/p/the-princess-bride-how-to-have-fun). The book is a fantasy adventure and romance about Westley and Buttercup, but its defining feature is a framing device in which a fictionalized Goldman claims to be abridging a classic by a foreign author who never existed[2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride/themes/fact-vs-fiction). Goldman also wrote the screenplay for [Rob Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-reiner)'s 1987 film adaptation[3](https://www.readinggroupguides.com/printpdf/reviews/the-princess-bride).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author and year | William Goldman, first published September 1, 1973[4](https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/992628-the-princess-bride?expanded=false&page=1) |
| Full title | *The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure*, the "Good Parts" Version[1](https://danielsherrier.substack.com/p/the-princess-bride-how-to-have-fun) |
| Genre | Adventure, romance, fantasy, satire[5](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride) |
| Central device | Goldman poses as the abridger of a fictional classic by S. Morgenstern of the fictional country of Florin; both author and country are inventions[2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride/themes/fact-vs-fiction) |
| Film adaptation | Rob Reiner, 1987, screenplay by Goldman; became a cult classic after its September 1987 release[3](https://www.readinggroupguides.com/printpdf/reviews/the-princess-bride) • [6](https://time.com/4955759/princess-bride-30th-anniversary-internet-reactions/) |
| Notable cut | The novel's Zoo of Death, a five-level underground menagerie beneath Prince Humperdinck's castle, was replaced in the film by the modest Pit of Despair[7](https://cinecorner.co.uk/news/princess-bride-book-vs-movie) |
| Sequel material | The 25th anniversary edition includes back matter previewing the sequel, "Buttercup's Baby", with commentary by Goldman[8](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25907461M/The_Princess_Bride) |
## The framing device
The novel opens with an introduction in which Goldman, writing as himself, explains that *The Princess Bride* was his favorite childhood book, read to him by his father when he was ten years old and sick with pneumonia[2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride/themes/fact-vs-fiction). As an adult, he says, he bought a copy for his own son, who lost interest because the original was weighed down by long satirical passages on Florinese history; Goldman then set out to produce an abridged "good parts version"[9](https://www.supersummary.com/the-princess-bride/background/). Throughout the book, his editorial persona interrupts the tale to cut boring stretches, flag the good parts, and comment on the story[10](https://insightcrunch.com/2021/11/01/princess-bride-cult-fantasy-adaptation/).
None of this apparatus is real. S. Morgenstern is not a real author, the "original" is something Goldman made up, and Florin and its neighbor Gilder do not exist[2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride/themes/fact-vs-fiction) • [11](https://www.andrewjstillman.com/book-reviews/2021/03/27/the-princess-bride-book-to-movie-comparison). Most of the biographical information in the novel about Goldman's family, childhood, and authorship of the abridged version is fictional[12](https://www.tpet.com/content/NovelUnitsSamples/PrincessBride-NUT-sample.pdf). The deception was effective enough that online reviews still describe the book as an abridgement of a real Morgenstern novel[13](https://www.martineleavitt.com/downloads/the-princess-bride.pdf).
The device serves several purposes at once. By placing a fictional author at the core of the story, Goldman gains a freedom above that of a pure author or a pure audience: he can satirize the romance, adventure, and pseudo-historical genres contained in the book while joining his readers in the act of reading[14](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/princessbride/mini-essays/) • [15](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/princessbride/context/). In real life, beyond the world of the novel, Goldman's father was not a Florinese immigrant, because Florin does not exist; he died by suicide when Goldman was a teenager[2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride/themes/fact-vs-fiction).
## The tale itself
The inner story follows Westley, a farm boy who fights for his love, Buttercup, against the conniving Prince Humperdinck[2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride/themes/fact-vs-fiction). The adventure includes master fencers, terrifying beasts, a Rodent of Unusual Size, and a love that transcends death, set in a European-style land of monarchs and pirates[16](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-great-american-novel-princess-bride-20160624-snap-story.html). Goldman's stated method is to write only the "good parts," avoiding backstory and political history so the book moves on character, action, and humor[16](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-great-american-novel-princess-bride-20160624-snap-story.html).
The novel carries on past the point where the film ends, into rather bleaker territory[7](https://cinecorner.co.uk/news/princess-bride-book-vs-movie). Its largest set piece, the Zoo of Death, is a five-level underground menagerie beneath Prince Humperdinck's castle, stocked by floor with animals arranged by speed, strength, and venom, with the torture Machine waiting at the bottom[7](https://cinecorner.co.uk/news/princess-bride-book-vs-movie).
## Origins
Goldman wrote the novel in 1973, setting his companionable narrative introduction in the same modern time, and placing the fairy-tale land "back before Europe but after blue-jeans"[15](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/princessbride/context/). Before the book he had been writing novels and screenplays for years, including *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid*[15](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/princessbride/context/).
## The 1987 film adaptation
Goldman adapted his own novel for the screen, and Rob Reiner directed the 1987 film[3](https://www.readinggroupguides.com/printpdf/reviews/the-princess-bride). The film replaces the novel's elaborate literary frame with a grandfather reading the tale aloud to his sick grandson, turning the editorial intrusion into a warm human relationship the camera can hold[10](https://insightcrunch.com/2021/11/01/princess-bride-cult-fantasy-adaptation/). The boy's groans at kissing and demands for more swordfights redistribute the genre satire into a child's resistance[10](https://insightcrunch.com/2021/11/01/princess-bride-cult-fantasy-adaptation/).
The film became a cult classic after its September 1987 release and remains enormously popular[6](https://time.com/4955759/princess-bride-30th-anniversary-internet-reactions/). A contemporary *Time* review judged that Goldman's wordplay on the page seemed too much of a jape, and that the material needed the expanse of cinema to revive the poetry of fable[17](https://time.com/3833736/the-princess-bride-movie-review/). Readers who know the story only from the film miss the frame narrative, which takes up a substantial share of the book's word count and carries much of its meaning[18](https://www.gradesaver.com/the-princess-bride/study-guide/analysis).
## Editions and sequel material
The book has remained in print through many anniversary editions; a 30th anniversary paperback appeared from Ballantine Books in 2003[4](https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/992628-the-princess-bride?expanded=false&page=1). A collector's hardcover released for the novel's 25th anniversary features new map artwork and back matter previewing the first chapter of the sequel, "Buttercup's Baby", with corresponding commentary by Goldman[8](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25907461M/The_Princess_Bride). In later editions Goldman extended the fiction further, claiming that the Morgenstern estate had entrusted adaptation rights to [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king), described as an author of Florinese descent, and that Goldman had met King in person to discuss the Morgenstern legacy[9](https://www.supersummary.com/the-princess-bride/background/).
## References
1. [Daniel Sherrier, "'The Princess Bride' and the Inconceivably Fun Framing Device"](https://danielsherrier.substack.com/p/the-princess-bride-how-to-have-fun)
2. [LitCharts, "Fact vs. Fiction Theme in The Princess Bride"](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride/themes/fact-vs-fiction)
3. [ReadingGroupGuides, "The Princess Bride"](https://www.readinggroupguides.com/printpdf/reviews/the-princess-bride)
4. [Goodreads, Editions of The Princess Bride by William Goldman](https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/992628-the-princess-bride?expanded=false&page=1)
5. [LitCharts, The Princess Bride Study Guide](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-princess-bride)
6. [Time, "It's Inconceivable to the Internet That The Princess Bride Came Out 30 Years Ago"](https://time.com/4955759/princess-bride-30th-anniversary-internet-reactions/)
7. [CineCorner UK, "The Princess Bride book vs movie"](https://cinecorner.co.uk/news/princess-bride-book-vs-movie)
8. [Open Library, The Princess Bride by William Goldman](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25907461M/The_Princess_Bride)
9. [SuperSummary, The Princess Bride Background](https://www.supersummary.com/the-princess-bride/background/)
10. [Insight Crunch, "The Princess Bride: A Cult Fairy Tale Adaptation"](https://insightcrunch.com/2021/11/01/princess-bride-cult-fantasy-adaptation/)
11. [Andrew J. Stillman, "The Princess Bride Book to Movie Comparison"](https://www.andrewjstillman.com/book-reviews/2021/03/27/the-princess-bride-book-to-movie-comparison)
12. [Novel Units sample, Genre: fantasy/adventure fiction](https://www.tpet.com/content/NovelUnitsSamples/PrincessBride-NUT-sample.pdf)
13. [Martine Leavitt, "The Princess Bride" lecture notes](https://www.martineleavitt.com/downloads/the-princess-bride.pdf)
14. [SparkNotes, The Princess Bride Mini Essays](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/princessbride/mini-essays/)
15. [SparkNotes, William Goldman and The Princess Bride Background](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/princessbride/context/)
16. [Los Angeles Times, "Ramírez's Great American Novel: 'The Princess Bride'"](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-great-american-novel-princess-bride-20160624-snap-story.html)
17. [Time, "Cinema: Errol Flynn Meets Gunga Din" (1987 review)](https://time.com/3833736/the-princess-bride-movie-review/)
18. [GradeSaver, The Princess Bride Study Guide: Analysis](https://www.gradesaver.com/the-princess-bride/study-guide/analysis)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Prose fiction › Standalone novels › Science fiction, fantasy, and horror standalone novels*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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