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The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
“Nutball funny. . . . A ‘classic’ medieval melodrama that sounds like all the Saturday serials you ever saw feverishly reworked by the Marx Brothers.”—Newsweek
A tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts that is a modern storytelling classic, now available as a limited Olive Edition from Harper Perennial.
As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, Princess Buttercup is devastated when her one true love dies at sea. But instead of being able to grieve in peace, she finds herself kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchmen, then rescued by a pirate, then forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, and finally rescued 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 is Westley, Buttercup's true love who survived after all, and became a very good friend to a very dangerous pirate.
The Princess Bride was unforgettably depicted in the 1987 cult classic film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Fred Savage, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Cary Elwes, and other actors.
A tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts that is a modern storytelling classic, now available as a limited Olive Edition from Harper Perennial.
As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, Princess Buttercup is devastated when her one true love dies at sea. But instead of being able to grieve in peace, she finds herself kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchmen, then rescued by a pirate, then forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, and finally rescued 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 is Westley, Buttercup's true love who survived after all, and became a very good friend to a very dangerous pirate.
The Princess Bride was unforgettably depicted in the 1987 cult classic film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Fred Savage, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Cary Elwes, and other actors.
432 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2026
About the author
William Goldman
93 books2,750 followersGoldman grew up in a Jewish family in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, and obtained a BA degree at Oberlin College in 1952 and an MA degree at Columbia University in 1956.His brother was the late James Goldman, author and playwright.
William Goldman had published five novels and had three plays produced on Broadway before he began to write screenplays. Several of his novels he later used as the foundation for his screenplays.
In the 1980s he wrote a series of memoirs looking at his professional life on Broadway and in Hollywood (in one of these he famously remarked that "Nobody knows anything"). He then returned to writing novels. He then adapted his novel The Princess Bride to the screen, which marked his re-entry into screenwriting.
Goldman won two Academy Awards: an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for All the President's Men. He also won two Edgar Awards, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Motion Picture Screenplay: for Harper in 1967, and for Magic (adapted from his own 1976 novel) in 1979.
Goldman died in New York City on November 16, 2018, due to complications from colon cancer and pneumonia. He was eighty-seven years old.
William Goldman had published five novels and had three plays produced on Broadway before he began to write screenplays. Several of his novels he later used as the foundation for his screenplays.
In the 1980s he wrote a series of memoirs looking at his professional life on Broadway and in Hollywood (in one of these he famously remarked that "Nobody knows anything"). He then returned to writing novels. He then adapted his novel The Princess Bride to the screen, which marked his re-entry into screenwriting.
Goldman won two Academy Awards: an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for All the President's Men. He also won two Edgar Awards, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Motion Picture Screenplay: for Harper in 1967, and for Magic (adapted from his own 1976 novel) in 1979.
Goldman died in New York City on November 16, 2018, due to complications from colon cancer and pneumonia. He was eighty-seven years old.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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March 9, 2026it's good but you really can just watch the movie. the extra framing devices add things you may not enjoy.
February 27, 2026
Yep, The Princess Bride.
Yep, the original book of the cult classic film (it says those very words right there on the cover).
Yep, I read it in a few days - because, unfortunately, I lost quite a few hours to work and sleep which rudely interrupted my time with this wonderful book.
For this 25th anniversary edition, the author has personalised some aspects of the story and included a 30 page introduction that is interesting of itself, but also builds tension by delaying the start of the adventure.
Five stars because it’s The Princess Bride and Good Reads doesn’t allow us to award one book stars the number of all the heartbeats in the history of the world.
So much better than any book I’ve written (and I think this review might be better than any review I’ve written before)
Yep, the original book of the cult classic film (it says those very words right there on the cover).
Yep, I read it in a few days - because, unfortunately, I lost quite a few hours to work and sleep which rudely interrupted my time with this wonderful book.
For this 25th anniversary edition, the author has personalised some aspects of the story and included a 30 page introduction that is interesting of itself, but also builds tension by delaying the start of the adventure.
Five stars because it’s The Princess Bride and Good Reads doesn’t allow us to award one book stars the number of all the heartbeats in the history of the world.
So much better than any book I’ve written (and I think this review might be better than any review I’ve written before)
April 2, 2026
Not what I expected haha, but not always in a good way. I enjoyed parts of it (mostly the princess bride parts). The abridgement, which I understand is fictional and part of the story, didn’t always land well. The last quarter of the book was slow (abridgement + buttercup’s baby) and I had to force myself to finish it.
Content warning:
Content warning:
October 8, 2026
The Princess Bride is a classic true love story where Princess Buttercup is kidnapped, then rescued, and then forced to marry while falling for Westley. I am disappointed that my middle school didn’t read this for our class reading because now I understand why this story is a classic. It’s such a fun book, and I love how action-packed it is. It contains humor and drama and everything you would expect from a 1987 story. The pacing is fast, and I enjoyed the setting.
Princess Buttercup is the FMC of the story, and I do have to say that I found her a bit whiny. I know a lot of classic books have the FMCs with whiny appearances or just have the dialogue written in that way. I still found her character to be interesting and enjoyable for the story. Westley is great, and I see what people mean when they talk about him. I loved seeing their story together and seeing them grow. There are many side characters in this book, but none who truly stood out to me. The romance is cute and not overdone and perfect for the story.
The ending was well done, and overall, I really enjoyed this story. I am glad to have read it, and I know there are so many versions out there. I believe I read the abridged version, so I will have to do comparisons and see. However, now I can say that I have read The Princess Bride.
*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*
Princess Buttercup is the FMC of the story, and I do have to say that I found her a bit whiny. I know a lot of classic books have the FMCs with whiny appearances or just have the dialogue written in that way. I still found her character to be interesting and enjoyable for the story. Westley is great, and I see what people mean when they talk about him. I loved seeing their story together and seeing them grow. There are many side characters in this book, but none who truly stood out to me. The romance is cute and not overdone and perfect for the story.
The ending was well done, and overall, I really enjoyed this story. I am glad to have read it, and I know there are so many versions out there. I believe I read the abridged version, so I will have to do comparisons and see. However, now I can say that I have read The Princess Bride.
*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews