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

Goldman, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0151015392 ISBN 13: 9780151015399

Publisher: Harcourt, 2007

Synopsis

William Goldman’s beloved novel has sold over one million copies. A movie, released twenty years ago, perfectly captured the spirit of the book and has introduced new fans to its pages ever since. In 1941 a young boy lies bedridden from pneumonia. His perpetually disheveled and unattractive father, an immigrant from Florin with terribly broken English, shuffles into his bedroom carrying a book. The boy wants to know if it has any sports. His father says, "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions. Miracles." And the little boy, though he doesn’t know it, is about to change forever. As Goldman says, "What happened was just this. I got hooked on the story." And coming generations of readers will, too.

About this title

Review:

The Princess Bride is a true fantasy classic. William Goldman describes it as a "good parts version" of "S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure." Morgenstern's original was filled with details of Florinese history, court etiquette, and Mrs. Morgenstern's mostly complimentary views of the text. Much admired by academics, the "Classic Tale" nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles."

Goldman frames the fairy tale with an "autobiographical" story: his father, who came from Florin, abridged the book as he read it to his son. Now, Goldman is publishing an abridged version, interspersed with comments on the parts he cut out.

Is The Princess Bride a critique of classics like Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers, that smother a ripping yarn under elaborate prose? A wry look at the differences between fairy tales and real life? Simply a funny, frenetic adventure? No matter how you read it, you'll put it on your "keeper" shelf. --Nona Vero

From the Publisher:

Believe it or not, my future husband used this book to win my hand. I think giving it to me as a gift was his way of proving that he is a hopeless romantic, since the book is so wonderfully hopelessly romantic. So far, he's lived up to it! If you've only seen the movie, but love it, then you should definitely read the book. Also look for the 25th Anniversary (yes, it's really been that long) edition this Christmas--it includes the first chapter of the forthcoming sequel, Buttercup's Baby.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harcourt
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0151015392
• ISBN 13: 9780151015399
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 464