# The Princess Bride

By William Goldman

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/the-princess-bride-9a8f5404/

Buttercup believes pirates have killed Westley, the farm boy she loves. Prince Humperdinck intends to marry her, but a mysterious man in black has other plans. Goldman surrounds the rescue with sword fights, giants and competing ambitions, then adds a narrator who keeps stepping in to explain which parts of the story deserve telling.

## What makes it funny?

Even the opening’s grand claims about beauty come with fussy qualifications and irrelevant history. The narrator invokes Voltaire as an authority, then remembers that Voltaire hasn’t been born yet. Buttercup, meanwhile, has named her horse Horse.

### The comedy at work

Goldman pretends to be editing an old Florinese classic, preserving the exciting passages his father supposedly read aloud. That invented editorial job gives him room to interrupt an adventure with opinions about how adventures ought to be told. The straight-faced corrections in the opening make the narrator another source of jokes.

### Try this if…

A taste for romantic rescues and swordplay helps, as does patience for a narrator who talks back to his own story. The book’s elaborate framing gives readers interested in storytelling as much to follow as the fairy-tale adventure.

### Good to know

The claim that this is an edited version of an older book belongs to the fictional framing. It’s part of Goldman’s novel, rather than a reason to search for a missing original.

## What to expect

- Genre: Adventure · Fantasy
- Kind of humor: Dry wit · Parody · Satire
- Format: Novel
- Length: 416 pages
- Published: 1973

## A few distinguishing details

- A fairy-tale rescue told through a mock abridgment
- An intrusive narrator with dubious historical expertise

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Contemporary book review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/william-goldman-5/the-princess-bride)
- Reading sample: [Authorized opening excerpt](https://reactormag.com/the-princess-bride-excerpt-william-goldman)
- Publisher: [Publisher and paperback edition](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/princess-bride-9781526694478)
- Author commentary: [Author literary representative](https://www.caa.com/entertainmenttalent/books/author/william-goldman/book/the-princess-bride)