The Princess Bride
by William Goldman
Summary
Framed as an abridgment of a fictional old adventure classic, the novel follows farm girl Buttercup and her true love Westley through kidnapping, torture, giants, sword fights, and a scheming prince, all narrated with a knowing, comic awareness of fairy tale convention. Goldman balances swashbuckling adventure with sly parody, inventing a fake author and a fake original text to frame his own playful, meta fictional storytelling. The novel later inspired a beloved film adaptation that has become at least as famous as the book itself.
Historical Context & Significance
The 1973 National Book Award for fiction was shared by John Barth's Chimera and John Williams's Augustus, both literary novels far removed from Goldman's genre spoofing adventure. Goldman was already a successful screenwriter, and the book's reputation grew steadily through both formats over the following decades.