The Princess Bride

Fantasy · Comedy · Parody

First published: 1973
Print length: 429 pagesBallantine Books, 2003

Description

Farm boy Westley leaves home to seek his fortune so that he can build a life with Buttercup, the woman he loves. When the two are separated and Buttercup faces marriage to the war-hungry Prince Humperdinck, Westley’s attempt to reach her becomes an adventure of sword fights, perilous escapes, fantastical creatures, and elaborate schemes. Along the way, the revenge-driven swordsman Inigo Montoya and the gentle giant Fezzik become essential to the struggle against a cruel count and a prince willing to use Buttercup for his own ambitions. The novel treats true love and heroic quests with both sincerity and comic irreverence, combining fairy-tale danger with a playful, self-aware voice that questions how grand adventures are told.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Conversational · Dialogue-driven · Direct · Witty

Pace

Brisk

Tone

Humorous · Playful · Romantic · Suspenseful

Structure

Framed · Linear

Focus

Plot · Relationships · Voice

Emotional intensity

3 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 3 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 1 / 5

Themes

FriendshipLovePowerRevengeSurvival

About William Goldman

William Goldman was an American novelist, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned seven decades. He worked across forms with an unusually consistent command of pace, dialogue, and narrative construction. His fiction ranges from the conversational fantasy and affectionate parody of The Princess Bride to the conspiracy suspense of Marathon Man and the spare psychological horror of Magic. Despite that breadth, the books share an emphasis on characters placed under pressure, plots built around pursuit and concealment, and voices shaped for immediate dramatic effect. Goldman also wrote candidly about his profession. In Adventures in the Screen Trade, he drew on personal experience and conversations about filmmaking to examine story, collaboration, production, and the screenwriter’s uncertain authority within Hollywood. His ability to move between novels, stage work, and film writing distinguishes the body of work, as does his readiness to treat popular genres with both technical discipline and wit.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Language: English
ISBN: 9780345418265

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