As a child, William Goldman loved hearing his father read the "S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride." When he grew up and got his own copy, however, he found that Morgenstern's story wasn't precisely the one he recalled. Apparently his Dad had carefully omitted the boring parts as he read. So Goldman decided to reconstruct his father's version of the tale-the "Good Parts Version"...

Buttercup, a farm girl in the kingdom of Florin (between what's now Sweden and Germany; this was before Europe), wasn't the world's most beautiful woman at age 15, nor even the third most beautiful nor the sixth. In point of fact, she was barely in the top 20, and that based on potential, for she hated fussing over her looks. What she liked to do was to ride her horse, and taunt the farm boy.

The horse came when she called it and went where she steered it. Yet the farm boy, Westley-a young man actually-was even more obedient. "Farm Boy, fetch me this," Buttercup would say; "Get me that, Farm Boy...." No matter what she demanded, he always answered simply, "As you wish."

At least, that's what she thought. He was really saying "I love you," but it wasn't until she'd turned 17 that Buttercup heard him right.

A farm boy has limited prospects, and thus on the very day Buttercup declared her heart, Westley left for America, promising to send for her when he'd made his fortune. Alas, word came not long after: the Dread Pirate Roberts had attacked Westley's ship. And as everyone knew, Roberts never left survivors.
Buttercup died then. Oh, her body remained in excellent working order and she moved up the ranks of the world's great beauties to #1. But her life lost all meaning. That's why she agreed to marry Prince Humperdinck.

Humperdinck considered Buttercup's beauty a tribute to his own perfection. Besides which, he knew it would impress the people of Florin, who'd demand vengeance when she was killed by a foreign assassin-as Humperdinck had arranged. For he planned to make himself the most powerful King in all Florinese history...

So! Are you ready for Fencing and Fighting? True Love, Strong Hate and Harsh Revenge? A Giant, Lots of Bad Men, Lots of Good Men, plus Rodents of Unusual Size? Not to mention Death, Lies, Truth and Miracles? It's all here!