Goldman, William (1931– ), American screenwriter and novelist, whose best‐known fantasy works are the Morgenstern series: The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The ‘Good Parts’ Version, Abridged by William Goldman (1973) and The Silent Gondoliers: A Fable by S. Morgenstern (1983). Adapted for movies in 1987, The Princess Bride is a hilarious parody of the traditional fairy tale, soap operas, and popular romances. It involves the rescue of Princess Buttercup by a dashing pirate named Westley, her childhood sweetheart. Nobody is what she or he appears in this mock fairy tale, and Goldman leaves the reader up in the air as to whether Buttercup and Westley will live happily ever after.
— Jack Zipes
