The Princess Bride (1973) by William Goldman @ Capital Ale House, Glen Allen

The Princess Bride (1973) by William Goldman wins our April 11 fantasy poll. We will discuss it at Capital Ale House in Glen Allen on Sunday, April 11, 2026 at 1pm.

Here's some info about the book.

William Goldman’s beloved story of Buttercup, Westley, and their fellow adventurers.

What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?

As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything.
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"[Goldman's] swashbuckling fable is nutball funny . . . A 'classic' medieval melodrama that sounds like all the Saturday serials you ever saw feverishly reworked by the Marx Brothers." - Newsweek

"One of the funniest, most original, and deeply moving novels I have read in a long time." - Los Angeles Times