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The Princess Bride is a 1973 novel written by William Goldman and presented as if it were an abridgment of a work by S. Morgenstern. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. It combines elements of comedy, adventure, romance and fairy tale. It was made into a feature film in 1987 by Rob Reiner, and an attempt to adapt it into a musical was made by Adam Guettel.

Plot summary:

In a Renaissance-era fairy-tale world, a beautiful woman named Buttercup lives on a farm in the fictional country of Florin. She delights in verbally abusing the farm hand Westley by demanding that he perform chores for her. Westley's only answer is "As you wish", which represents his great affection for her. After Buttercup realizes the true meaning of the words, as well as the fact that she returns his love, Westley leaves to seek his fortune so they can marry. Buttercup later receives word that his ship was attacked at sea by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who is notorious for killing all those whose vessels he boards. Believing Westley to be dead, Buttercup reluctantly is engaged to Prince Humperdinck, heir to the throne of Florin.

Before the wedding, Buttercup is kidnapped by a trio of outlaws: the Sicilian criminal genius Vizzini, the Spanish fencing master Inigo Montoya, and the enormous and mighty Turkish wrestler Fezzik. A masked man in black follows them across the sea and up the Cliffs of Insanity, whereupon Vizzini orders Inigo to stop him. Inigo arranges a fair fight, allowing his opponent to rest before the duel, during which Inigo reveals that he is seeking revenge on a six-fingered man who killed his father. The man in black wins their duel, but leaves the Spaniard alive. Vizzini, stunned, orders Fezzik to kill the man in black. Fezzik, moved by his conscience throws a rock as a warning, and challenges the man in black to a wrestling match. The man in black then chokes Fezzik until the giant blacks out. The man in black catches up with Vizzini, who is holding Buttercup hostage, and proposes a battle of wits. Vizzini is tricked into drinking poison, and subsequently dies.

With Prince Humperdinck's rescue party in hot pursuit, the man in black flees with Buttercup, and reveals that he is the Dread Pirate Roberts, Westley's murderer. Enraged, she shoves him into a gorge, yelling "You can die, too, for all I care!" only to hear him call, "As you wish!". She realizes that he is Westley, who tells her that the Dread Pirate Roberts did attack his ship, but kept Westley alive after Westley explained the depths of his love for Buttercup. Westley became the Dread Pirate Robert's apprentice, learning to sail, fence, and fight. Eventually, Roberts secretly passed his name, captaincy, and ship to Westley. Westley and Buttercup travel through the feared Fire Swamp to evade Humperdinck's party, but upon exiting, they are captured by Humperdinck and his menacing six-fingered assistant, Count Tyrone Rugen. Buttercup negotiates for Westley's release and returns with Humperdinck to the palace to await their wedding. Rugen, who has no intention of releasing Westley, instead takes him to the underground hunting arena called the 'Zoo of Death', where he is tortured.

Buttercup later has several nightmares regarding her marriage to the prince. She expresses her unhappiness to Humperdinck, who proposes a deal wherein he will send out four ships to locate Westley, but if they fail to find him, Buttercup will marry him. Humperdinck reveals that although he arranged Buttercup's kidnapping in order to start a war with neighboring country of Guilder, it will be better propaganda if she dies on her wedding night.

On the day of the wedding, Inigo meets Fezzik, who tells him that Count Rugen is the killer of Inigo's father. They seek out the man in black, hoping that his wits will help them overcome the guards. Buttercup learns that Humperdinck never sent the ships, and taunts him with her enduring love for Westley. Enraged, he tortures Westley to death. Westley's screams draw Inigo and Fezzik to the scene; upon finding Westley's body, they enlist the help of the magician Miracle Max. Max pronounces Westley to be merely "mostly dead" and resurrects him, although Westley remains partially paralyzed.

Westley devises a successful plan to invade the castle during the wedding but the resulting commotion prompts Humperdinck to cut the wedding short. Buttercup decides to commit suicide as soon as she reaches the honeymoon suite. Inigo pursues Rugen through the castle and kills him, reciting throughout the duel his long-rehearsed oath of vengeance. Westley reaches Buttercup before she commits suicide and assures her that she is not yet married as the ceremony had not been completed. Still partly paralyzed, he bluffs his way out of a sword fight with Humperdinck. Instead of killing his rival, Westley decides to leave him alone with his cowardice. The party rides off into the sunset on white horses, conveniently discovered by Fezzik. They are pursued by Humperdinck's men, and their fate remains unknown.