R.O.U.S.'s - I Don't Think They Exist - Part II (Caution: Book Spoiler Alert)

Last week I wrote about how getting stuck as a writer doesn't really exist, using the The Princess Bride screenplay as a way to get my point across.  (Any time you need an appropriate quotation, check The Princess Bride first.)

While the article was all about how writing and (not) getting stuck, it was inspired by my first reading of The Princess Bride.  The book, on the surface, is William Goldman's adaptation of S. Morgenstern's original text. Goldman's adaptation being the "good parts" version.

It's a great example of voice, as we get such a sense of Goldman through his introduction and occasional break-ins to the story.

Now comes the spoiler part...

There was/is no S. Morgenstern.  Goldman wrote the entire thing. 

I was talking with Lynn one night after I'd already written the above article, and she told me, "I don't think there was a Morgenstern, if I remember correctly."  

"What?"

So off I go to do some research, and, yep, no Morgenstern.

Along with a made-up autobiography (his "cold psychologist wife" Helen never existed, nor his "fat" son), Goldman also created the Morgenstern character, the fact that he (Morgenstern) wrote the original Princess Bride as a satire.  Which meant that Goldman created a fictional author, a reason for the author to write, and those occasional writerly break-ins (for example, he breaks in and talks about how he removed 73 pages of packing and unpacking - because Morgenstern was rhapsodizing on the evils of nobility and Goldman thought it took away from the story).

Talk about a story within a story.  So let's get it straight. Goldman created...

• The original story of The Princess Bride
• A fictional author, S. Morgenstern
• The reason behind why Morgenstern wrote The Princess Bride
• Goldman's own childhood (he says his father was Florinese)
• Goldman's life and reason for doing the screenplay (note cold wife and fat son above)
• The screenplay of The Princess Bride
• The continuing story (along with Morgenstern's estate, Goldman's fat son all grown up, Goldman's grandson) of the sequel of Buttercup's Baby.
• Oh, and he also brings Stephen King in to play

I'm truly in awe.  And I'd love to know why the container story. The Princess Bride definitely stands on its own, although, as in the movie version and the book version, those little break-ins add something to the story.  "Wait, Grandpa, Westley can't be dead..."