The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, the "Good Parts" Version
Goldman's best-known and most accessible novel, and a self-contained introduction to his inventive narrative voice.
Author guide
William Goldman Books in Order
William Goldman (1931–2018) was an American writer whose career spanned novels, children's fiction, stage plays, screenplays, memoirs, theatrical criticism, and essays. He wrote under the pseudonyms Harry Longbaugh and S. Morgenstern, collaborated with his brother James Goldman, and received Academy Awards for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men. His bibliography follows the career-spanning listings in Encyclopedia.com and the Open British National Bibliography, with later stage work cross-checked against Concord Theatricals.
fictionnovelsthrillersdramaplaysscreenplaysmemoiressayschildren's literature
Catalog record updated .
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Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting
The clearest entry point to Goldman's nonfiction and his distinctive perspective on Hollywood and screenwriting.
Read in order
Books by series
novel-series · completed
The Thing of It Is
A completed two-novel sequence following the relationship and later life of its central characters.
- 1 The Thing of It Is...
Book 1 · novel · 1967
- 2 Father's Day
Book 2 · novel · 1971
novel-series · completed
Babe Levy
A completed two-novel thriller sequence centered on Babe Levy and Doc Levy.
- 1 Marathon Man
Book 1 · novel · 1974
Tom "Babe" Levy is a runner in every sense: racing tirelessly toward his goals of athletic and academic excellence--and endlessly away from the specter of his famous father's scandal-driven suicide. But an unexpected visit from his…
- 2 Brothers
Book 2 · novel · 1986
nonfiction-series · completed
Adventures in the Screen Trade
A completed nonfiction sequence about Hollywood, screenwriting, and Goldman's experiences in the film industry.
- 1 Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting
Book 1 · memoir · 1983
- 2 Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade
Book 2 · memoir · 2000
"William Goldman returns to give us the latest lowdown on Hollywood moviemaking. He dishes the dirt, adventure by adventure, from his most recent films - the successes and the failures - with insider anecdotes from such star-studded sets…
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (14)
- The Temple of Gold
novel · 1957
Acclaimed for such Academy Award—winning screenplays as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and such thrillers as Marathon Man, not to mention the bestselling classic The Princess Bride, William Goldman stands as one of the most beloved…
- Your Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow
novel · 1958
- Soldier in the Rain
novel · 1960
- Boys and Girls Together
novel · 1964
"Aaron, Walt, Jenny, Branch, and Rudy. They are children of America's postwar generation, as different from one another as anyone can be. Yet they are bound together by the traumas of their pasts, the desperate desire to capture their…
- No Way to Treat a Lady
novel · 1964
- The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway
nonfiction · 1969
- The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, the "Good Parts" Version
novel · 1973
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…
- The Story of A Bridge Too Far
nonfiction · 1977
- Magic
novel · 1976
Corky, a famous and brilliantly skilled magician has something to hide. It is in his attempt to keep his secret from the public that leads into "psycho country."
- Control
novel · 1982
- The Silent Gondoliers
novella · 1983
Recounts the story of Luigi the Gondolier and the secret of the sudden silence of the singing gondoliers of Venice's Grand Canal
- The Color of Light
novel · 1984
A young writer obsessed by the past finds himself involved in an odyssey of violence, tragedy, and a search for a murderer
- Heat
novel · 1985
Las Vegas security man Nick Escalante, an ex-Marine, chances on to a bizarre kidnapping threat and races into a night-time world of false identities, vicious grievances, and gruesome encounters
Nonfiction (2)
- Hype and Glory
memoir · 1990
Top screenwriter and novelist William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade was a trade paperback hit after a moderately successful hardcover run. Hype and Glory--his critically praised, controversial insider's look at both Cannes and…
Essays and speeches (1)
- The Big Picture: Who Killed Hollywood? and Other Essays
essay-collection · 2000
Children's books (1)
- Wigger
childrens-fiction · 1974
Separated from her blanket, Wigger, an orphan nearly dies of loneliness until an extraordinary wind from Zurich brings them together again.
Plays (10)
- Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole
play · 1962
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
screenplay · 1969
- The Great Waldo Pepper
screenplay · 1975
- Maverick
screenplay · 1994
- William Goldman: Four Screenplays with Essays
screenplay-collection · 1995
- Five Screenplays with Essays
screenplay-collection · 1997
- Absolute Power: The Screenplay
screenplay · 1997
- Dreamcatcher: The Shooting Script
screenplay · 2003
- Misery
play · 2012
Other (1)
- A Family Affair
musical · 1962
Frequently asked questions about William Goldman
Who was William Goldman?
William Goldman (1931–2018) was an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, memoirist, and essayist whose career bridged literary fiction and Hollywood.
Sources: penguinrandomhouse.com (opens in a new tab)theguardian.com (opens in a new tab)
Where did William Goldman study?
Goldman studied English at Oberlin College and earned a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1956.
What influenced William Goldman’s writing?
His writing grew from short stories he wrote during his studies at Oberlin and Columbia, alongside a deep interest in novels, theater, and film. His work became especially known for tightly constructed plots, adventure, irony, and memorable dialogue.
Sources: rogerebert.com (opens in a new tab)theguardian.com (opens in a new tab)
How many Academy Awards did William Goldman win?
Goldman won two Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Best Adapted Screenplay for All the President’s Men.
Sources: oscars.org (opens in a new tab)oscars.org (opens in a new tab)
What is William Goldman’s legacy?
Goldman helped make screenwriting more visible as a literary and professional craft. His screenwriting memoir influenced aspiring writers, while his films remain influential examples of accessible, sharply structured popular cinema.
Sources: theguardian.com (opens in a new tab)rogerebert.com (opens in a new tab)bfi.org.uk (opens in a new tab)