i used to think that s. morganstern was a fictious author. however, mr.
goldman recently posted an article entitled something like "the reunion
scene" or something close to that. anyway he said that morganstern was,
in fact, a real person and that they are planning to re-release his
original version of the princess bride.
I've always loved the Princess Bride but I never realized there
was such a debate over S. Morganstern before!
I went over the the Library on Congress on-line catalogue, and found
some interesting facts. There are only two S. Morgansterns catalogued,
and neither of them wrote the Princess Bride. Furthermore, according
to the catalogue, William Goldman is also the author of The Silent
Gondoliers. The Paul guy mentioned in another post on the site is listed
as the illustrator of the book.
Taking this into account, and also the silliness of the letter about
the reunion scene, I believe that Morganstern doesn't exist.
Here's the entry from the catalogue too:
CALL NUMBER: PS3557.O384 S5 1983
AUTHOR: Goldman, William, 1931-
TITLE: The silent gondoliers : a fable / by S. Morgenstern ;
illustrated by Paul Giovanopoulos.
EDITION: 1st ed.
PUBLISHED: New York : Ballantine Books, c1983.
DESCRIPTION: 110 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
NOTE: "A Del Rey book."
ISBN NUMBER: 0345312791 : $12.95
LCCN NUMBER: 83-4631 r87
From Julie A Hwang
My personal opinion is that Morgenstern is made up. Partly because of
the vibe I got from the book, but also from the OTHER book by "S.
Morgenstern", "The Silent Gondoliers." The back flap of the hardcover
has biographical information about the author. Whose name is Paul
something-or-other. Just my two cents.
I don't believe he's a real person... if only because Florin never
existed, though that's hard to take.
Lovely site. Princess Bride fans add a poignant sweetness to the
day...even when we don't look so good and probably don't smell so good
either. Nothing personal. :)
S. Morgenstern is a real author, and the book really exists.
However, it is a very long boring history of a real country known as Florin.
William Goldman's Good Parts Version is much better.
I totally think he is real. My brother's friend has seen the book by
S. Morganstern( this particular friend of his does not lie!!!!!!!
My friend says she thinks she saw the book over in New Zealand- she's not a
fan, but she said it was thicker than the one (By William Goldman) that I carry
around at school w/ me and leather bound. It's out there somewhere!