Content Warning: This section references alcoholism and sexual exploitation.

The William Goldman presented in the novel shares much in common with the Goldman who wrote The Princess Bride, although they are not quite the same person. The real Goldman uses several factual details to lend authenticity to the fictional Goldman, particularly in regard to his career trajectory. For example, both Goldmans wrote The Temple of Gold as their debut novel and rose to prominence for their work on the screenplay Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. However, much of the fictional Goldman’s personal life, including details about Goldman’s family and personality, are entirely fabricated.

While Goldman the author uses himself as a framing device and literary hoax, the Goldman on the page is a complex character with his own arc. In the introductory chapter, he is a jaded adult looking back on a formative childhood. This Goldman laments his intellectually stimulating yet loveless marriage and the (fictional) son whom he loves but doesn’t particularly like. At this point, he has lost all expectation that life will ever contain the “true love and high adventure” he alludes to in the full title and accepts his place in a corrupt and utilitarian world.