And that’s exactly what Kermit Shog and the estate of S. Morgenstern did. Those of you who’ve written to Harcourt Publishing (or later, Random House) for my version of Wesley and Buttercup’s reunion already know this story, so I won’t go into it again here, except to say that they were none too pleased that I, an American writer, even a mildly successful one, would have the gall to edit and rewrite the masterwork of their national author. Thirteen lawsuits were filed against Harcourt Publishing and myself to rectify that situation. Those thirteen suits, through no small amount of legal wrangling and an incident or two of international diplomacy, remained locked up in court for thirty five years with no end in sight.

Or so I thought.