It is written in a unique cadenced style, in which a mysterious prince must complete a seemingly impossible task to free a maiden from the clutches of an evil duke.

[1] The story is noted for Thurber's constant, complex wordplay, and his use of an almost continuous internal meter, with occasional hidden rhymes — akin to blank verse, but with no line breaks to advertise the structure.

The angry Duke, deprived of his vengeance and his profit, is then killed by a nightmarish monster called the Todal, sent by the Devil as punishment for failing to do sufficient evil.

Boucher and McComas praised the book as "magically adorned with touches of modern humor, hints of dark Jacobean terror, and gleams of pure poetry.".

[4] The story was set to music by Mark Bucci and appeared in 1953 as the fifth episode of The Motorola Television Hour, with Basil Rathbone as the evil Duke.

A three part Jackanory adaptation was broadcast on BBC One 28–30 December 1983 starring Colin Jeavons as the Duke, Roy Kinnear as the Golux, Yolande Palfrey as Saralinda and Simon Shepherd as Prince Zorn.

A musical-theater adaptation, titled "Hooray for Now", was written by New York duo Peter Haas (book and lyrics) and Gene Goldberg (music), in the 1950s, and was presented to Mr Thurber's widow, Helen Wismer, who did not approve it.

Visual artist Juan Delcán created a short animated film of the opening chapter of the book, with narration by Neil Gaiman.