Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem

By: By Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith

Publish Date: 2009

ISBN: 1594743347

Page #: 320 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fiction, Horror

Age Level: Adult, Older Teen

Series Titles: n/a

Subjects: Zombies, Regency Romance, Classics, Satire

Reader's Annotation: Jane Austen's beloved classic Pride and Prejudice now has zombies! After coming out of copyright, Graham-Smith brilliantly adds his own twist by transforming this literary classic with a few choice words here and there (and what a difference)!

 

Synopsis & Review: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins the literary transformation of the famous first line of one of the worlds most beloved works of fiction of all time. But if you are like me and so many others, you wouldn’t read Austen to save your life. Unless of course, your life was being threatened by Zombies! I adore a great deal of classics, but in the case of Austen I was particularly inclined to stay away. Now, with open arms, I am taking in my Austen as I never thought I could. Seth Grahame-Smith delivers a hilarious mash-up of Austen romance, Austen dresses, & Austen manners, and now Austen style zombies. (Note the zombie woman who wastes such a fine wedding gown while praying on brains. ‘Tis a shame.) Readers with a taste for Austen, a taste for zombies, or any variation of the two will revel in the satiric re-telling that aptly plays on the original heroine (Elizabeth Bennet) by keeping her as the spirited and determined central character she always was, but now she carries a Katana and martial arts training! Ms. Bennet, who holds a singular talent to slice and dice the demon dead that has been unleashed upon English countryside. Enter Mr. Darcy an arrogant zombie fighter who is drawn to Ms. Bennet and her skill to kill. Their love affaire de couer takes them through all the woes and wins of the original work but turns them into a cutting edge dance with “unmentionables” (a more Austen-esque term then undead I think) at the core. For those of you who abhor romance this is the romance for you. And for those of you who abhor violence, well, dare I say: this is the horror story for you! On a personal Level, I could not recommend a book more! IN fact, this is a Darcy that I can really sink my teeth into! Or shall I say in spirit, I am in want of more! It must be noted that Grahame-Smith does an excellent job at seamless transitions from Austen to zombie moments. Fans of Austen will get a kick out of it! 

Notes: Obviously violence should be taken into parental consideration for younger readers, however comedy and romance tempers the real threat of offensive material (I often laughed at loud). A great choice for reluctant readers of classical literature.

Not surprisingly, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is already being optioned for a movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1374989/

Stars: 5

Extras: Seth Grahame-Smith: A "polite" Q & A

How did the book come about?
SETH GRAHAME-SMITH: I'm an aspiring screenwriter living in L.A. At the moment, I'm executive producing a pilot for MTV that I wrote which is a sort of updatedWonder Years-meets-Superbad. But I also wrote a book called How to Survive a Horror Movie and another called Pardon My President, which was letters of apology from George Bush to all the people that he had wronged. My editor at Quirk had wanted to do a mash-up of some type for a long time. He had all these lists of public domain titles and lists of modern literary devices. The robot phenomenon. The vampire phenomenon. And zombies. And we arrived at Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because, when you take a look at the original book, it's almost as if, subconsciously, Jane Austen is laying out the perfect groundwork for an ultraviolent bone-crushing zombie massacre to take place. For instance, there's a regiment of soldiers camped out near the Bennett household. In the book, they're just there for characters to flirt with. But it's not that big a leap to say, Okay, they're there because the countryside has been overrun with what they call the "unmentionable menace."

The what, now?

SETH GRAHAME-SMITH:"The unmentionable menace." They call zombies "unmentionables" because it's a very polite society and the word "zombie" is kind of like a curse word. These aristocrats are trying to get on with their lives as best they can, despite the fact that the country is being devoured around them. They still have their balls and their teas and their manners. It was terrific fun to write, in the style of Jane Austen, describing horrific deaths and entire villages being slaughtered and burned to the ground.

Source: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/02/monster-mash-up.html

BOOK TEASER BY THE UNLIBRARIAN: YEA, THAT'S ME. AND YEA, I MADE ANOTHER ONE...

The House of Mirth, By Edith Wharton

By: Edith Wharton

Publisher:  Everyman's Library

Publish Date: 1905

Reprint edition Publishing Date: February 5, 2008

ISBN: 0679406670

Page #: 400

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fiction, Literature, Classics

Age Level: Older Teen, Adult

Series Titles: n/a

Subjects: Tragedy, Old New York, High-Society, 

Reader's Annotation: Lily Bart, one of literatures finest contradictions, lived in New York at the turn of the Century, when everything was lavish and opulent: for the rich. For the less secure like Ms. Bart, running in these circles were nothing short of a gamble. Unrequited love, a caged life, & shear loss are explored through Lily in Wharton's classic tragedy.

Synopsis: Edith Wharton's doomed novel The House of Mirth is a tale of class and gender, elegance and disaster. It is time-sensitive tale (yet ageless) set in Old New York at the turn of the 20th Century. At the center of The House of Mirth is Lily Bart. Merely a female embellishment, Ms. Bart struggles to stay afloat in a wealthier society then she has means to exist, while at the same time trying to temper a spirit which far out weighs her societal cage. She acknowledges the contradictions of love and marriage, social climbing and luck, while playing the game of turn of the century survival. After a series of terrible mistakes (of which no woman is allotted many in her day) Lily Bart takes a disheartening and tragic, spiraling dive into the darkest place a human soul can exist: a place that many don't return from.

Notes: The House of Mirth was made into a wonderful and (in my humble opinion) underrated film in 2000. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200720/

A modern library greatest 100 books of all time.

The House of Mirth is one of my favorite novels of all time.

Stars: 5 

Extras: 

Free Content on Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/284

Edith Wharton on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Wharton

The House of Mirth on LibraryThing http://www.librarything.com/work/11880

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, By Lewis Carroll

By: Lewis Carroll, & 

Illustrated By: John Tenniel 

Publisher: Random House UK

Publishing Date: 2007 

Series Titles & Original Publishing Dates: 

1865 (Adventures in Wonderland) 

1872 (Through the Looking Glass)

ISBN: 0099512076

Page #: 336

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fantasy

Age Level: Children, Teens

 

Subjects: Alternative Realities, Fantasy, Adventure 

Reader's Annotation: Alice's boredom takes her to following a white rabbit that leads her down a hole into a world of her wildest dreams.

Synopsis: After following a white rabbit down a hole Alice travels through an alternative reality of strange places. From the Mad Hatter's tea party to the Queen of Hearts garden Alice is subjected to strange situation after bizarre situations. She drinks potions and pops pills and grows large and grows small. Carroll's vivid story telling mixed with classic illustrations, the adventures of Alice remain to this day not only a literature great, but a cult classic. 

Notes: Many film and animated version of Alice exist. Most recently Tim Burton is shooting a new adaptation die out in 2010 starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/

Stars: 5

Extras: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland

Free Content from Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11

Watch the 1933 Disney classic free here: http://www.squidoo.com/watch-alice-in-wonderland-free-online

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1, By: Alan Moore

By: Alan Moore

Illustrated By: Kevin O'Neill

Publisher: America's Best Comics; 1st edition 
Publish Date: October 1, 2002
ISBN: 1563898586
Page #:
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Graphic Novel
Age Level: Older Teen/Adult

Series Title: 

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen VOL. 1

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: VOL. 2

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910

Subjects: Literary References, 19th Century England, Steampunk, Graphic Novels, Superheros

Reader's Annotation: Introducing Mina Murray and Alan Quatermain and a host of other literary characters as they fight evil in the sky in 19th Century London. Alan Moore, Creator of the Watchmen and Kevin O'Neill illustrating, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen pays tribute to the league of the imagination.

Synopsis:  According to Moore the League is to start a "Justice League of Victorian England" but as his work progressed it became something more. Moore said, in relation to literary characters and the importance of imagination, that "The planet of the imagination is as old as we are. It has been humanity's constant companion with all of its fictional locations, like Mount Olympus and the gods, and since we first came down from the trees, basically. It seems very important, otherwise, we wouldn't have it." In the league of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Moore create an ode to that world. He introduces us to a cast of literary characters/heros. Meet Alan Quatermain, (the main character of H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines), Mina Murray (the heroine of Stoker's Dracula, now divorced and dishonored by her unfortunate undead adventures with the prince of darkness & now donning her independent unmarried name Murray instead of Harker), Captain Nemo (Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island) , Henry Jekyll (and his beastly alter personality) and Hawley Griffin (the Invisible Man), and Professor James Moriarty  the nemesis of  Sherlock Holmes in the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Together they fight the Fu Manchu (threatening a potential evil in the sky as they strive to create the ultimate airship) of which London alone doesn't have the ability to protect itself from. 

Notes: Although not well received, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was made into a film in 2003.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311429/ 

Stars: 5

Extras: Author Fan Site: http://www.alanmoorefansite.com/

Article on CENTURY: 1910 http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=20197

The Watchmen Movie Official http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/ 

(Extreme Content Warning)

Trailer for LXG movie (For a justice league theme, I don't believe the film does it "justice"):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VS10s8l-Eg

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: The Movie?

NEWS ABOUT BOOKS

(NOTE: THIS IS NOT A BOOK REVIEW)

P&P&Z THE MOVIE?

As if I wasn't already beside myself excited about the novel which will release in April, I hear now the book of our dreams is going to be the film of our dreams. Thanks to Megan for the Book tip and to Vlad for the film tip.

Article Source

"Jane Austen is rolling around, decayed and foul, in her grave. I am sure by now you have heard about the novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which Seth Grahame-Green has 'tweaked' from the original Pride and Prejudice romance novel by interspersing scenes of terse, reserved protestations of love and propriety with zombie carnage. Genius, you say? Yes. Total genius. But now, studios are in a bidding war over who gets to make this into a movie. Now that Jane Austin is public domain, her work is up for grabs (hear that, people?) and studio execs with no original thoughts can mush her work into anything they think will make money. What's next for studios, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights where Catherine returns as a Japanese ghost to haunt and terrorise Heathcliff? Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre where Mr Rochester keeps something worse than his wife in the attic? George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss with human sacrifice?
Er, you better read on...
“It quickly became obvious that Jane [Austen] had laid down the blueprint for a zombie novel,” said Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author and comedic genius Grahame-Smith to The UK's Sunday Times. “Why else in the original should a regiment arrive on Lizzie Bennet’s doorstep when they should have been off fighting Napoleon? It was to protect the family from an invasion of brain-eaters, obviously.”
Zombie slayers, kung fu, and Fitzwilliam Darcy as a ninja, cannibal hordes from London sweeping the moors putting a damper on croquet games and garden teas - it just doesn't get better than that."