Pride and Prejudice (and Zombies)

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Pride and Prejudice (and Zombies)



Jane Austen, meet George Romero. Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies takes Austen's classic novel and spices it up for the modern zombie-loving age, an act sure to have the beloved novelist spinning in her grave ... or climbing out of it.

The official description on the book's Amazon.com listing [http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347] reads as follows: "'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' features the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone crunching zombie action." Now, this isn't the first time that the author (of the zombie parts, not the rest of it) has tackled the living dead: Seth Grahame-Smith's other writing credits include How to Survive a Horror Movie.

I'm honestly kind of torn here. On the one hand, assuming I'm reading this correctly, it'll be the same Pride and Prejudice that people have read and loved for almost two centuries. I don't think Grahame-Smith is going to be changing too much of the story - Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are going to end up together in the end; they'll just have to crack some zombie skulls together along the way. So there's kind of no point to it, since it (by its very definition) can't affect the plot.

On the other hand? It's goddamn hilarious. The fact that somebody thought, "Hey, I freakin' love this masterpiece of English literature, but you know what it really needs? Zombies!" ... well, that's going to cheer me up for a good few days at the very least. It is a sad fact that classical literature is largely devoid of the living dead. Well, other than Dracula. ... and Frankenstein.

Okay, fine, classical literature is largely devoid of zombies. Everyone's so picky.

While zombies aren't quite on the level of giant robots when it comes to making everything they're in exponentially more awesome, the sheer audacity of the idea is enough to make me want to pick up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies when it hits shelves in May. How about you?

(Thanks to L.B. Jeffries for the tip!)

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dalek sec

Leader of the Cult of Skaro
Jul 20, 2008
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Ok, I had a good laugh when I saw the cover and I'm seriously thinking of getting this book.
 

L.B. Jeffries

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Nov 29, 2007
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dalek sec said:
Ok, I had a good laugh when I saw the cover and I'm seriously thinking of getting this book.
Already ordered. I'm hoping the BBC does a 6 part series on it as well.

Plus...when is Middlemarch going to get this treatment?
 

dalek sec

Leader of the Cult of Skaro
Jul 20, 2008
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L.B. Jeffries said:
dalek sec said:
Ok, I had a good laugh when I saw the cover and I'm seriously thinking of getting this book.
Already ordered. I'm hoping the BBC does a 6 part series on it as well.

Plus...when is Middlemarch going to get this treatment?
Who knows, if it sell's well enough the BBC might give a crack at it.
 

Rooster Cogburn

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May 24, 2008
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You know what the funniest part is? Pride and Prejudice really did need Zombies. There is much discussion about the climax of the book- how it is structured, where it lies, where it should lie, and even how many there are. Reading the book can leave you feeling like there is still more narrative energy to be discharged by the end. I believe (but it has been a while) that the author herself even remarked the novel could have used an additional situation (read: disaster).

Maybe this author has provided the final perfect brushstroke to a cherished classic.
 

ThaBenMan

Mandalorian Buddha
Mar 6, 2008
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Well, the next natural step will be -

World War Z - Now with 50% more zombies!

Every time a zombie is killed, it splits and becomes 2 zombies >_>

Seriously, though - this is brilliant. I'll have to check it out.
 

Walrus42

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Apr 18, 2008
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Classic novel + zombies. The possibilities are endless! I'm currently working on The Adventures of (Zombie) Huckleberry Finn
 

Wanderer1911

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Feb 4, 2009
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My girlfriend wanted me to read Pride and Prejudice for a long time, I wonder if this would would have shut her up? lol.

On a serious note it think this is a great idea and look forward to reading it
 

Sylocat

Sci-Fi & Shakespeare
Nov 13, 2007
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Incidentally, I always thought How to Survive a Horror Movie was kind of a rip-off, given that a survival guide can be summed up in three simple instructions: "Don't be a black guy or a blonde, and you must be horrified by anything to do with sex."
 

Apocalyptic-Bob

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Feb 11, 2009
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I was thinking Ayn Rand, until I realized that it would only help to strengthen the whole super-individualism thing.
 

Specter_

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Dec 24, 2008
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CantFaketheFunk said:
It's goddamn hilarious. The fact that somebody thought, "Hey, I freakin' love this masterpiece of English literature, but you know what it really needs? Zombies!" ... well, that's going to cheer me up for a good few days at the very least. It is a sad fact that classical literature is largely devoid of the living dead. Well, other than Dracula. ... and Frankenstein.
Yay for zombies!
I hope this trend continues. Imagine MacBeth, but instead of the moving bushes you got hordes of zombies...
 

Ancalagon

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May 14, 2008
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I think I would definitely prefer it to the original. As Mark Twain said: "Jane Austen's books, too, are absent from this library. Just that one omission alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it."