Pride and Prejudice (1813)

Written by Jane AustenWho has also done Sense and Sensibility and Emma

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies written by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith

Characters

Elizabeth BennettFitzwilliam DarcyMr. & Mrs. Bennett Bennett Girls (oldest to youngest: Jane, Lizzie, Mary, Catherine “Kitty”, Lydia)Charles BingleyGeorge WickhamWilliam CollinsLady Catherine de BourghCharlotte Lucas

Introduction

The original story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of propriety, moral rightness, and expectation in her aristocratic society of early 19th century England. The ‘expanded edition’ of the text has been infused with “ultraviolent zombie mayhem;” casting the Bennett daughters as skilled zombie warriors negotiating propriety and romance in a post-apocalyptic early 19th century England.

Jane Austen is one of the great masters of the English language, and Pride and Prejudice is her great masterpiece, a sharp and witty comedy. The literary community, however, should never be too proud to laugh at itself. Critics point out that this parody shows that Austen’s novel has remained so powerful over time that even the undead can’t spoil it.

www.wikipedia.orgwww.amazon.com

Reviews

Pride and Prejudice by Gary F. TaylorJane 1, 2002 www.amazon.com

Early 19th Century English society was a world in which men held virtually all the power and women were required to negotiate mine-fields of social status, respectability, wealth, love, and sex in order to marry both to their own liking and to the advantage of their family. And such is particularly the case of the Bennetts, a family of daughters whose father's estate is entailed to a distant relative, for upon Mr. Bennett's death they will loose home, land, income, everything. But are the Bennett daughters up to playing a winning hand in this high-stakes matrimonial game without forfeiting their own personal integrity?

This battle of the sexes is largely seen through the eyes of second daughter Elizabeth, who possesses a razor-sharp wit and rich sense of humor--and who finds herself hindered by her own addlepated mother, her sister Jane's hopeless love for the wealthy Mr. Bingley, and her sister Lydia's penchant for scandal... not to mention the high-born, formidable, and outrageously proud Mr. Darcy,

who seems determined to trump her every card. But the game of love proves more surprising than either Elizabeth or Mr. Darcy can imagine, and sometimes a seemingly weak hand proves a winning one when all cards are on the table.

Pride and Prejudice is simply one of the funniest novels ever written, peopled with memorable characters brought vividly to life as they both succeed and fail at the game of life according to the manners of their era. It is a novel to which I return again and again, enjoying Austen's brilliant talent. I have little respect for people who describe it as dull, slow, out of date, for as long as men and women live and fall in love it will never be out of style, always be meaningful, and always be funny. A masterpiece of wit and style; a timeless novel for the ages.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Review of a High Concept Parody by Vic April 4, 2009 www.janeaustensworld.wordpress.com

If ever a classic was treated with tongue in cheek irreverence, author Seth Grahame-Smith managed to do it. Oh, I imagine that the coldly calculated jingle of cash was also a great motivator. After all, Seth allowed Jane Austen to do the bulk of the writing (85% of the text is hers) and she had already plotted the basic outline of the book…

The Bennet family lives in an age when they must be ever vigilant if the girls are to survive until marriage and beyond. Mr. Bennet ships his girls off to China to learn the fine art of fighting zombies with sword and knife. Elizabeth Bennet becomes an especially talented fighter, and is renowned for the ease with which she can fend off an entire horde of zombies, slicing and dicing with the best of them..,

You get the drift. In Seth’s book, if you’re a poor zombie slayer you are either the villain or your brain is toast. The entire book is a satire, from the inclusion of the gross but well-drawn illustrations to the suggested book club questions at the end, which are quite clever. You must read this novel with an open mind and maintain a sense of humor or, like the denizens of Meryton when they see a zombie feast on one of their friends, you will upchuck your lunch.

Seth makes one huge miscalculation in his otherwise spot on satire. Not knowing the workings of the female brain, he makes a mess of Wickham, a bad boy who is secretly admired by over half of Jane’s female fans. While they admit he is a scoundrel, they would not mind having a go at taming this deliciously fun male character. But Seth turns Wickham into a diapered mess of a man, who must be constantly tended after wetting his bed. Not well done, Seth. That’s like forcing Willoughby to drive a donkey cart when you know full well he is a phaeton man. This plot development tells me that Seth wrote the book more for teenage boys and girls, not women.

Discussion Questions

Text as Story Relationship between Mr. & Mrs. Bennett (also their preferences for certain daughters) – foreshadowing, indicative of society

Role of Wickham?

Lizzy and Lydia as character foils

Role of Lady Catherine – character parallel to Mrs. Bennett??

How do both dance and music contribute to development of themes (pride, prejudice, class conflict etc.)

Transpositions between “classic” and “zombie” versions

How does zombie fighting underscore Austen’s development of pride (or, arguably, independence)

Text as Technique Austen’s strange(?) omniscient narrator

Commentary on Regency life?

Satire of both romantic and zombie genres

Satirical discussion questions – function? Commentary on literature?

Does Grahame-Smith’s destruction of Wickham undermine Austen’s original character?

Key Quotes/Selections

Quote Scene Significance/Relevance