Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

A Look at the Updated Version of Jane Austen's Classic Novel

Aug 26, 2009

Seth Grahame-Smith took the beloved comedy of manners Pride and Prejudice and rewrote it to include an element of horror. The result is a bizarre and humorous new book.

Although Pride and Prejudice is a comedy of manners very firmly situated at the turn of the 19th century in Britain, Grahame-Smith saw an opportunity to recreate the classic story and make it more appealing to a modern audience By revamping Pride and Prejudice to incorporate a society dealing with hordes of the undead, Grahame-Smith was able to successfully maintain Austen's sense of humor while adding a dimension of horror to this beloved romantic tale.

Taking a classic work of fiction and completely rewriting large portions of it takes guts. To do so while still maintaining the language and diction of the time period in which the original novel was written and staying close to the original tone of the book takes skill. Fortunately for fans of Jane Austen’s books and zombie novels, Seth Grahame-Greene has both guts and skill.

While some of the aspects of Austen’s original comedy of manners are lost amidst the addition of zombies – for instance, the emphasis on the nuanced friendship between Elizabeth Bennett and Charlotte Lucas is diminished when a zombie bites Charlotte – but on the whole, Grahame-Smith does a remarkable job of maintaining the overall meanings of Pride and Prejudice.

The writing only changes noticeably in that the once-familiar tale of Elizabeth Bennett, Fitzwilliam Darcy and their friends and family in that there are zombies running amok. Classic scenes are tweaked to allow for zombie encounters or discussions of society’s changes since the plague began, but Grahame-Smith manages to keep the overall plot not much different from Austen’s original novel.

The Adaptation of Jane Austen’s Novel

Fans of Pride and Prejudice may have been slightly shocked at the alterations of their beloved novel, but as far as literary mash-ups go, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is among the best. Zombie novels are usually a toss-up. Some, like World War Z, are awesome pieces of writing, whereas others fall far short of their potential. Pride and Prejudice was a classic piece of writing to begin with, and this new edition just gives the literary canon a breath of fresh air.

The reception of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has run the gamut, where some were outraged at the sacrilege and audacity of an author to alter Austen’s timeless novel and others were delighted at the altered view taken of the book.

The zombies featured in the literary mash-up are not the zombies of 28 Days Later, but of Night of the Living Dead, the slow, shambling, mumbling type. Nevertheless, the Bennett sisters are trained in numerous types of martial arts and many well-to-do families employ ninjas for protection.

The addition of zombies to the classic story, far from detracting, only adds another dimension of humor to many of the best scenes. Some long unanswered questions about Jane Austen’s world even make some more sense in a world where an undead plague restricts travel and brings the militia to nearby towns.

Jane Austen's Other Novels are Next

Far from being satisfied with merely changing one of Jane Austen’s novels, other authors are jumping on the literary mash-up bandwagon: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters is next in line for release.

The copyright of the article Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in British/UK Fiction is owned by Bailey Shoemaker Richards. Permission to republish Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.