Jane Austen Gets Some Action

While most parodies serve as a critique, occasionally some good literature comes out it.

How Pride was meant to end

Seth Grahame-Smith’s re-write of the famous classic Pride and Prejudice recounts the much-loved classic in 19th Century English glory, the way only Jane Austen could, but with zombie mayhem. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies sees Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet return to battle against both the stifling conformity of Victorian social norms and the undead in the civilised countryside of Hertfordshire, where gratuitous amounts of severed limbs fall lifelessly among the burrows of hares and other woodland creatures.

Liz’s father, an expert in the field of martial arts, teaches his daughters to hold their own against the fully-grown, salivating zombie army, while Mrs Bennet whiles away her days by looking for suitors for her beloved offspring. Deciding between bearing such “unladylike” accessories as a musket and appearing elegant, Liz and her siblings find themselves in a most inconvenient situation. Yet life continues as it once did before the rotting corpses of England’s past began walking the Earth, with marriages and proposals.

As a result of breaking  up the union of Mr Bingley and Liz’s sister Jane, Mr Darcy goes head to head with Elizabeth in a grueling battle of wit and kung-fu that leaves Darcy injured and frightened. Fearing his life he flees the sophisticated slayer and writes a letter in true romantic fashion explaining his belief that Jane was a carrier of the mysterious plague that led to the consumption of Bingley’s staff. As her overwhelming hatred for Darcy turns into only a slight annoyance, Liz must massacre her way through the zombie horde with her trusty katana to encounter him at Pemberly where she re-evaluates her first impressions of this grossly misunderstood man and zombie mercenary. Hoping to be with Darcy as Jane is with Bingley, Elizabeth must battle Darcy’s Aunt Lady Catherine and her entourage of ninjas  to the death for a non-severed hand in marriage.

This delightful novel adds a bit of drama that the original Pride was lacking, making it a well-developed piece of fiction with rounded, self-sufficient characters who can converse on any number of topics including art, music and zombie-destroying maneuvers. An excellent redraft with breathlessly awaited film to be released 2011!

By Jason Esch