How? Update classics with plotlines about zombies, of course.
The new book by Seth Grahame-Smith, published by Chronicle Books, combines the original text by Jane Austen with new, expanded accounts of flesh-eating zombiism. Furthermore, it comes with “20 illustrations in the style of C. E. Brock (the original illustrator of Pride and Prejudice)”.(Possible correction: it's actually Quirk Books, which I suppose is a Chronicle Books imprint.) The publisher's website describes the book 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. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton-and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers-and [sic] even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead.*Austen's got her own loyal following, of course. Further, the copyright has long expired on Pride and Prejudice, and I suppose this is a form of fan fiction. I'd love for students to comment on this kind of book in terms of the issues we're discussing: building readership, maintaining literary quality, and so forth.
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*Note, by the way, how the publisher's description incorrectly uses a hyphen (-) instead of an em dash (—).
When I first saw this post, I thought it was something that someone created through Photoshop or something to the cover of Pride and Prejudice... then I realize that it was, to my horror, an actual book cover.
ReplyDeleteI will be the first to admit that I've never fallen for Jane Austen and her work. Before I was required to read it for classes in college, I tried to force myself to read Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility... couldn't do it. As a "hopeless romantic" and the kid in school who obnoxiously read the books much more advanced than kids around me, I felt as if I was letting myself down. I just couldn't lose myself, the way so many readers before me and after me have been and will be able to, in the world of Ms. Austen. She was no doubt beyond a talented writer and has produced literary classics that will hopefully be required reading for students for years to come.
Despite not being a huge fan, I can't quite wrap my mind around someone wanting to introduce zombies to a story as treasured as Pride and Prejudice. Is this maintaining literary quality? Well, I haven't read the book but I'm guessing that the book being revised to include "all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action" doesn't really maintain the image that Jane Austen had in mind. It's a bit reassuring to see that this is most likely just a form of fan fiction, but it's still interesting to think of what other classic could be interpreted into... this.