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Check It Out: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Today, I’m recommending Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, a witty, modern parody novel that is a mashup of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice and zombie fiction, which quite possibly makes it the wackiest by-product of Jane Austen fan fiction yet.

Containing 85 percent of the original text, the book follows the storyline of Pride and Prejudice, but places the novel in an alternate universe version of Regency era England in which zombies have roamed the English countryside for more than 50 years.

Elizabeth Bennett and her four sisters live on a country estate with their parents. Mr. Bennet guides his daughters in martial arts and weapons training, molding them into a small, fearsome zombie-fighting army. Meanwhile, Mrs. Bennet is doing her best to marry the girls off to wealthy suitors.

When the wealthy and single Mr. Bingley purchases a nearby house and decides to host a party, Mrs. Bennet spies an opportunity. At the ball, the Bennet sisters defend the party from a zombie attack, sparking an attraction between Bingley and the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane. However, Elizabeth Bennet clashes with Bingley’s friend, the haughty monster-hunter Fitzwilliam Darcy.   

Readers can expect the rest of the book to play out like Austen’s original, but with some Grahame’s zombie-fighting thrown in for good measure. True to the original, Elizabeth has a flirting dalliance with George Wickham. Darcy separates Bingley from Jane. Young Lydia elopes with Wickham. And, at the end, Elizabeth and Darcy finally have their happy ending. Who would’ve ever thought it would take slaying zombies side-by-side for them to fall in love?  

The continued popularity of zombie fiction makes this reimagining of Pride and Prejudice an attractive read for both teen and adult readers. To see this interesting take on a world-renown classic, check out this book from the Sioux City Public Library or see the movie that just arrived in theaters nationwide.