Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

We have quite a few fans of Jane Austen’s works on the Phenix & Phenix team. In fact, when we had our media analysis meeting for Jane Austen Ruined My Life a few months ago, it was a resounding, “YES, we want this book.” Personally, I’ve never been able to get into to Austen’s works, although I certainly understand their redeeming qualities.

However, I do like a good Zombie story and/or flick. What do they have to do with each other?

This, dear reader, is what they have to do with each other:


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance (Quirk Books) by Seth Grahame-Smith hit the shelves earlier this month to great success. As of this writing, the book is in the top 5 on The New York Times’ Paperback Trade Fiction Best Seller List. The “literary mash-up” opens with this take on the immortalized first line of Pride and Prejudice: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." Indeed. This week, Grahame-Smith granted The Toronto Star a fun interview about the book and how it came to be.

According to Slashfilm.com, studios are now clamoring for the movie rights to the Zombie-ized retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Also, last week Publisher’s Weekly reported that Grahame-Smith has inked a new, two book deal worth six figures with Grand Central Publishing. His first mash-up with Grand Central: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Per PW: “The proposal for Grahame-Smith's new book sold at auction Wednesday and the story is a loose sketch of Lincoln's life with one twist--honest Abe is the world's most skilled vampire hunter.”

What literary mash-ups would you like to see?