#Titanuary ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ by Jane Austen, Tony Lee, Seth Graeme-Smith and Cliff Richards (not that one!)

About the book…

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies–a fiendishly clever mash-up of Jane Austen’s beloved classic with all-new scenes of zombie mayhem–is a New York Times bestseller and a major pop culture phenomenon.

This graphic novel adaptation, featuring all-original art, will bring this sensational tale to a whole new audience.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies–Jane Austen’s immortal classic, now brought to glorious, gory new life with original, all-new scenes of zombie mayhem.

Seth Grahame-Smith’s irreverent and witty reworking of this novel immediately struck a nerve: The book quickly became a New York Times bestseller–and one of the most buzzworthy and blogged-about pop culture sensations of the year.

Now Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a graphic novel–the perfect format to bring this remixed masterpiece to zombie-loving pop-culture fans.

It is known as “the strange plague,” and its unfortunate victims are referred to only as “unmentionables” or “dreadfuls.”

All over England, the dead are rising again, and now even the daughters of Britain’s best families must devote their lives to mastering the deadly arts. Elizabeth Bennet is a fearsome warrior whose ability with a sword is matched only by her quick wit and even sharper tongue.

But she faces her most formidable foe yet in the haughty, conceited, and somehow strangely attractive Mr. Darcy. As the two lovers meet in the ballroom and on the battlefield, they’ll soon learn that nothing—not even bands of ninjas, hordes of flesh-eating zombies, or disapproving aunts—can stop true love.

Ok, I’ll admit it, I have never fully or intentionally read any Jane Austen novels.

Adding zombies to one made me curious, putting it in a graphic novel made it a must by-as sure as zombies are in want of brains, so I, your humble reader, am in need of graphic novels with a horror leaning to whet my appetite.

The intriguing concept of taking a well established work of literature, adding the word zombies, then turning into a graphic novel(and movie) might be balls to the wall genius, or flat out money making scheme.

I am sure that many long time Austen readers must have fainted with horror on reading their icon’s novels would be besmirched with brain matter and blood, but no matter! What does it actually look like?

Well, first of all it is in pen and ink, black and white, throughout, the only colour is the front cover which itself deliberately resembles a penguin classic. Adapted by Tony Lee and illustrated by Cliff Richards, this is kind of genius because you can overlay your own colour palate, in your mind if you want to, or read it as is, black and white, no contrast making it hard to differentiate between the alive and the dead. Or the living dead.

It does not rob them of their power, in fact, it rather enhances it, to my mind.

Again, as with other Titan graphic novels, what you notice is the quality of the product, the heft of the novel and the glossy finish of the pages.

The power of the 6 Bennett sisters takes the pages by storm as they, themselves, are overrun with unmentionables and actually, not only is the graphic novel a hell of a lot of fun, it has encouraged me to read the *gasp* actual novel itself. Who’d have thought just adding some monsters in could get me seriously considering reading Jane Austen without the worry that it will turn me from a hard-bitten horror fan to a swooning woman of a certain age in need of a fainting couch!

Highly recommended, Tony and Cliff have done a fantastic job adapting the Seth Graeme-Smith adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.

Which cannot be all bad seeing as how it has been in print since 1813! Do those of you who have read her wooks think she would have been offended by the intro of zombies into her comedy of manners?

Drop me a line and let me know!