Victoria's Pride & Prejudice & Zombies Review

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
A Review

When my teacher told us the next book we would be reading was “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” I was both apprehensive and intrigued. I love all of Jane Austen’s works, and especially “Pride and Prejudice” so I was slightly worried about what Seth Grahame-Smith was going to do to my beloved novel. However, I also tend to have a personality that, similar to Elizabeth Bennett herself, delights “in anything ridiculous.” And ridiculous was exactly what this book promised to be.

What I dislike most about “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” was how Seth Grahame-Smith seemed unqualified for the job he took on and how ill he performed it. The introduction he provided at the beginning of the audio version admitted him to be no avid reader of Jane Austen, and his writing was affected by that fact. He was not familiar enough with all of Austen’s works to be qualified to imitate her style and language, and thus it was easy to detect his counterfeit. Seth Grahame-Smith also degenerated the language by changing or simply omitting words or phrases that are less in use today. His style and the frequency of the addition of zombies seemed inconsistent, and he seemed ignorant as to the customs and manners of Jane Austen’s day.

Seth Grahame-Smith also performed his task inadequately. He obviously had to adjust the personalities of Austen’s original characters (the original Jane Bennet is not exactly the zombie-slaying type). These kinds of changes were necessary and could be very humorous. However, his unnecessary and character-warping innuendos and crudeness showed his immaturity and disrespect for the original author and novel. Adding zombies was funny and interesting, but an unrespectable and promiscuous Mrs. Gardner and a Mr. Darcy who constantly breaks the rules of gentlemen-like behavior strays dangerously away from the original novel. The book’s humor is supposed to originate from the adding of zombies to regency era England, not from destroying and simplifying already perfectly developed characters.

Even with these serious negatives, the book was a very humorous read. I believe that it would not be nearly as funny if the reader were not already familiar with “Pride and Prejudice,” as it would simply be a zombie novel set in a strange time period. However, I must offer a word of caution to those who have made friends with the heroes and heroines of the original. Attempt to make a mental separation of the characters known and loved from these altered versions, or else you may feel Seth Grahame-Smith is slandering the integrity of your beloved Darcy and Elizabeth. Remember, this book was not written to be taken very seriously.

All in all, I believe that the idea for this novel was a good one, and that there are several very amusing sections. However, Seth Grahame-Smith was unqualified to execute the idea properly.

-Victoria

Victoria's Pride & Prejudice & Zombies Favorite Quotes

These quotes are all the more funny if you are already familiar with the original Pride and Prejudice!

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” (Chapter 1)

“‘Of course, of course!’ cried Mrs. Bennett. ‘They shall be as deadly as they are fetching!’” (Chapter 2)

“As guests fled in every direction, Mr. Bennett’s voice cut through the commotion. ‘Girls! Pentagram of Death!’”(Chapter 3)

[Miss Bingley to Mr. Darcy] “‘How pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way! I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!’ ‘Spoken like one who has never known the ecstasy of holding a still-beating heart in her hand,’ said Darcy.” (Chapter 11)

[After Mr. Collins asks which of his cousins made dinner] “Briefly forgetting her manners, Mary grabbed her fork and leapt from her chair onto the table. Lydia, who was seated nearest her, grabbed her ankle before she could dive at Mr. Collins and, presumably, stab him about the head and neck for such an insult. Jane and Elizabeth turned away so Mr. Collins would not see them laughing.” (Chapter 13)

“Mr. Bingley observed the desserts his poor servants had been attending to at the time of their demise—a delightful array of tarts, exotic fruits, and pies, sadly soiled by blood and brains, and thus unusable.” (Chapter 18)

[After Charlotte has caught the plague and is thus morphing into a zombie] “Apparently overcome with excitement, Charlotte dropped to the ground and began stuffing handfuls of crisp autumn leaves in her mouth.” (Chapter 28)

“Elizabeth’s courage did not fail her, even though she had been regaled the stories of Lady Catherine’s accomplishments from the time she had been old enough to hold her first dagger…but the presence of a woman who had slain ninety dreadfuls with nothing more than a rain-soaked envelope was an intimidating prospect indeed. (Chapter 29)

[After Mr. Darcy visits them more often than usual] “What remained of Charlotte would like to have believed this change the effect of love, and the object of that love her friend Eliza. She watched him…but without much success, for her thoughts often wandered to other subjects, such as the warm, succulent sensation of biting into a fresh brain.” (Chapter 32)

-Victoria

Jane Austen Meets Some Zombies

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains."  With that opening line we took a little side trip into pop culture for this Conversations with Jane assignment.  Jane Austen, our beloved author, has a plethora of spin-off novels.  These days one can find innocent sequels to Jane's novels as well as "bodice rippers" that our Jane would never have penned.  Then there are the monsters, zombies and sea monsters just to name a couple.  I wanted the girls to see what pop culture had done to our Jane so we all read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Lovely cover, isn't it?!

So with the caution not to eat while reading the novel, we began this journey into zombie mayhem.  I had pre-read the book last year and found it quite humorous (and gross).  That anyone would want to take Pride and Prejudice and make it into a zombie filled book is just ridiculous, but it is even more ridiculous that people bought the book and it was on the Best Seller list.  

In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, England has been stricken with a great plague and those stricken have become zombies, doomed to search for brains and infect other members of English society.  The five Bennet sisters are trained as zombie killers and defend their precious Hertfordshire from the zombie hordes.  Our Elizabeth Bennet is quite the warrior.  When Mr. Darcy snubs her at their first meeting, she is ready to rip his heart out.  Literally :)  And thus the story begins.  Elizabeth still has fine eyes and Mr. Darcy is still proud (only here to have been trained in the coveted Japanese dojos instead of the Chinese ones LOL).  Mr. Wickham is still the cad but possibly gets a more just reward in the end.  Poor Charlotte Lucas succumbs to the plague and marries the ridiculous Mr. Collins anyway.  Lady Catherine de Burgh is the finest zombie killer in all of England and so on and so forth.  

We met at Robin's for our tea and discussion.  Robin declared that zombies did not deserve fine china just plain old mugs.  Sharon suggested Monkey Brains ... um Bread ... for our snack and Robin provided some.  Sharon and Tori provided the blood, I mean the red icing.  Appetizing, is it not?  (Skyeler did not partake *grin*)

We had a guy join us for Conversations with Jane this time.  Riley saw his mom and sister reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and thought it was right up his alley.  He finished it before many of us (and the monkey "brains" and "blood icing" didn't phase him in the least). 

I was thankful that Sharon had her camera because I walked out of the house without mine!  Tori and Elizabeth came prepared with "Zombie Killer" shirts.  Their dad and brother just happened to bring them home from a trip out west.  It was a perfect addition to our day :)

And who knew that Hadley's boyfriend would come in zombie killer boots LOL!  Seriously, he had no idea, which made it even more fun.  Sharon couldn't resist taking a picture.  The boots fit right in with the theme.

So after all this fun, we sat down to discuss the book.  I had no idea that one little book could cause such reactions.  Robin, early on, informed me that she could not finish the book because the illustrations were giving her nightmares.  Skyeler couldn't finish because there were certain parts that were making her want to throw up.  Sharon was totally offended because this was not "her" Elizabeth and "her" Mr. Darcy, among other things.  Whew!  Riley, being a guy, found it hilarious :) and was glad to join us.  Discussion ranged all over, as it usually does, but we hit on the grossest part of the novel (there were a few to choose from) and why there is even a market for this kind of thing.  We also listened to the introduction on the audio book by the author himself.  


All in all it was an ... interesting experience.  We had no activity or extra readings to go along with this book.  For their blog project the girls are to post a review of the book, and any quotes they would like to mention.  Thanks for joining us for a little zombie fun!


--Angel

Ending Emma

Time is flying past so quickly.  As we come to the conclusion of Emma in our Conversations with Jane studies, It's hard to believe that we only have Pride and Prejudice left to go!  Again, I can't say enough about the wonderful experience this has been...for all of us. As usual, we met for tea and cookies.   

The girls enjoyed their tea and wanted me to take a picture of the teacups to show the different colors of tea they were having.

We spent some time discussing quotes and excerpts from our resource books on Emma.  The girls took turns sharing their blog projects (which are already posted).  We also discussed our upcoming Jane Austen movie day and what movies we would like to watch.  It was time, then, for our Emma activity.  I have tried, when possible, to coordinate our activity with something that takes place in the novel or movie.  In the 1995 movie version of Sense and Sensibility we saw Marianne taking a silhouette of Willoughby, therefore we made silhouettes.  Northanger Abbey found Mrs. Allen constantly discussing the make and fabric of her gowns and so we made fashion plates.  We kind of skipped Mansfield Park, as far as a Regency activity went, and did something else, but Persuasion found us making shoe roses (though it didn't tie in with anything specific in the novel).  In Emma we find Harriet Smith posing for a portrait that Emma believes Mr. Elton is "wild" to have framed because she thinks he is "wild" about Miss Smith.  Emma was fond of painting and so our Regency activity for Emma was painting a watercolor.   The girls started with instructions here then branched out from there to create their own pictures.  

planning

painting 

And the finished projects...

 Calleigh

 Victoria

 Elizabeth

Skyeler

Next on the agenda, we will take a brief detour from pure Jane Austen to read the graphic novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Can't wait to see how that goes :)

--Angel

You Belong with Me ~ Emma's Theme

Obviously, this song doesn’t fit with every aspect of Emma (it is modern day after all), but I thought it was an amazingly close match. The majority of this song would be from Mr. Knightley’s point of view to Emma.

You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset
She's going off about something that you said
'Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do

I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like
And she'll never know your story like I do

[Mr. Knightley to Emma about Frank Churchill

“’Indeed, I (Emma) will (dance with you). You have proven that you (Mr. Knightley) can dance, and you know we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it improper.’

‘Brother and sister! – No, indeed.’”]

But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts
she’s cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers

[Harriet about Mrs. Elton

“’ I (Harriet) think her (Mrs. Elton) beautiful, quite beautiful… I am not at all surprised that he should have fallen in love with her.”]

Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along, so why can't you see?
You, you belong with me, you belong with me

Walking the streets with you and your worn-out jeans

[“They met Mr. Martin the very next day… on Donwell road.”]
I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on a park bench, thinking to myself
Hey, isn't this easy?

[“Mr. Knightley was to dine with them… “What a comfort it is that we think alike about our nephews and nieces!”] (Just a normal conversation)

And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town
I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down
You say you're fine, I know you better than that
Hey, what ya doing with a girl like that?

She wears high heels, I wear sneakers
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along, so why can't you see?
You belong with me
standing by and waiting at your back door
all this time how could you not know

[“(I, Mr. Knightley) have been in love with you ever since you were thirteen as least.”]
Baby, you belong with me, you belong with me

Oh, I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night
I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout to cry
And I know your favorite songs and you tell me 'bout your dreams
Think I know where you belong, think I know it's with me

[Mr. Knightley to Emma,

“’My dearest Emma” said he (Mr. Knightley)”]

Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you?
Been here all along, so why can't you see?
You belong with me
Standing by and waiting at your back door
All this time, how could you not know?
Baby, you belong with me, you belong with me

You belong with me
Have you ever thought just maybe
You belong with me?
You belong with me

[“Her mind was in such a state of wonder…which made it impossible for her to be collected. She was in a dancing, singing, exclaiming spirits…”]

Elizabeth's Emma Quotes

“I absolutely cannot do without music: it is a necessary of live to me;… To be quite honest, I do not think I can live without something of a musical society. I condition for nothing else; but, without music life would be a blank to me.”

“Emma was almost ready to sink under the agitation of this moment. The dread of being awakened from the happiest dream was perhaps the most prominent feeling.”

“He had found her agitated and low. Frank Churchill was a villain. He heard her declare that she never loved him. Frank Churchill’s character was not desperate. She was his own Emma, by hand and word, when they returned into the house; and if he could have thought of Franck Churchill then, he might have deemed him a very good sort of fellow.”

“Her mind was in a state of flutter and wonder, which made it impossible for her to be collected. She was in a dancing, singing, exclaiming spirits; and till she had moved about and talked to herself, and laughed and reflected, she could be fit for nothing rational.”

Elizabeth

Excerpts of Eminence

These are my favorite quotes from Emma.

To youth and natural cheerfulness like Emma's, though under temporary gloom at night, the return of day will hardly fail to bring return of spirits. The youth and cheerfulness of morning are in happy analogy, and of powerful operation; and if the distress be not poignant enough to keep the eyes unclosed, they will be sure to open to sensations of softened pain and brighter hope.

"Such an admirer of her performance on the pianoforte, and of her voice! I have heard him say that he could listen to her for ever."

Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.

The ladies here probably exchanged looks which meant, "Men never know when things are dirty or not"; and the gentlemen perhaps thought each to himself, "Women will have their little nonsenses and needless cares."

"Oh, Miss Woodhouse, why are you always so right."

"Indeed, I am very sorry to be right in this instance."

To be quite honest, I do not think I can live without something of a musical society. I condition for nothing else; but without music, life would be blank to me.

They were off; and Emma could breathe.

I say that he is so very much occupied by the idea of not being in love with her, that I should not wonder if it were to end in his being so at last.

and though too distant for speech, her countenance said much, as soon as she could catch his eye again.

Her own conduct, as well as her own heart, was before her in the same few minutes.

"My dearest Emma," said he, "for dearest you will always be, whatever the event of this hour's conversation, my dearest, most beloved Emma."

Skyeler

Calleigh's Emma Quotes

Here are some of my favourite quotes from Emma; my favourite Jane Austen novel. :)


"Doing just what she liked; highly esteeming Miss Taylor's judgments, but directed chiefly by her own."


Mr. Knightley, in fact, was one of the few people who could see faults in Emma Woodhouse, and the only one who ever told her of them...."


"What is right to be done cannot be done too soon."
 
“It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage. A man always imagines a woman to be ready for anybody who asks her.”

"Surprizes are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable."

"It darted through her with the speed of an arrow that Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!"

If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am. —You hear nothing but truth from me."

~ Calleigh

Calleigh's Emma Project

So, these are all the words I think of, when I think of my favourite JA Heroine. :)

~ Calleigh

Skyeler's Emma Blog Project

For my blog project, I found a Shakespeare Sonnet that I thought related to the book Emma. Granted, I had to explain just how I thought it related, so I am going to do that here as well.

Sonnet VIII.

Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?

(This would be Emma listening to Jane Fairfax play the pianoforte)

Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy:

(Two girls war with each other even unspoken, but when joy is giving, frequently joy is returned)

Why lov'st thou that which thou receiv'st not gladly,

(Emma must kindly listen to another play though she does not wish too; she must listen to Knightly criticize though when talking to him she is not glad of his rebuke)

Or else receiv'st with pleasure thine annoy?

(and listen with pretended pleasure to what annoys her)

If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,

(unoffensive talent; another person that may receive attention alongside Emma. The town is created of more than one person.)

By unions married, do offend thine ear,

(Can you help but think of Mr. Woodhouse here *smiles* )

They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds

(sweetly chide: Mr. Knightly indeed. He tell her what she does wrong)

In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.

(and tells her what she needs to bear)

Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,

(the couples and friends in Highbury)

Strikes each in each by mutual ordering;

(their love and acceptance of one another)

Resembling sire and child and happy mother,

(this makes me think of Isabella Knightly. She resembles her father, is a happy mother, and we also hear of her as a child. Yet we see her family as the bigger picture that she would not be who she is without her family)

Who, all in one, one pleasing note do sing:

(Highbury and its occupants)

Whose speechless song being many, seeming one,

(speechless song: their actions. The actions of one town, as if each person is a string that creates the melody of a song)

Sings this to thee: 'Thou single wilt prove none.'

(Emma alone will not succeed. She must accept others and love them. I think Mr. Knightly is the one who "sings" this to her.)

Skyeler

Victoria's Emma Project

For my project, I made a Venn diagram that shows all of the conjectured "matches" that different characters make in Emma.

-Victoria

Victoria's Favorite Emma Quotes

I know this is a lot, but I even narrowed down my original list of favorites to these 10...Emma is one of my favorite Austen novels!

“‘…and, perhaps, no man can be a good judge of the comfort a woman feels in the society of one of her own sex.’” (Chapter 5, Volume 1)

[Mr. Knightly to Emma] “‘Men of sense, whatever you may choose to say, do not want silly wives.’” (Chapter 8, Volume 1)

[Mr. Woodhouse to Emma] “‘Well, I cannot understand it.’ ‘That is the case with us all, papa. One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.’” (Chapter 9, Volume 1)

[Emma about Harriet] “She had talked her into love; but alas! she was not so easily to be talked out of it.” (Chapter 4, Volume 2/Chapter 22)

“Harriet was one of those, who, having once begun, would be always in love.” (Chapter 4, Volume 2/Chapter 22)

[Emma] “…and, as she sat drawing or working, forming a thousand amusing schemes for the progress and close of their attachment, fancying interesting dialogues, and inventing elegant letters; the conclusion of every imaginary declaration on his side was that she refused him.” (Chapter 13, Volume 2/Chapter 31)

[Thought by Emma concerning her attachment to Frank Churchill] “‘I shall do very well again after a little while – and then, it will be a good thing over; for they say everybody is in love once in their lives, and I shall have been let off easily.’” (Chapter 13, Volume 2/Chapter 31)

[after Mrs. Elton persists in giving pathetic excuses on why she fears she will not practice faithfully now that she is a married woman] “Emma, finding her so determined upon neglecting her music, had nothing more to say…” (Chapter 14, Volume 2/Chapter 32)

“Such an adventure as this – a fine young man and a lovely young woman thrown together in such a way – could hardly fail of suggesting certain ideas to the coldest heart and the steadiest brain. So Emma though, at least. Could a linguist, could a grammarian, could even a mathematician have seen what she did, have witnessed their appearance together, and heard their history of it, without feeling that circumstances had been at work to make them peculiarly interesting to each other? How much more must an imaginist, like herself, be on fire with speculation and foresight?” (Chapter 3, Volume 3/Chapter 39)

“But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.” (Chapter 19, Volume 3/Chapter 55)

-Victoria

Engaging Emma

The day after we attended the theater performance of Pride and Prejudice, Conversations with Jane met to discuss Emma.  It would have been awesome if the theater performance would have lined up with our scheduled reading, but I wanted to end the year with Pride and Prejudice and the play wasn't performing that long.  Both Sharon and Robin were unable to join us for discussion and Aly was still at Amy's, so it was just me and the girls...scary :)  

We enjoyed scones from Panera.  I found the orange scones positively scrumptious!!  

I think we all enjoyed reading Emma.  If I'm not mistaken, it is Calleigh's favorite book and Mr. Knightley is her favorite hero.  We had lots of fun discussing Emma's character and her many foibles.  Though I thoroughly enjoyed Emma, I found Emma herself to be a little snobbish.  This led to the discussion of class distinction in Regency England.  Was Emma truly snobbish or was she just behaving by the standards that were set for her class?  Our opinions differed slightly :)  No surprise there.  Tori found it hilarious that Emma was always wrong in her matchmaking, excepting Mr. and Mrs. Weston.  Emma thought she was so smart and aware but finds out she is just the opposite.  We discussed Harriet and Jane, Frank Churchill and Mr. Elton.  Then there was Mrs. Elton.  Oh how we disliked Mrs. Elton!  Disliked may not be a strong enough word :)  The horrific Mrs. Elton may have been more offensive than that nasty Aunt Norris in Mansfield Park.  As always, it was a good discussion time.  We proceeded on to our activity of the day.  A word activity linking Emma and the main characters of the book to each other with all of the different relationships and perceived relationships.

The girls during discussion and working on the activity

The beginning of the word activity

(I need to take a picture of the finished copy)

--Angel

Pride and Prejudice on Stage

In March, our Conversations with Jane group was able to attend a stage production of Pride and Prejudice.  For me, it was one of the highlights of the year!  We made an evening of it by meeting for dinner at P.F. Chang's and then heading downtown to the theater.  Our seats were third row.  The performance was absolutely amazing!  The adaptation was just delightful and my jaw hurt so much from laughing.  Oh, yeah, the girls and Robin, Sharon, and Beverly loved it too!  The theater had such an amazing response to Pride and Prejudice (it was their first sold out performance) that they will be offering Sense and Sensibility next season.  We can't wait!!  We were not allowed to take pictures of the performance but Sharon managed to snag a couple before the play began.  

The girls before the play began

A picture of the program

What the stage looked like

Pictures of the production displayed in the lobby

--Angel

Calleigh's Persuasion Quotes

Here are some of my favourite quotes from Persuasion. :)

“[about Mrs. Russell] She had a value for rank and consequence, which blinded her a little to the faults of those who possessed them.”

-       Narrator, Chapter 2

“[about Mrs. Elliot] And though not the very happiest being in the world herself, had found enough in her duties, her friends, and her children, to attach her to life…”

-       Narrator, Chapter 3

"A man does not recover from such a devotion of the heart to such a woman! He ought not; he does not."
-  Captain Wentworth, Chapter 20

"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant."
- Captain Wentworth, Chapter 23

"There they exchanged again those feelings and those promises which had once before seemed to secure everything, but which had been followed by so many, many years of division and estrangement.  There they returned again into the past, more exquisitely happy, perhaps, in their re-union, than when it had been first projected; more tender, more tried, more fixed in a knowledge of each other's character, truth, and attachment; more equal to act, more justified in acting."

-       Narrator, Chapter 23

~ Calleigh

Calleigh's Persuasion Blog Topic

Okay, so in order to redeem myself from my last blog project, I wrote a follow up showing that I don't dislike ALL selfless people...just some of them. :P

While Mansfield Park’s Fanny annoyed me greatly with her selfless nature, I found in Persuasion that Anne’s self-sacrificing attitude was something that I admired.  Instead of pushing me away, I found myself drawn toward her. 

                One of the reasons I think this is, is from almost the very beginning of the book, we see her as having some minor faults.  She is too easily persuaded, and almost too giving of her time.  But there is a difference between her and Fanny: we see that Anne is not exactly happy in doing it. 

                So, despite some pretty close character traits to Fanny Price, Anne Elliot is actually my favourite heroine so far.  I greatly enjoyed her story, and the lessons learned from it.

~ Calleigh