Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Reviewed by Ashley Atkinson

Photography by Savannah Jane

“It is a truth universally acknowledged….”  When Jane Austen first wrote this phrase when Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, I doubt she could have imagined that almost 200 hundred years later the words that followed would read of zombies and their insatiable hunger for brains. The word ‘zombie’ did not even come into existence until 1819 but, even beyond that, the association with this revered work of literature creates a feeling of unease. It seems wrong to speak of zombies in the same breath with any novel written by Austen, let alone her most famous work. Or so I thought.

When I first heard of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009), Seth Grahame-Smith’s parody of the classic, I immediately dismissed it. It was a funny idea, but not for me; I fancied myself an Austen purist. However, when the novel was made into a movie this year, I decided to see it, if only to laugh at how bad it was. Much to my surprise, I found myself enjoying the film.

Now intrigued, I purchased the book and discovered that while the concepts of zombies and Jane Austen seem different, they actually work well together. In the new novel, we see Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters fighting off hordes of the undead, all while navigating the trials of love and the class system in 19th-century England. The result is a humorous and exciting, but also romantic, story that kept me enthralled just as much as the original book.

Grahame-Smith intelligently found a way to keep the bones and most of the meat of the original novel while adding a bit of speed to the plot. Readers will still recognize the plot points from the original novel, from the various society balls the Bennett sisters attend to the antics of Mr. Collins; but Grahame-Smith replaced the talk of fabrics and fashions, and the intricacies of courting, with action sequences and tongue-in-cheek humor that holds the reader’s attention, where the original may have lost it.

I still consider myself an Austen purist, but I think it was my pride and the title that kept me from reading the new novel. It is easy to stick to what one knows, and think anything else is unworthy. However, a different voice does not have to mean a different story. Sometimes, it just means a new way to look at things.

About Ashley Atkinson

Ashley is a Panama City native and a graduate of the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in advertising. She is a graphic artist at Panama City Living Magazine. She plans to obtain a master’s degree in Communications with hopes of working in the communications department of a professional sports team. Her hobbies include reading, having game nights with friends, and taking her dog, Ellie, to the dog park.