Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has sold over 60,000 copies.
A few months ago, Quirk Books released “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies“, which quickly became a best-seller - selling over 60,000 copies. I by chance stumbled across the book in Chapters, and the back of the cover made me laugh so hard I simply had to buy it (yes, based solely on that!)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, according to the publisher, was 85% Jane Austen’s book, and 15% Zombie Madness - they can get away with this since Austen’s book is in the public domain… meaning anyone can reproduce, or use it.
I’m not terribly far into it yet - but so far, it’s been VERY entertaining. Take this excerpt from the first chapter (okay, first page):
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is occupied again?”
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not and went about his morning business of dagger sharpening and musket polishing—for attacks by the unmentionables had grown alarmingly frequent in recent weeks.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters will be released on Sept. 15
Regardless of how far into it I am, I am thoroughly enjoying it… so it’s no surprise that it was much to my delight when Quirk Books announced yesterday they will be publishing a second book (by a different author): Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. They promise it will have more original material (they’re touting a 60/40 split - 60% Austen’s work, 40% original work) and more monsters and mayhem. The book has drawn inspiration from “Jules Verne novels and Celtic mythology, but also Jaws, Lost, Pirates of the Caribbean, even SpongeBob Squarepants!”
Quirk Books has even taken it one step further - and released a movie trailer for the book on YouTube.
As I mentioned before - Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters is not written by Seth Grahame-Smith (who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) - but it’s not the last we’ll see from him. Apparently he’s working on a new book, called “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter“. Oh, hell yes!
I’d love to see Quirk Books turn some of my favourite classics into mash-ups; I’ve never actually read a Jane Austen book, so reading a classic book I have read (and loved) with a twist would be awesome.
The Great Gatsby meets The Prince of Darkness, perhaps? Or how about The Cider House Rules and zombies?
I can’t wait to see what other mash-ups Quirk Books has in store for the future! But for now, I’ll just wait for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters to be released… and continue to enjoy the hilarious trailer.