Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

By: Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

"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, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem.

As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton - and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers - and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry?

Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to hear.

This Heirloom Edition of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies includes a new preface by the author, an afterword by Dr. Allen Grove, professor of English literature at Alfred University, and new scenes of gratuitous zombie mayhem.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Quirk Books (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Seth Grahame-Smith] has taken the merry world established by a 19th-century literary lady, added a scourge of reanimated corpses, and created...well, a pop cultural phenomenon, certainly, and one that has stirred up a lot of excitement. But the greater achievement of the book may lie in the satisfying desire it awakens to read the remix and the original side by side." ( Entertainment Weekly)

Gore galore!

While some of the gore was a bit over the top for me(I know I’m not the general public), the story was both humorous and action packed in parts. I liked the changes made to some of the scenes to allow for the zombie plot. Mrs. Bennett was still annoying as ever. Haha

All in all, it’s a fun read. Too bad the movie strayed from the source material a usual.

Hilariously funny

As a fan of the original, I laughed my way through this zombie adaptation of P&P. The author kept the tone and feel of Austen and added delightful zombie action. Just great. Excellent narration and voice work. Totally entertaining!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies??!

Nicely reimagined book. We'll written, well read. It keeps you interested in the whole story and all the characters got their just deserts.

At first, I had a really hard time....

....getting into this book......I think it was the fact that my mind was trying to grasp Jane Austen era speak with modern day zombiedom......I had to just sit back and enjoy the bizarreness of it......I ended up thinking it was hilarious and am STILL a huge fan of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy....*sigh*......the story is still very romantic and very funny with the zombie addition.....I still can't stand Mrs. Bennett and Lydia......but that is just how the story is written.....overall....very funny and enjoyable book!!!!....

A Hilarious Parody

Reading through some of the reviews, I feel like many people missed the point of the novel. It is a parody which means it is not meant to be taken seriously. Yes, the characters are significantly different because the scourge of the earth is walking and killing everyone. The Bennett's were trained with grand masters in fighting and killing. I feel like it much more reminiscent of the 1700s in the bloodthirsty factor because people held duels back for honor back then. It would, therefore, make sense that the duels could be fought with katanas. Elizabeth is determined that she shall not marry, because many fighting women were forced to give up their activities and become devoted mothers. She declares that the only man she could love would also be a fighter and would not ask her to give up fighting during their marriage. In walks Darcy - England's most renowned fighter (apart from his aunt) who comes to see Elizabeth a very worthy match with her strong personality and impeccable fighting skills. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies takes the core ideas of the original, flips them on their head, but still keeps them intact. It is a hilarious read/listen, and anyone who is a fan of the original will be delighted.

Great Twist

What made the experience of listening to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies the most enjoyable?

I think the fact that Kathrine Kellgren is such a great narrator. She was so able to capture the essence of Austen's original book and tie it into modern day/futurist zombie times that it didn't even seem that ridiculous of an idea while listening to it.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked that the essence of the Pride and Prejudiced story was still there, if you love that story you'll love this book! It was the same story, which to me never gets old, plus a fun twist with how the same plot twist come to be.

Which scene was your favorite?

I think any scene where these smart behaved young sisters suddenly pull out their spears and other weapons is always surprising and a riot to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, the love story that is portrayed in the original book is just as prominent here so that always gives me the mushy aww feeling, and that as nice. But no real tears or craziness different than the original book.

Any additional comments?

If you are a a person who loves the classics, but also loves new things you'll love this book. But be careful, if you are like my English major cousin, you'll think it was "a shame to ruin such a great story". But I have listened to it more than once and love it.

You Need a Sense of Humour

I can understand why this might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's exactly what it says it is -- Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. Surely it's obvious that it's going to be both the original comedy of manners, along with the zombie element. What I found extraordinary was how funny it was. I found myself laughing aloud as I drove to and from work every day, and could hardly wait to get back into the car and hear what was next. It was very well done, the narration was exquisite, and now I want to re-read the original as soon as possible. I'm sure that's the reaction many people will have, so Miss Austen's original work will probably be more popular than ever. I hope there will be more similar works to come.

I learned to care about Austen!

I've never been able to abide Jane Austen. I felt completely unconnected from the characters and unable to empathize with their dated misadventures in love and social climbing. That said, I loved this book. Apparently, all it took to make me care about Eliza and Co. was a liberal sprinkling of the undead. Most of the characterizations and the plot itself remained untouched, but the world in which they occur is enough changed to give them a dash of modern flavour. Also, I found Austen's women much improved by their new interest in the "deadly arts," as opposed to all that fuss over balls and letter writing and... pfft. Marriage. Not to say that Grahame-Smith doesn't occasionally go overboard; his additions have a tendency to become incredibly campy (moreso than I believe that they were meant to be) and repetitive. Still, I would highly recommend this book, especially to those who have trouble stomaching the original. I'll readily admit that I have never been Austen's biggest fan, but even I couldn't take my iPod off for days.

Horror in Hertfordshire

This is one of the few classics that lays bare the massive scourge of the undead that blighted so much of English life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It has been stated that Austen and Grahame-Smith's works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the eighteenth century and are part of the transition to nineteenth-century realism, while retaining an exquisite treatment of period manners. This is especially the case in this work, where Mrs Bennet seeks advantageous marriages for her five daughters amid bloody carnage and mayhem on a scale that makes Tarantino seem like a milktoast boy scout.

Proved to not be my Cup Of Tea

I am about the last person who would ever think to read a book like "Pride and Prejudice" but throw Zombies in the mix and I had to give it a chance.
I regret that it was still just to much P & P and not enough Zombies. Just as I would be wishing the actors would speak normally at a Shakespearean play, the wording of this book only helped to loose my interest.