Quirk Books, the literary monster mash-up mogul who brought us Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monster has announced that its third book for Quirk Classics will be Dawn of the Dreadfuls, a prequel to its New York Times bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Here is the publisher’s description:
In this terrifying and hilarious prequel, we witness the genesis of the zombie plague in early-nineteenth century England. We watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naïve young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. We laugh as she begins her first clumsy training with nunchucks and katana swords and cry when her first blush with romance goes tragically awry. Written by acclaimed novelist (and Edgar Award nominee) Steve Hockensmith, Dawn of the Dreadfuls invites Austen fans to step back into Regency England, Land of the Undead!
Surprisingly, co-authors are listed as Jane Austen and Steve Hockensmith even though according to Quirk editor Jason Rekulak Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a “completely original novel inspired by Austen’s characters; — in other words, there’s not a drop of original Austen writing in it.” Obviously, since Jane Austen did not write a prequel to Pride and Prejudice there was no text to mash-up and this new novel needed to be an original story only lifting her characters names. We are, however, perplexed at her inclusion. Other authors have been writing prequels, sequels and retellings of Pride and Prejudice for years, but admittedly, this is the fist time this writer has seen the original author’s name attached with another author’s work.
In actuality, the lack of Jane Austen’s text is a win-win situation for both Austen and zombie fans who each had qualms about their peas touching their potatoes on the plate. Now only Austen’s name is being exploited and not her words.
Dawn on the Dreadfuls goes on sale in the US on the 24th of March, 2010. I liked P&P&Z, but this literary mash-up business was pushed way beyond amusing parody with Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and unless this new novel is exceptionally well written, I’ve had enough of others ripping off my favorite author.
Laurel Ann (Austenprose)
Virginia Claire
Christina B.
RegencyRomantic
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
shelleydewees
Br. Paul Byrd, OP
Aia A. Hussein
Lucy Warriner
Lisa Galek
I enjoyed P&P&Z but a prequel? And not even written by the same author(s)? Now it just seems like a money-making scheme. I have a feeling this one won’t have the same success as the other two.
I agree with Heather.
I think I’m going to have nightmares now ;)
This seems like some Jane Austen Appreciation Writing Class gone terribly, terribly wrong…
By putting Jane Austen as an author they can list it in the book stores next to the novels she did write. It’s all marketing.
…. seriously? Do we really need (or want) another one of these parodies? It’s just getting way too far. And lord, the girl on the cover doesn’t look like she’s even from the right era. -smacks forehead-
In the P&PZ amazon listing, I think he listed Jane Austen as his co-author too.
Steamy Darcy
Hmm I’m not sure how I feel about this book.
Is there any family left with copyrights to the name?! No, No, No – I hate all this vampire garbage and Austen connection.
What a ghastly looking cover. It looks like a horror movie poster.
I am over the mash up stuff. P-U-Icky
The Morgan Library thing popped up on my radar earlier today for some reason, and sounds awesome. Wish I could visit it, but enjoyed some of the info on the actual site with the video etc.
[...] so far appear to be skeptical about the new Quirk effort. In the comments on the AustenProse blog, one wrote: “I enjoyed P&P&Z but a prequel? And not even written by the same author(s)? [...]
BTW, the actual book does NOT have Jane Austen as a co-author. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a completely original book.
Yes Lisa, this is a completely original work. That is why it was puzzling that Jane Austen’s name was listed as co-author on the cover. Since I wrote this preview post, the publisher Quirk Books has removed Austen’s name as co-author. Enjoy.
[...] speaking of that marketing success, Dawn of The Dreadfuls, the prequel to Pride and… is coming hot on its heels next month, following the [...]
I have read his other two books but this book is really funny and good too! You guys need to give it a try!
I enjoyed PAPAZ and am in the process of reading Dawn of the dreadfuls and so I far I find it enjoyable.
In my opinion PAPAZ was very enjoyable and I found it even more enjoyable when I realized that it could be used as a tool to introduce a younger generation to Austen.
I personally know of 4 kids who never would have read PAP had they not first read PAPAZ.
In my opinion its a win win scenario
Thanks for sharing your expereince with students reading P&P because of P&P&Z. This is encouraging. The book has sold millions of copies and been on best seller lists for months. I was afraid they were scimming through the Austen parts to get to the zombies. Good to hear otherwise.