A mash-up novel (also called "mashup" or "mashed-up novel") is an unauthorised non-canonical work of fiction, often parodical, which combines a well-known pre-existing literature text with another genre. The term was popularized in reference to horror writer Seth Grahame-Smith and his work on the classical novels of Jane Austen.
Marjorie Kehe of the Christian Science Monitor renders this admixture of classic text as "somewhere between 60 and 85 percent original text, with new plot twists added by contemporary co-authors". [1] These "twists" often include horror fiction elements like vampires, werewolves or zombies.
While most works in mash-up genre rely on fictional texts as their basis, other works like Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter or Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter superimpose the same sort of contrasting genre upon historical figures and events. A more recent phenomenon within the genre is the combination of more than two original works, or genres, as in the case of Robinson Crusoe (The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope), which combines the original novel with elements borrowed from the works of H. P. Lovecraft as well as the popular genre of werewolf fiction, and is accordingly attributed to three authors – Daniel Defoe, H. P. Lovecraft and Peter Clines. [2]
The term mashup or mash-up originated within the music industry. [3] Also called "mash-up", songs within the genre are described as a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another. [4] To the extent that such works are "transformative" of original content, they may find protection from copyright claims under the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law. [5] Adam Cohen of the New York Times notes that even before that, "the idea of combining two data sources into a new product began in the tech world" before spreading to other media, including book publishing. [6]
One of the term's first appearances is in a review of Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies . Initially calling it a "parody" and "literary hybrid", Caroline Kellogg, lead blogger for Jacket Copy, The LA Times ' book blog, later describes the work as "novel-as-mashup". [7] As the popularity of the novel grew and a bidding war commenced over the film rights to the book, the term spread. Subsequent works on classical literature include Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Little Women and Werewolves.
Prior to publication, the artwork cover for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies depicting a "zombified" Regency portrait of Marcia Fox by Sir William Beechey altered by Quirk Books artist Eric "Doogie" Horner to show her lower face eroded, exposing bone and viscera caught the attention of bloggers, [7] as did the opening line of the novel: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." This is a parody of Austen's original line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man, in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
As previously noted, the novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies combines Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was first published in April 2009 by Quirk Books and in October 2009 a Deluxe Edition was released, containing full-color images and additional zombie scenes. [8]
An earlier novel, Move Under Ground by Nick Mamatas, was a 2004 novel combining the Beat style of Jack Kerouac with the cosmic horror of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
Mashup novels constitute derivative works since they include major elements borrowed from an original, previously created work. Most authors of such novels, however, avoid potential legal issues (and the payment of royalties to the original writers) by basing their books on texts that are in the public domain.
While initially well-received (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies spent eight months on the New York Times Best Seller list and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has already been made into a feature film), at least one reviewer has suggested that the genre has run its course in popularity. Jennifer Schuessler, of The New York Times reflects the pessimism of critics of the genre:
Publishers in search of a marketing hook aren't above trumpeting even their most middling wares as a mix of Dickens, Chekhov and Dan Brown. This year, a small publishing house in Philadelphia hit on a more effective formula: Take some Jane Austen, add a healthy dollop of gore and start counting the money. [9]
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Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name refers to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of early Gothic novels.
Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which are in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length ... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society.
Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her deft use of social commentary, realism and biting irony have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.
Pride and Prejudice is the second novel by English author Jane Austen, published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.
Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circumstances of the time and environment push her to seek a marriage of convenience for economic security, Elizabeth wishes to marry for love.
Quirk Books is an American independent book publisher based in Philadelphia.
A parallel novel is an in-universe pastiche piece of literature written within, derived from, or taking place during the framework of another work of fiction by the same or another author with respect to continuity.
A zombie is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies are most commonly found in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which a zombie is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magical practices in religions like Vodou. Modern media depictions of the reanimation of the dead often do not involve magic but rather science fictional methods such as fungi, radiation, gases, diseases, plants, bacteria, viruses, etc.
The reception history of Jane Austen follows a path from modest fame to wild popularity. Jane Austen (1775–1817), the author of such works as Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1815), has become one of the best-known and most widely read novelists in the English language. Her novels are the subject of intense scholarly study and the centre of a diverse fan culture.
The author Jane Austen and her works have been represented in popular culture in a variety of forms.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was first published in April 2009 by Quirk Books and in October 2009 a Deluxe Edition was released, containing full-color images and additional zombie scenes. The novel was adapted into a 2016 film starring Lily James and Sam Riley.
Seth Grahame-Smith is an American writer and film producer, best known as the author of The New York Times best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, both of which have been adapted as feature films. Grahame-Smith is also the co-creator, head writer and executive producer of The Hard Times of RJ Berger, a scripted television comedy appearing on MTV. In collaboration with David Katzenberg, his partner in Katzsmith Productions, Grahame-Smith is currently developing a number of projects for television and film.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (2009) is a parody novel by Ben H. Winters, with Jane Austen credited as co-author. It is a mashup story containing elements from Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility and common tropes from sea monster stories. It is the thematic sequel to another 2009 novel from the same publisher called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It was first published by Quirk Books on September 15, 2009.
Jane Austen's (1775–1817) distinctive literary style relies on a combination of parody, burlesque, irony, free indirect speech and a degree of realism. She uses parody and burlesque for comic effect and to critique the portrayal of women in 18th-century sentimental and Gothic novels. Austen extends her critique by highlighting social hypocrisy through irony; she often creates an ironic tone through free indirect speech in which the thoughts and words of the characters mix with the voice of the narrator. The degree to which critics believe Austen's characters have psychological depth informs their views regarding her realism. While some scholars argue that Austen falls into a tradition of realism because of her finely executed portrayal of individual characters and her emphasis on "the everyday", others contend that her characters lack a depth of feeling compared with earlier works, and that this, combined with Austen's polemical tone, places her outside the realist tradition.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (2010) is a parody novel by Steve Hockensmith. It is a prequel to Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, focusing on "the early life and training of Elizabeth Bennet, heroine of the earlier Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as she strove to become a gifted zombie hunter, with some mishaps in her early romantic encounters also included." It was first published by Quirk Books on March 23, 2010.
Android Karenina is a 2010 parody novel written by Ben H. Winters based on the 1877 novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. The novel is a mashup, adding steampunk elements to the Russian 19th-century environment of Anna Karenina, a book first published in 1877.
Jane Austen fan fiction is the collection of numerous sequels and spin-offs produced by authors who have either used the plot of Austen's original novels, or have extended them, to produce new works of fiction. Austen's posthumous popularity has inspired fan fiction that runs the gamut through numerous genres, but the most concentrated medium has remained the novel. According to Pucci and Thompson in their 2003 survey on the contemporary evolution of Jane Austen's work, at the turn of the 20th century, over one hundred sequels, rewritings, and continuations of her novels had been published.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a 2016 action comedy horror film based on Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 novel of the same name, which parodies the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The film is directed by Burr Steers, who wrote the adapted screenplay, and stars Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack Huston, Bella Heathcote, Douglas Booth, Matt Smith, Charles Dance, and Lena Headey. The film follows the general plot of Austen's original novel, with elements of zombie, horror and post-apocalyptic fiction incorporated.
Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen (1913) is a novel by Sybil G. Brinton that is often acknowledged to be the first sequel to the works of Jane Austen and as such is possibly the first piece of published Austen fan fiction, although earlier examples have been described by Sarah Glosson. It incorporates characters from each of Austen's six major novels into one unified story, alongside characters of Brinton's own invention. Keeping to the spirit of the source novels, its major theme is the difficulties faced by assorted pairs of lovers placed within the class structure of early 19th century Britain.
Sherri Browning Erwin is an American novelist, best known for literary mash-ups, paranormal romance, and historical romance.