Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
Pride-prejudice-zombies-dawn-dreadfuls.jpg
Author Steve Hockensmith
LanguageEnglish
Genre Comic novel, Historical Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Comedy
Publisher Quirk Books, Philadelphia
Publication date
March 23, 2010
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages287 pp
ISBN 978-1-59474-454-9
Preceded by Android Karenina  
Followed byPride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (2010) is a parody novel by Steve Hockensmith. [1] [2] 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." [3] It was first published by Quirk Books on March 23, 2010.

Contents

Plot summary

Set four years before the events described in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the novel takes place in an alternate universe version of Regency era England where zombies are a well-known menace spawned by an event known as The Troubles.

After attending a funeral in which a zombie rises from his coffin, Mr. Bennet decides that he must finally keep an old promise to train his five daughters in the art of zombie-killing. To this end, he turns the family's greenhouse into a dojo and hires young martial-arts expert Master Hawksworth to teach the girls. Meanwhile, a scientist named Dr. Keckilpenny arrives in the area with the dream of studying and possibly domesticating the zombies. As the zombie plague continues to spread across England, Hawksworth and Keckilpenny compete for Elizabeth's affections while Mrs. Bennet plots to find suitably wealthy suitors for both Elizabeth and her older sister Jane. In a bid to get reinforcements against the plague, Jane becomes the bodyguard of Lord Lumpley, a fat, lazy nobleman with low moral standards. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Keckilpenny capture a zombie for further research.

Reception

Booklist gave the novel a favorable review, calling it "a must-read for the growing legion of alternate-Austen fans (including, naturally, everyone who has read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies )." [4]

The A.V. Club gave the novel a grade of "B-," stating that the novel "often succeeds on its own terms" while noting that author Hockensmith "makes no attempt at Jane Austen’s style, either for replication or parody," and that the story is "nothing more or less than an adventure story that happens to be set in Regency England." [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> 1813 novel by Jane Austen

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Bennet</span> Fictional character from Pride and Prejudice

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.

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Pride and Prejudice is a 1940 American film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, the screenplay was written by Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin, adapted specifically from the stage adaptation by Helen Jerome, in addition to Jane Austen's novel.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Darcy</span> Literary character

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References

  1. "Writing the Prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". Time . 19 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  2. "Those Bennet girls have zombies on the brain". St. Paul Pioneer Press . 26 March 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  3. New Book Trailer: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
  4. Moyer, Jessica (1 March 2010). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls" . Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  5. Bowman, Donna (1 April 2010). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 3 May 2010.