A recent increase in hacked road signs indicating “zombies ahead” is apparently being taken seriously by Quirk Books, which is releasing an update to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that will no longer discriminate against readers’ states of mortality. The new work, written by a grave-rolling Austen and the still-living Seth Grahame-Smith, is titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and is due to be released May 13. According to one catalog,
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. 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.”
Disappointingly, there is no indication of how useful the book itself might be for self-defense in the event of an actual zombie attack, though if the road signs are right (and somehow I doubt it), readers might get a chance to find out.