On their travels, Elizabeth begins to wonder why her new husband hasn’t visited her in her bedchamber. She starts to fear the worst; perhaps he is regretting having married her. Eventually we learn the real reason behind his reluctance to… ahem… visit her. Unsurprisingly, it turns out to be something rather more sinister. Again, can you guess what it is?

‘Mr Darcy Vampyre’ is a fun read, with lots of romance, atmospheric prose and pulse-raising scenes. Not many Pride and Prejudice characters are included in the novel, with only Elizabeth and Darcy followed throughout, and the strongest supporting role given to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. However, Elizabeth and Darcy’s characters are written with love and careful attention. Elizabeth is as delightful as can be expected, given the terrible journey on which she is taken, and Darcy is as complicated as ever – perhaps more so, given the addition of the whole man-beast problem.

The sensual prose immediately – and I do mean from the first page – sets it apart stylistically from Jane Austen’s novel. There is more detail in Amanda Grange’s description of the view from Elizabeth’s window than Jane Austen gives of Pemberley, Rosings and the Peak district all together. The plot is also very linear in comparison with the complex, interweaving storylines of Pride and Prejudice. Letters are used, and do become important later in the book, but they generally serve just to recap what we have already learned, rather than to shove the story along. Furthermore, as you’d expect from any book with ‘vampyre’ in the title, it’s generally a lot darker, more emotionally direct and more hot-blooded than the ‘light and bright and sparkling’ Regency novel.

These aren’t really criticisms, however, but readers who love Jane Austen for the language, the light, ironic touch and the labyrinthine plot might not find much to enjoy here. However, if you are interested primarily in the two main characters and you don’t mind a little absurdity, then you should find ‘Mr Darcy, Vampyre’ perfectly agreeable. True Austen experts might enjoy the book as an homage to the Gothic novels that Jane Austen herself loved, but I’m not sure that casual Austen fans and lovers of general horror will find their bloodthirst quenched. It’s not particularly gory and it’s not until the final third of the book that it’s completely clear what’s going on (unless you had the foresight to read the novel’s title, that is!) so there are sure to be plenty more horrible horrors available, but for a light-hearted play on Pride and Prejudice, this is a pleasantly distracting read.

All fans of Pride and Prejudice must have, at some point, pondered what it might be like to be in Elizabeth Bennet’s shoes. In Lost in Austen you get the chance to enter the romantic world of Jane Austen’s novels and experience them firsthand. The book is written in a ‘choose your own adventure’ style, and playing as Elizabeth you are given the mission to marry well and to marry for love. During your adventure you are judged on the accomplishments, intelligence, confidence, connections and fortune points that you build or lose along the way. You will also face tough questions and will have to make difficult decisions – all dictating the path you can take.

The book allows you to explore a number of Pride and Prejudice ‘what ifs.’ You will find out, rather comically, what would have happened if Elizabeth had accepted Mr. Collin’s proposal. You can also discover if love might have blossomed had Lizzy accepted Darcy’s infamous first proposal. While the main thrust of the story comes from Pride and Prejudice, characters from all of Jane Austen’s six novels make appearances. As well as Mr. Darcy, you get the chance to dalliance with the likes of Mr. Knightley, Willoughby, Captain Wentworth, Henry Tilney, Mr. Crawford and even Jane Austen’s real life love interest, Tom Lefroy.

Although Lost in Austen has the premise of a Pride and Prejudice ‘choose your own adventure’ story, there is a mission to complete, which results in an basically linear storyline. If you take the wrong path or make a decision that does not ultimately fulfil the mission you could end up lonely, sad, or even worse, dead! Adding and subtracting points, depending on your choices and actions, can get a little tedious but does add to the immersion and interactivity of the book. There are a few tricky questions and a degree of randomness, but if you’re a fan of Pride and Prejudice it’s not difficult to complete the mission as it follows the original text pretty closely. The multiple choices and directions lends itself to a number of re-readings, unless you were to tempted to look them up during your first read. Whilst not quite living up to its huge potential, Lost in Austen is a fun and exciting read, and should be most agreeable for Jane Austen fans.

Your lost friend,
Lizzy

There is, most understandably, an insatiable appetite for anything Pride and Prejudice. Recent reworkings have proved popular, so why not add a sprinkling of the living dead?Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, published by Quirk Classics, does exactly this. It’s hard to imagine, but zombies (or unmentionables as they are charmingly referred to in the book) are blended seamlessly into Jane Austen’s original work. In fact about 85% of the book remains untouched. However, on almost every page you will find murder and beheadings, blood lust and stomach churning gore.

Meryton, along with the rest of England, has succumbed to a mysterious plague where the dead are stalking the grounds of Longbourn, Netherfield and Pemberley, looking for fresh, succulent brains. The Bennet family has risen to the occasion and under the tutorage of Master Liu in China, the Bennet daughters have become a finely tuned fighting force. An accomplished girl in this England needs to forget about the piano forte and instead hone her skills with her katana sword, her throwing stars and her musket. In this  parody you will also find ninjas protecting the wealthy, houses equipped with training dojos and hordes of the living dead waiting to jump on any poor soul who wonders down the wrong path.

Elizabeth Bennet is, of course, one of the finest female warriors and thinks nothing of disregarding her modesty to place a well-timed kick to the face to any ‘unmentionable’ that crosses her path.

It’s not just zombies that get in Elizabeth’s way; anyone who dares slight her or her family (including Mr Darcy) will feel the force of her honour. This leads to some of the more heated and intense moments in the original novel becoming battle scenes where blood is spilt and lives are lost. It’s worth reading the book just to learn what Elizabeth does to Lady Catherine de Bourgh! Mr Darcy is also an esteemed warrior, but as proud as ever. However, Lizzy’s feelings do soften toward him and she dates this rather saucily from her ‘first seeing the way his trousers clung to those most English parts.’

The storyline is otherwise left surprisingly intact, yet with a little less subtlety and more than a touch of poetic license.  You will also find all of the beloved Pride and Prejudice characters, although one or two may get stricken and others end in an extremely sorry state! Don’t worry I’m not going to give anything away, but I will tell you that this book made me laugh. I chuckled on almost every page.  Pride and Prejudice purists will likely object to the zombification of their ‘most darling child,’ but if you love the original, don’t object to the odd zombie, and have a strong stomach you will enjoy it. This book, along with the news that Seth Grahame-Smith has sold the rights to an as-yet undisclosed major film company, will probably make those who have not read the original a little curious. Anything that encourages new readers of Pride and Prejudice readers is OK with me.

Your musket-cleaning friend,

Lizzy