me zombie, you jane

The night before last, my husband was feeling a bit under the weather and retired to our chambers at an ungodly early hour, leaving the ladies - rudy , hem and I - to our own designs. Armed with blanket, beer and tear-ducts cocked and loaded with pre-menstrual waters, we embarked on a viewing of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, as graciously provided by TVO. This was the 2007 version, starring Sally Hawkins (who was excellent) and Rupert Penry-Jones (who was delicious).

The funny thing about reading/watching Jane Austen for me is that for days, sometimes weeks afterward, i find my imagination clinging to that world, until walking about in my own city feels almost like traversing the moors in a long velvet cape, wind in my suddenly cascading locks. This particular time was no exception, and when i took to the internet, looking for interesting material on the subject, i came across two rather extraordinary references that i had no idea existed...

The first is an expanded edition of Austen's novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, entitled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies that begins:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.

Grahame-Smith has set a plague of zombies upon the village of Meryton and suddenly the Bennet sisters are taking lessons in swordsmanship and martial arts, so as to fend off the flesh-eating hordes. Oddly enough, judging from the few sample pages and reviews I've read, I think this might actually be a great read!

From here I stumbled onto yet another meeting of Jane and the zombies, but this time Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. It appears that in 1943, there was a B-movie made called I Walked With a Zombie that is actually a retelling of Bronte's novel (but with zombies). I haven't seen this yet but you can bet I will. Who knew there was such a sub-genre?!