Another Austen novel transformed
One couldn’t help but grin when Seth Grahame-Smith teamed with Quirk Books to revitalize a Jane Austen novel with the undead in “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”
Quirk is going back to the Austen catalogue for “Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters,” expanding the original text of Austen’s novel with all-new scenes of “giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, swashbuckling pirates, and other seaworthy creatures.” Ben Winters is adding the monster mayhem.
“Several publishers are crashing Jane Austen vampire novels that will no doubt capitalize on the success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” says editor Jason Rekulak, “but I didn’t want to go out with the one-millionth vampire novel that’s going to be published this year. Sea Monsters allowed us to draw inspiration from so many rich and diverse sources – most obviously Jules Verne novels and Celtic mythology, but also Jaws, ‘Lost,’ Pirates of the Caribbean, even SpongeBob Squarepants! I think the fans were counting on us to deliver something original, and I don’t think they will be disappointed.”
As the story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels?
Source: Quirk Books
