Reviews

Review of Mary Bennet and the Bingley Codex

Book cover of Mary Bennet and the Bingley Codex

Mary Bennet and the Bingley Codex is the first of the Regency Mage series of novels by Joyce Harmon. They feature Mary Bennet, the third and plainest of the Bennet sisters. This first novel is about how Mary becomes a magician.

The novel is told in the first person. It’s only the second Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy novel I’ve come across to do that. The other one was Miss Bennet’s Dragon by M Verant(I’ve also reviewed that novel).I rather liked the story being told from Mary Bennet’s point of view. 

Plot

Mary is visiting Jane and Bingley and offers to catalogue their library. Within the library she discovers a cache of old books and one special one teaches her how to do magic. When she successfully casts a spell to end a drought, she attracts the attention of the Order of St George, who regulate magic in the United Kingdom. Two magicians, Mr Danvers and Mr White are sent to find the source of the magic and end up training her. Then Mr Danvers and Mr White go missing, and it is up to Mary to help them.

Characters

This Mary Bennet comes across as a very different character from Jane Austen’s novel. Although she is bookish, she is pragmatic and shrewd. Mary is also a good judge of character. She knows the way to stop Kitty coming along on the proposed visit to Jane and Bingley, is to use Kitty’s reluctance to gamble and play on her fears that her suitors may forget her if she stays away too long. She is also quite outspoken, when Mr Hastings, one of Bingley’s friends but an annoying guest, makes delicate enquiries as to her assets, she tells him straight out, “My portion, sir, is tiny. There.” Also, Mary is the only person to think it odd that nobody has a bad word to say about Mr Spencer, a popular local bachelor.

One thing I found a little difficult to believe is that Mary would know what homosexuals were even if she had studied ancient Greek literature, and that she would be as tolerant as she is. But it’s a minor point.

Some of the original characters appear in this novel: Kitty, Mrs Bennet, Mr Bennet, Jane, and Mr Bingley. Some have cameo roles while Jane and Mr Bingley have supporting roles. There’s a whole subplot involving Caroline Bingley who invites herself to stay and a suitor who appears for her.  I thought it was interesting that Lizzie and Mr Darcy barely get a mention. Will they appear more in other novels in the series?

I didn’t like that the author made Jane and Mr Bingley less intelligent and literate than they were in the original. In the novel, they have no interest in the library, which is necessary for the plot, but I thought did them a disservice.

Setting

I liked the setting of the novel. Only certain people know about magic. I did like that that there were no traditions or laws against women being magicians. And that there were dragons (or perhaps still are) and water sprites and pixies. Mary has a mix of talents, she can scry (when a little inebriated), persuade, and do water and fire work. She’s not very good at levitating objects though.

I loved the idea of a notebook that you could write messages in, and another magician could write back to you wherever s/he was. Also, that it was shielded so that if any one non magical saw it, they would think it had the usual sort of notes.

Overall, I thought it was a well written and entertaining novel. I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Review of Miss Bennet’s Dragon by M Verant

This is a review of Miss Bennet’s Dragon by M Verant, a Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy. 

The full title is Miss Bennet’s Dragon: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling (Jane Austen Fantasy Book 1). Personally, I disagree with the author calling it a retelling. I think it’s a variation as are all Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy stories.

This fantasy novel is about dragons, so I was interested to see how it compared to Maria Grace’s Pride and Prejudice inspired dragon series – Jane Austen’s Dragons.

One thing I noticed straight off was that this novel is written in the first person. This is unusual. I don’t remember having read any other Pride and Prejudice inspired novels that are in the first person. Normally, they’re written in the third person. I thought it made for a more immersive experience. It’s written from the viewpoint of Elizabeth Bennet.

Setting

The set-up is quite different in this novel from Maria Grace’s novels. The gentry hold their estates through inheritance and/or bonding with a dragon when they first marry and consummate the marriage. They also need “marriage gold” to bond a dragon. If the husband dies, the family will lose their estate unless the son and his wife bond with a dragon. If there is no male heir then unless a daughter has married and the couple have bonded, the estate will be lost. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a major exception to this societal rule. 

Oh, and dragons are called “draca” in this novel.

I loved the different types of dragons (or draca) in the novel. None of them seem to be that big unlike Maria Grace’s. They have great names such as tunnelworm, roseworm and lindworm, etc. 

Plot

This novel is quite dark, a fair few characters die. I wouldn’t describe it as a light and fluffy Pride and Prejudice inspired novel.

The plot involves draca and French spies. I don’t want to say more and give the plot away.

One change to the original plot is that Jane becomes ill at Netherfield through being bitten by a foul crawler rather than catching cold on the way there. This is potentially fatal until Elizabeth is guided by a Scottish laundry maid to get Jane to drink a few drops of draca blood. And then Jane falls sick with binding sickness because she is in love with Bingley who has gone away to America so, she’s in danger of dying unless Elizabeth can find a way to save her. This is the reason Elizabeth visits Pemberley in order to find a cure for Jane. I liked how the author adapted the original plot.

Another change to the plot is that Mr Collins and Charlotte don’t bind a draca so he loses the claim to Longbourn. However, the Bennets are still at risk unless a Bennet daughter and her husband can bind a draca. Enter Lydia. It seems Wickham had an ulterior motive in seducing her. 

Characters

Elizabeth is a very strong character; she holds the family together. She’s basically running the estate for her father. Elizabeth has a telepathic bond with dragons. They will all obey her.

I did like the version of Mr Darcy in this novel. He’s the strong, silent but passionate type. He certainly goes above and beyond for Elizabeth.

I wasn’t sure about Jane in this novel. She seemed a bit of an air head to me once or twice in this novel. And as the eldest, wouldn’t she have had some involvement/training in the estate? She does play a very passive role.

Mary Bennet in this novel reminded me of the heroine of The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough. She’s much more interesting than the original Mary in Pride and Prejudice. She’s a feminist and would be social reformer, even a bit of a goth. She and Lizzie are very close in the novel.

Lydia is probably the most evil that I’ve seen her character be in any of the Pride and Prejudice inspired novels that I’ve read so far. And Wickham is pretty evil too. 

Summary

Miss Bennet’s Dragon was an enjoyable and gripping read if darker than most Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy novels.

Review of A Season of Magic by Sarah Courtney

Cover of A Season of Magic

This is a review of A Season of Magic by Sarah Courtney. The full title is A Season of Magic: A Pride and Prejudice Variation. It’s a Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy. I’ve already reviewed a couple of novels by Monica Fairview that has the same premise as this novel; that mages exist in Regency England.

There are two types of magic users, those who can use elements e.g. air, fire, water or earth and those who have talents.  Elemental mages usually have a talent as well.

Elizabeth and Jane Bennet have not had an easy time in this version. Mr and Mrs Bennet are only their foster parents and unpleasant ones at that. They’re greedy and unscrupulous. 

Elizabeth and Jane’s true parents were evil mages who died while the girls were young. 

Plot

After the girls reveal that they are elemental mages by helping to put out a fire at the Netherfield Ball, Elizabeth is sent to The Season, a magical boarding school, to learn how to control her powers while Jane remains at Longbourn. This of course, allows her to continue her romance with Mr Bingley. Elizabeth has a rough time at The Season to begin with. She’s not trusted and there are attempts to bully and intimidate her until she proves her worth. Jane joins her for the second year and things really start to hot up then.

The plot is a radical departure from the original novel. As mentioned before, Mr and Mrs Bennet are only the foster parents so the whole issue of who inherits Longbourn is removed, and Mr Collins doesn’t make an appearance. And Wickham running away with Lydia is not part of the plot.

In another departure from the plot, Elizabeth doesn’t meet Darcy at the Assembly until a dance at The Season. He’s just as dismissive though. Darcy warns her he’s keeping an eye on her to watch for dark tendencies. However, he soon becomes fascinated by, and then falls in love with her.

Characters

One of the things I really liked about this novel was the use of characters from other Jane Austen novels. Emma Woodhouse, Anne and Elizabeth Elliot, Captain Tilney, Lucy Steele, etc. As you’d expect, the nice characters are still nice, and the unpleasant ones still behave badly. A couple such as Emma and Anne have quite important parts, the others are really just walk on parts. Anne Elliot came across as pretty wimpy in this novel, which disappointed me as she’s my second favourite heroine after Elizabeth Bennet. I was also a little disappointed that Catherine Morland didn’t make an appearance as she’s too young to attend The Season.

I liked that the author shows Wickham as an unreliable character. Elizabeth knows him from her youth and at first he is the only friendly person at The Season. However, before long he proves himself to be self-seeking and disloyal and Elizabeth realises he is not a real friend.

I also liked that Wickham’s parents are part of the story, the first novel I’ve read where they do so.

In summary, A Season of Magic is a well written and enjoyable Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy.

Review of Transforming Mr Darcy by Melanie Rachel

Threads of Magic by Melanie Rachel

This is a review of Transforming Mr Darcy by Melanie Rachel. In fact, the full title is Transforming Mr Darcy: A Magical Pride and Prejudice Variation. It has several fairy tale elements, but I’d call it a fantasy rather than a fairy tale. It’s a novella so not too long.

Plot

The basis of the plot is both Jane and Elizabeth Bennet have fairy godmothers. Jane’s is called Priscilla and Elizabeth’s is called Mildred. Personally, I didn’t like the names of the fairy godmothers, they just didn’t seem the right names for fairies. Their goal in life is to marry their charges off to suitable men (much like Mrs Bennet’s really). Once they’re married off, Priscilla and Mildred will then become the fairy godmothers of the next two Bennet girls. Not everyone has fairy godmothers, and most people no longer believe in them.

Mildred takes exception to what Mr Darcy says about Elizabeth at the assembly. She begins to persecute him in various ways. It escalates until she turns him into a swan at night to stop him taking Mr Bingley away from Netherfield. Elizabeth has to perform a task within a certain time period or else he will remain a swan forever. To stop anyone else finding out what’s happened to him, he is whisked away to a nearby castle and Elizabeth has to accompany him. However, she is only allowed to speak for fifteen minutes a day. This means Mr Darcy has to talk to her.

Opinion

I thought this was a fun novella. The fairy tale elements were fun, for example, when Mr Darcy can’t sleep because he has a pea in his bed. I also liked how breaking the spell forced the two to work at rectify the faults in their characters.

Caroline Bingley is particularly unpleasant and rude to Elizabeth in this novella, and I was only sorry Mildred didn’t do any permanent spells on her.

I would mention the other fairy tale motifs that the author has incorporated into the story, but she thoughtfully tells you all the ones she’s used in her notes at the end.

In summary, it’s a fun read and I enjoyed it.

Review of Threads of Magic by Monica Fairview

Threads of Magic, 2nd book of Mr. Darcy’s Magic

Threads of Magic is the second book in the series, Mr. Darcy’s Magic by Monica Fairview. I’m not sure how much you’ll enjoy it if you haven’t read the first one, Dangerous Magic. It continues the story of Darcy and Elizabeth, the Janus Mages. 

Plot

The novel starts with Darcy and Elizabeth approaching Founders Hall when it is attacked by French mages. Elizabeth links to three other mages and manages to destroy the fireball but they are incapacitated after the attack and Founders Hall blames Elizabeth. Also, Darcy captures a powerful French mage.

Because of that, they decide to move their headquarters. At Elizabeth’s suggestion, they move to Netherfield Park. They tell people it’s a convalescent home for wounded officers. I liked how the author got her story into the location of much of the original novel.

I also liked how the author managed to weave some of the original plot into her story. For example, Jane goes to Netherfield on horseback with some gifts for the convalescent officers. Convalescent officers = marriage prospects in Mrs Bennet’s eyes! Jane gets through the magical wards because she’s related to Elizabeth. Jane then falls ill with a fever but when recovered, has to stay at Netherfield because of security. Bingley who’s woken up from his coma but hasn’t regained his wits, takes an instant liking to her, and follows her around. Because Jane is an unorthodox healer, she realises what none of the officially trained healers have, that Bingley has had a spell cast on him. They realise that there’s a traitor at Founders’ Hall.

Then things hot up because Elizabeth is kidnapped and thrown into the basement with the French mage. Darcy fights a magic duel to draw out the traitor, which is successful, but Elizabeth isn’t let in on the secret so, she thinks that Darcy is in mortal danger. She tries to help him and is thrown into the cell with the mage again to stop her spoiling the pretence.. Who turns out to be Spanish and wants to join the British. Understandably, Elizabeth’s very annoyed when she finds out it was all a ruse and asks Darcy to think about why she wants an apology. Which he does in the end. To be honest, I thought her not being told that the duel was fake was a weak part of the novel

Characters

I didn’t entirely like Darcy in this novel. Sometimes he came across as quite whiney. Not what we want from Darcy! Also, he sometimes comes across as being just as loyal to the Royal Mages than Elizabeth even when they’re behaving badly.

I also thought that a lot of the Royal Mages came across as unpleasant. arrogant and unfriendly people. They certainly acted in a hostile way to Elizabeth.

I did think that Elizabeth was just as feisty as the original which I enjoyed as sometimes in Pride and Prejudice inspired novels, she can come across as quite weak and emotional.

Overall, Threads of Magic was an enjoyable read. I presume Monica Fairview is intending to continue the series as the ending felt as if there was more to come

Longbourn: Dragon Entail by Maria Grace

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

Longbourn: Dragon Entail is the second in the Jane Austen Dragons series by Maria Grace. The first was Pemberley: Mr Darcy’s Dragon. This novel is as enjoyable as the first one.

Plot

It takes up the story where it left off in the first novel. Pemberley, the baby dragon, has been carted off to Rosings at the insistence of Longbourn the estate dragon. He’s jealous of the bond between Elizabeth and Pemberley. Elizabeth doesn’t know it’s Longbourn’s fault and blames Darcy.

Mr Bennet and Longbourn the estate dragon, are still insisting that Elizabeth marries Mr Collins who is dragon deaf, and she tries to go along with it until she thinks they are trying to mentally manipulate her into marrying him. This is totally against the Dragon code, and she decides to leave Longbourn and go to London. I really disliked this version of Mr Bennet and my dislike of Longbourn, the estate dragon, only increased in this sequel.

She then goes to the Blue Order where her notebooks on the care of dragons is of great interest and bumps into Mr Darcy who’s been about to go to Longbourn because Pemberley is pining for her. Georgiana Darcy has been sending her letters but Mr Bennet has been hiding them. Elizabeth goes to Rosings and is reunited with Pemberley who is just as cute as in the first book.

Lady Catherine tries to order her to marry Mr Collins – they have the scene that happens in the original when Lady Catherine visits Longbourn. Then Elizabeth leaves the house and bumps into Mr Collins, He then gives her Mr Darcy’s original marriage proposal from the original. Elizabeth is no more impressed with Mr Collins giving it than she was with Mr Darcy. Unfortunately, Mr Collins persists in following her and comes across the dragons. This is a big NO NO as humans who can’t hear dragons are not meant to know about them.

The Blue Order assesses Pemberley to see whether she is feral or not and decide what to do about the “dragon deaf” Mr Collins. He ends up engaged to Mary who will become the Longbourn dragon keeper after Mr Bennet.

By the end of the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy are getting to know and appreciate each other. Elizabeth becomes engaged to Darcy, but Lydia has run away possibly with a rogue dragon which is VERY BAD NEWS. Cue the next novel.

Things I liked about Longbourn: Dragon Entail

The author uses some of the dialogue from the original, which I like. In the original, Mr Darcy proposes to Elizabeth at Rosings. In this novel, it’s Mr Collins who proposes to Elizabeth using Darcy’s words. It sounds even worse with Mr Collins saying it and unsurprisingly, Elizabeth refuses him.

We learn more fascinating details about the dragons living at Rosings.

Things I didn’t like about Longbourn: Dragon Entail

I can’t understand why Elizabeth blames herself for the way Longbourn behaves when it’s clearly the fault of her father for not being a very good Dragon Keeper.

Darcy Bites: Pride and Prejudice with Fangs by Amy Elizabeth Davis

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Darcy Bites Book Cover

In this post, I’ll be reviewing Darcy Bites: Pride And Prejudice With Fangs by Amy Elizabeth Davis. I almost didn’t read this Pride and Prejudice inspired paranormal novel because I thought the cover looked amateurish. However, I’m glad I gave it a chance because it was well written and entertaining.

There’s a few Pride and Prejudice inspired vampire novels around but only one other one I can think of where he’s a dhampir. Vampire Darcy’s Desire: A Pride and Prejudice Paranormal Vagary by Regina Jeffers.

It’s very nearly a mashup novel (where 80% of the text comes from a classic novel and 20% is original like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). There’s lots of the original text in the novel. For example, Darcy does indeed say to Bingley that Elizabeth “is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me”. 

However, the author also often slightly changes the text.

For example, Elizabeth says to Darcy. “Did you not think, Mr. Darcy, that I expressed myself uncommonly well just now, when I was teasing Colonel Foster to spar with me?”

“With great energy, but it could hardly be a fair match.”

‘You are severe on Colonel Foster.”

Plot

The plot is as follows: Darcy is a dhampir (half vampire/half human). His mother was a vampire, and his father was human. He accompanies Mr Bingley to Netherfield Hall because it was attacked by vampires eighteen years ago. He wants to make sure that there are no vampires still lurking in the area. As per the original, he only becomes interested in Elizabeth after the assembly. Wickham makes an appearance. he’s also a dhampir and abuses his powers. 

Elizabeth has been trained in martial arts (reminded me of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) and volunteers as bait. Lady Catherine does come to visit Elizabeth, but she demands that Elizabeth promise not to marry Darcy and tries to kill her when she refuses. Darcy saves Elizabeth, and he stakes his aunt. This doesn’t kill her, but it does leave her comatose. She winds up imprisoned in his cellar for several years.

There are several discoveries about different characters: Wickham is a dhampir who abuses his ability to mesmerise people. Bingley is a werewolf and Mr Bennet is also a dhampir which is why Elizabeth has super hearing and is good at fighting. Jane, it turns out is the adopted daughter of Mr and Mrs Bennet. They had a son, Edmund, who was killed when he was young because he became feral. Mr Bennet makes his wife forget about Edmund (this reminded me of Abigail Reynold’s Mr Darcy’s Enchantment where a similar thing occurs).

Things I liked in Darcy Bites

Darcy is a dhampir not a vampire, which made a refreshing change.

Mr Darcy is aloof at the assembly because he‘s thirsty and wants to avoid the temptation of biting a human. 

Elizabeth has a sense of humour and says witty things.

Bingley has a secret of his own although it’s pretty obvious early on what it is.

How the author changed the plot to fit in with the paranormal theme. For example, Wickham spreads rumours that Mr Darcy killed his own mother and brother.

Things I didn’t like about Darcy Bites

The cover. It really doesn’t do the novel justice.

For me, the epilogue went on too long. I could see the point of including Anna as a child as it related to Mr Darcy’s fears about going feral. However, I wasn’t that interested in the lives of Mr Darcy and Elizabeth’s children. I’m probably the odd woman out there though.

Pemberley: Mr Darcy’s Dragon by Maria Grace

A tagline for Pemberley: Mr Darcy’s Dragon reads “Pern meets Pride and Prejudice”. I could see that. There were echoes of Pern especially the fairy dragons that reminded me of the fire lizards in the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. However, the novel also reminded me of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik.

This was a very entertaining read. After all, what’s not to like – Pride and Prejudice and dragons? Mr Darcy comes to Meryton looking for his stolen dragon egg that he needs desperately. If the egg hatches and is not bonded to a human, it will become a wild dragon and threaten the peace agreement between humans and dragons. Elizabeth Bennet can speak to dragons. She’s intended to marry Mr Collins because the estate will pass to him, and the estate’s dragon needs a dragon keeper (one who can hear dragons).

The egg hatches in the wild so there’s a race to find it so it doesn’t go feral.

I found it interesting that Mr Bennet in this novel insists that Elizabeth marry Mr Collins because she is the heir to the Dragon’s Keeper. Quite different from his attitude in the original Pride and Prejudice.

I also found it interesting that Mary is the only other Bennet sister who can hear dragons and not Jane, Elizabeth’s favourite sister. In the other fantasy Pride and Prejudice inspired novels I’ve read, it’s usually poor old Mary who lacks any magical ability.

I really loved the different types of dragons in Pemberley: Mr Darcy’s Dragon. Wyverns, cockatrices, fairy dragons, tatzelwurms. The fairy dragons strongly reminded me of the fire lizards in the Pern series and were just as enchanting. Rumblekins the Tatzelwurm, who is a cat like dragon was one of my favourites. Pemberley the baby dragon is very sweet.

Maria Grace uses a lot of the original text in this novel and does it very cleverly. She sometimes transfers speeches from one character to another. For example, Charlotte Lucas’s cynical speech about marriage is given to Mr Bennet to encourage Elizabeth to marry Mr Collins. I imagine most readers will enjoy spotting the snippets of original text.

I definitely want to read more in this series.

Darcy’s Midsummer Madness by Cass Grix

Darcy’s Midsummer Madness by Cass Grix, is a novella, which is loosely based on the play, A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream (as you can probably guess from the title). Cass Grix, I discovered at the end of the novella, is a pen name for Jane Grix. Jane Grix writes mainstream Pride and Prejudice inspired fiction and under her pen name of Cass Grix, writes paranormal and/or fantasy Pride and Prejudice inspired fiction.

Plot

The plot of Darcy’s Midsummer Madness is as follows: Miss Bingley is desperate for Mr Darcy to propose to her. However, she realises she hasn’t got a chance against Elizabeth Bennet. She hears of a witch and asks the old woman to make her a love potion. This is sent to Netherfield but James Puck who has a grudge against Miss Bingley because she’s just sacked him, intercepts it. So, he sprinkles the love potion over the pastries to be served at the ball. He also puts urine (ugh!) in the bottle and delivers it to her. She then can’t understand why the love potion doesn’t work on Mr Darcy.

At the Netherfield Ball, guests eat the pastries and fall in love with people different from the ones they’re usually paired with. Lydia Bennet falls in love with Mr Darcy until he rejects her which her vanity can’t stand. Mr Collins falls in love with Lydia, but Miss Bingley falls in love with him and proposes. He chooses to become engaged to her for mercenary reasons. Wickham’s friend, Mr Denny, falls in love with Mrs Bennet. This gets Mr Bennet all riled up and jealous after he eats a pastry and leads to a fist fight, and Mr Bennet kissing Mrs Bennet.

Mr Darcy avoids the pastries and he and Elizabeth get to know each other better. She discovers the truth about Mr Wickham at the ball. Elizabeth realises that Mr Darcy is a good guy and develops feelings for him.

Mr Bingley proposes to Jane at the ball but then eats a pastry and falls in love with Charlotte Lucas and ignores Jane at supper. Then later on, the potion wears off and he tries to win Jane back. I was really pleased that Jane didn’t immediately forgive him, and it took some time for him to win her back.

The epilogue also has Mary Bennet engaged to Mr Denny and Charlotte Lucas engaged to Colonel Forster. The latter did surprise me as I thought Colonel Forster was already married in the original.

Characters

Miss King runs off with James Puck the footman because James gives her one of the doctored pastries. I felt sorry for Miss King as James Puck is not a nice character. Miss Bingley sacked him because he got one of the maids pregnant and wasn’t going to marry her.

In the end, the traditional pairings have changed a little. Miss Bingley marries Mr Collins because Mr Bingley refuses to allow her to break it off when she realises what she’s done. This did disturb me a little bit. I thought Miss Bingley did the right thing by sacking James as he was a nasty character. Though I disliked her, I did feel sorry for her ending up married to Mr Collins. Although the epilogue shows that she’s okay with the situation.

James Puck’s name is a not so subtle hint about what plays the novella is based on.

Kitty doesn’t get a look in, she only gets one or two lines of dialogue at most. And Lydia plays only a minor part. So, if you like stories to feature Kitty or Lydia, this is not the novella for you.

The story is written in the first person from nearly all the characters’ viewpoints.

I enjoyed this novella; it was pretty light-hearted and amusing. For example, when Mr Collins gives his speech from Pride and Prejudice about his reasons for getting married and Mr Bingley cuts him short.

Classics Gone Wild

Classics Gone Wild: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Beyond — A Guide to Literary Monster Mashups by Kate Nagy and Rachel Hyland is a non fiction book that I loved.

If you like literary monster mashups, then this is the book or ebook for you. This is a fairly short book that offers a fairly comprehensive review of the ones available. 

It has a nearly complete list of all the Pride and Prejudice monster mashups – warning, there are a lot. For example, it includes the famous Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. However, it does miss out one of my favourites, Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret by Vera Nazarian. I presume that came out after this book was written. 

It also includes sections on mashups of other Jane Austen works, other classic English literature, classic American literature, classic foreign literature and a miscellaneous section that includes It’s Beginning to look a Lot like Zombies, which mashes up Christmas carols with yes, you’ve guessed it, zombies. I’d already heard of some of the mashups such as Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters or Little Vampire Women or The Meowmorphosis but there were a fair few I’d never heard of such as A Vampire Christmas Carol or The Late Gatsby.

There’s a review for every novel mentioned as well as a nifty Monster Mashup Generator at the end, which suggests classic novels and monsters for a literary monster mashup for aspiring authors although the authors do point out that the craze for these is probably over now.

The reviews in Classics Gone Wild are interesting and amusing and can help you to choose which literary mashup you want to try.

The other thing I really like about the ebook version is that it has a working table of contents, so you can click on a title and go straight to the review. I hate ebooks that don’t have this feature when it’s so easy to include.