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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (Pride and Prej. and Zombies) Paperback – March 1, 2010

4.5 out of 5 stars 602 ratings

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Complete with romance, action, comedy, and an army of shambling corpses, this prequel to the hit mash-up novel will have Jane Austen rolling in her grave—or crawling out of it! 
 
Four years before the events of 
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the Bennet sisters are enjoying a peaceful life in the English countryside, reading, gardening, and daydreaming about future husbands—until a funeral at the local parish goes strangely and horribly awry. Suddenly, corpses are springing from the soft earth—and only one family can stop them. As the bodies pile up, Elizabeth Bennet grows from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. Along the way, two men vie for her affections: Master Hawksworth is the powerful warrior who trains her to kill, while thoughtful Dr. Keckilpenny seeks to conquer the walking dead using science instead of strength. Will either man win the prize of Elizabeth’s heart? Or will their hearts be feasted upon by hordes of marauding zombies?
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this prequel to Seth Grahame-Smith's Jane Austen revamp Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the town of Meryton has grown quiet and complacent while the long-lived zombie menace lays dormant. Taking place five years before Bingley moves into Netherfield, and sightings of "unmentionables" have become routine, this story kicks off with a certain Mr. Ford sitting up in the middle of his own funeral. In response, the Bennet sisters begin intensive training in the deadly arts with their warrior father and a new Master. Their neighbors, much slower on the uptake, are variously dismembered, disillusioned, and eventually convinced to prepare for a terrifying final confrontation. With a sure grasp of Austen's characters and the social structures of the times, Hockensmith is loyal to the material's roots but, divorced from any particular text, he's able to take Grahame-Smith's silly, raunchy, violent tone much farther than in the first volume. Mixing taught horror-movie action with neo-Austen meditation on identity, society, and romance, this happy sacrilege is sure to please fans of Grahame-Smith's original mash-up. 15 b&w illustrations.
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From Booklist

Edgar winner Hockensmith turns to zombie lit in this prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009). Ever wondered how the Bennett sisters got to be such great zombie killers? Hockensmith explains all in the story of the return of the zombie plague and Mr. Bennett’s secret history. When a neighbor rises up out of his coffin in the middle of a funeral, Mr. Bennett shrugs off the lifestyle of a Regency England gentleman and returns to his old calling as a warrior dedicated to eradicating the Unentionables. Turning the greenhouse into a dojo, he trains all five Bennett girls, with the help of fellow warrior Master Hawksworth, to take up his quest—just in time, too, as a deadly incursion is under way. Hockensmith does not abandon Austen’s original characters. Mrs. Bennett is the most true to the original, and even silly Kitty and Lydia are the same, only they fight instead of fuss over men. Elizabeth, from whose point of view significant elements of the story are told, is the most fully developed, and while she departs a little from the original, it’s not so far as to make Austen fans cringe (given that they’re OK with zombies, of course). This is a must-read for the growing legion of alternate-Austen fans (including, naturally, everyone who has read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). --Jessica Moyer

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quirk Books; First THUS edition (March 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1594744548
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594744549
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 890L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.29 x 0.85 x 8.02 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 602 ratings

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Steve Hockensmith
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Steve Hockensmith's first novel, the mystery/Western hybrid "Holmes on the Range," was a finalist for the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony and Dilys awards. He went on to write several sequels (with more on the way!) as well as two action-packed spin-offs about the operatives of the A.A. Western Detective Agency. He's also written three novels in the Tarot Mystery series, about a reformed con woman-turned-Arizona fortune teller. And somewhere along the way he found time to write books for kids, zombie novels, and dozens of mystery, Western, and suspense short stories.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
602 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies entertaining and better than the first book in the series, with well-developed characters and a style true to the original. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with one customer noting it's more detailed than the movie adaptation, while another appreciates its tribute to Jane Austen's writing style.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

55 customers mention "Readability"42 positive13 negative

Customers find the book readable and enjoyable, with several noting it's better than the first book in the series.

"Very cool to read about the Bennet girls' origins! Delightful...." Read more

"...I can appreciate why this book is considered a classic, but it was never really for me...." Read more

"...It was really witty and had much more detail than the movie, which is what I was going for...." Read more

"...credit, he was able to use the same style and language to write an enjoyable novel that is original...." Read more

27 customers mention "Fun"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and funny, with some noting that it surpasses the original Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in humor.

"...But, why care. It is a fine escape from reality and lots and lots of fun...." Read more

"...It's funny, engaging, has lots of heart, and moves quickly...." Read more

"...However, with the addition of zombies, I actually found it was quite fun...." Read more

"...didn't think it was as humorous as P&P& Zombies, it still had its humorous moments and it was very entertaining...." Read more

23 customers mention "Prequel"20 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy this prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, with one customer noting that the big finale was well worth it.

"I loved the movie pride and prejudice and zombies. If you liked that movie, you will love this book. It is a prequel...." Read more

"I quite enjoy these books because they essentially take a classic piece of literature and add a monster into the middle of it...." Read more

"...father sending them off to China to train for real, but it ended on a good note...." Read more

"...Hockensmith instead added more gore, and plenty more zombies in this compared to the original...." Read more

8 customers mention "Character development"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one customer noting how well the original Pride and Prejudice characters are incorporated, while another mentions the heroines who swing mighty swords.

"...It's funny, engaging, has lots of heart, and moves quickly...." Read more

"...Perfect combination of the original Pride and Prejudice characters with the fighting mixed in...." Read more

"...the pace of the book ( though it did drag sometimes)I loved how the characters were developed and how Lizzy understood what would be required...." Read more

"...(Katherine Kellgren) does an amazing job in each and I love her characterizations...." Read more

6 customers mention "Style"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the style of the book, finding it very cute, with one customer noting the fantastic illustrations and another highlighting how it pays tribute to Jane Austen's writing style.

"...but it was still very cute and a quick read. I missed Mr. Darcy but enjoyed the fun action of this prequel." Read more

"...It is clever, funny, and a great tribute to Jane Austin's style in my opinion." Read more

"Cute. Kinda campy, but a cute brain candy (no pun intended) read." Read more

"Read it - it's too funny to miss! The illustrations are fantastic too." Read more

4 customers mention "Sturdiness"4 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the book's sturdiness, noting it arrives in good condition and has a solid beginning.

"...Book Arrived on time and in good condition." Read more

"...Although this promising idea had a pretty solid beginning, it very quickly did the sliding...." Read more

"So I got this book and it was in great condition and actually got to me earlier than I expected...." Read more

"it came in perfect condition!!!..." Read more

3 customers mention "Authenticity"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the authenticity of the book, with one noting it stays true to the original.

"...use the same style and language to write an enjoyable novel that is original...." Read more

"Such a deliciously quirky premise should be deftly handled and true to the original, or it just slides into drivel...." Read more

"...Ive read the three of them and the original is still the best. Probably because it was that well adapted. There were some plot-holes I didnt like" Read more

6 customers mention "Content"3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the content of the book, with some finding it entertaining, while others note inconsistencies in the story. One customer appreciates the attention to detail in the debauchery scenes, while another points out that it contains more detail than the movie adaptation.

"...It was really witty and had much more detail than the movie, which is what I was going for...." Read more

"...Sure, there are some inconsistencies, one or two editorial missteps and questionable grammar, and the zombie story line is utter nonsense...." Read more

"...The attention to detail of the debauchery and the power of the wealthy and aristocracy of the time are included as well." Read more

"...was appropriate since this prequel to the original had elements that didn't agree...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2020
    Generally I don't enjoy Jane Austin Fan Fiction. I do have a soft spot for zombies and love JA and P&P. I found the movie P&P&Z hysterical - in good way. Wanting more, I bought the prequel, P&P&Z, and sequel in old school paperback. I just finished the prequel and found it to be well done. Sure, there are some inconsistencies, one or two editorial missteps and questionable grammar, and the zombie story line is utter nonsense. But, why care. It is a fine escape from reality and lots and lots of fun. Who said women can't do kick butt male things and still be gorgeous and ladylike women. If this book is the worst you read this year, acknowledge that no book title with the word "Zombies" in it will precipitate a sublime literary epiphany.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024
    Very cool to read about the Bennet girls' origins! Delightful. I'll be looking for more adventures that occurred between this and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2025
    I loved the movie pride and prejudice and zombies.
    If you liked that movie, you will love this book. It is a prequel. Learning how the Bennett girls started their training and their first love was intriguing. I couldn’t put it down.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2012
    I really liked Hockensmith's prequel to Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

    I loved Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice. The interplay between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy was perfect. I didn't care too much for Seth Grahame-Smith's slow-moving and wearisome Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The addition of the undead to the mix wasn't an improvement; although the confrontation scene--where Mr. Darcy first proposes marriage--was a hoot. In the original, Elizabeth rejects that first offer with an ice-cold and humiliating rebuff. In the Zombies version, she Kung-Fu kicks him into the fireplace, and they then engage in a martial arts battle. That scene did add a bit of spice to Austin's version.

    This prequel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, was not written by Seth Grahame-Smith but by one of my favorite authors, Steve Hockensmith, and is much better than the work it follows. It's funny, engaging, has lots of heart, and moves quickly. Hockensmith has not captured Jane Austin's style in the same way that Grahame-Smith did, but has produced in its stead a story that's far more enjoyable to read. Hockensmith has since written a sequel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After, and is the author as well of the hilarious Holmes on the Range series.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2012
    I quite enjoy these books because they essentially take a classic piece of literature and add a monster into the middle of it. I don't remember Pride and Prejudice well enough to know how closely they stuck to the original, but it certainly feels like it was very close. I can appreciate why this book is considered a classic, but it was never really for me. However, with the addition of zombies, I actually found it was quite fun. I recommend this for anyone with a twisted sense of humor and a love of reading.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2016
    3.5 stars

    As one review stated you have to read this as a tongue in cheek farcical take-off of Pride and Prejudice. I was smiling at the nonsensical action all the way through. This is not my usual fare in reading although I have read hundreds of Jane Austen Fan Fiction books and P&P is my favorite variation. But it is almost unthought-of for me to read of fantasy creatures in connection with these romances. Books about Vampires, Werewolves, Sea Creatures, and Zombies belong on other book shelves in my opinion.

    However when I learned that a movie is being released in February of 2016 titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (from the sequel to this book) the thought of reading the novel began to rattle around in my brain. I then learned from a friend, Claudine, that there was both a prequel and a sequel. So I finally decided to dive in.

    I don’t want to relate too much of the story although I can’t really say that there was much mystery involved. Language from canon is used on various pages but rarely as in canon. The characters are few of those with which we are familiar: Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and 5 daughters, Charlotte, Mrs. Long and Mrs. Hill and the setting is Hertfordshire with Meryton, Longbourn and Netherfield. We have 3 men posturing for 2 of the sisters. But nowhere to be found in this book are the Bingleys or the Darcys or even Colonel Fitzwilliam. There is, however, a mention of Lady Catherine and her role is a surprise.

    The undead/THE DREADFULS enter upon this tale immediately as we read of a funeral service during the which the corpse stirs from his casket. His wife is all happiness as she believes he was NOT dead and that a mistake has been made and she wants to embrace him. We learn here that a plague of the Dreadfuls occurred a number of years back and that Mr. Bennet was one of the successful warriors against that incursion, BUT he has failed in his oath…he has not reared his daughters to be warriors! Enter one Master Hawksworth, trained in the oriental martial arts, he wastes no time taking over a garden shed to use as a training center, a dojo, and ALL the Bennet girls are soon under his command. As this action evolves we read of a ripple in the connection between a Master and one of his students. But as we read of how he holds her in esteem we also learn of a secret he holds concerning his own abilities.

    Close behind the Master enters into Hertfordshire a Dr. Keckilpenny who seeks to use science to turn these savage undead creatures back into the English gentlemen and ladies on which the British Empire is founded. He too sees Miss Elizabeth Bennet as an asset to help him seek his goal. Meanwhile in Netherfield lurks a different type of monster. One who is not a fantasy creature, but nevertheless one who preys on the innocents and then makes sure they don’t get in his way. Lord Lumpley is no Charles Bingley but he does admire the beautiful and demure Jane Bingley.

    So can I recommend this book? I would say that if you plan to see the movie that you might want to read the books which are the source of that. But if you are looking for the romance for which P&P is so well loved, you may be disappointed. However I say that having only read this prequel and the first several chapters of the main book. Those chapters seem to follow canon very closely…except for a disruption at the Meryton Assembly. Poor Mrs. Long: she will never be able to gossip about how Mr. Darcy sat next to her for all of a half of an hour without speaking one word to her!
    8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Jess Swann
    2.0 out of 5 stars Assez ennuyeux
    Reviewed in France on November 27, 2016
    Une lecture, qui est en fait une fan fic prequel du roman "Orgueil, préjugés et zombies" que j'ai déjà chroniqué.On y retrouve les soeurs Bennet sans Darcy et Bingley mais toujours avec des zombies... Le roman raconte l'arrivée des zombies ( d'ailleurs, j'ai été un peu déçue car j'espérai que l'auteur expliquerait les raisons de l'invasion mais non , il se contente de dire que c'est un retour des zombies suite à la première invasion au temps de la jeunesse de Mr Bennet). Donc, nous retrouvons les soeurs. Et les ninjas avec la décision de Mr Bennet de les entrainer, suite à l'apparition dérangeante d'un zombie... Mrs Bennet est quand à elle fidèle à son personnage et cherche toujours à bien marier ses filles. Sur ce point, j'ai beaucoup apprécié de connaitre le véritable propriétaire de Netherfield Park et j'ai tremblé pour Jane (même si je savais qu'il ne lui arriverait rien). Globalement, exception faite de Mr Bennet, les personnages sont réussis et fidèles à eux-mêmes. Par contre, j'avoue que Mr Bennet (Oscar) en guerrier redoutable qui maitrise tous les arts martiaux et s'oppose à sa femme, ça fait un peu étrange (mais je vois difficilement comment faire autrement rapport au scénario). Sur le reste, les scènes d'entrainement m'ont globalement largement ennuyée tout comme les combats (je n'aime vraiment pas le côté ninja). Idem, même si Elizabeth est l'héroïne de Pride & Prejudice, j'ai trouvé le fait que tout le monde succombe à son charme (le master et le docteur) un peu too much, tout comme le fait qu'elle se révèle toujours la meilleure en tout. Par contre, j'ai bien aimé la manière dont l'auteur a décrit Mary, je l'ai trouvée beaucoup plus consistante et attachante. J'aurais également apprécié de voir Charlotte mais je me suis satisfaite de la brève apparition de Catherine de Bourgh.

    Ce que j'aime : Mary, les personnages globalement fidèles à eux mêmes, l'histoire du propriétaire de Netherfield

    Ce que j'aime moins : Mr Bennet qui est peu ressemblant à l'original, trop de glorification d'Elizabeth et beaucoup trop de ninjas. On n'apprend pas les raisons de l'épidémie, pas assez gore

    En bref : Une lecture divertissante qui nous plonge dans une Angleterre remplie de zombies où nous retrouvons la famille Bennet. Cependant, trop de scènes de combats improbables gâchent la lecture

    Ma note

    4,5/10
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  • anna
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bello, bello!
    Reviewed in Italy on July 14, 2022
    È piacevole da leggere
  • Johnny
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2013
    I think this is my fav of the 3 PPZ stories. In the first PPZ it generally follows the normal pride and prejudice plot but with the added twist of zombies. The thing I like about this book and dreadfully ever after (part 3) is that this 'prequal' is unbridled from the constraints of the original plot and is all the better for it. I would consider reading this one first before PPZ as this is really the first book in terms of timeline. It deals with the training of the girls following the reemergence of the plague. Both this and dreadfully ever after would make great movies. Brilliant fun.
  • Mrs. L. Yeo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, build up for next one
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2011
    Just finished reading and now cannot wait for the 3rd to arrive, have pre-ordered so not long now to wait, this was as i thought a really good read, some nights two or three chapters as it keep you wanting to carry on reading, very good well worth it if your into your period dramas as the author refers to all the proper words and dress sense for the time it was written for.Great ending and i love the reference's to Mrs Bennet she is as batty in this as Pride & Prejudice, great fun
  • Cliente Amazon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Per gli amanti di Jane Austen, una bella sorpresa
    Reviewed in Italy on March 8, 2017
    Scorrevole e quasi vorticoso, ma sempre con tutti i caratteri che distinguono Jane Austen nella letteratura. Un piacevole diversivo, forse un veloce nella conclusione, ma in generale una lettura piacevole.