We admit, Jane Austen was fairly titillating to us as overheated teenagers. Romance and intrigue, ignoring your parents’ wishes. Not to mention: all that talk and no action? We could totally relate. But now, the folks at Jacket Copy have alerted us to a new version of Pride and Prejudice — and no, there are no zombies involved. Instead, it’s a sexed-up rewrite with nebulous sexual orientations and kinky power plays. As the promotional material explains,
“In this no-holds-barred account, men are not necessarily the only dominating sex. This time Mr. Bingley and his sister both have designs on Mr. Darcy’s manhood; Elizabeth’s dear friend Charlotte marries their family’s strange relation, discovering that her husband’s pious nature extends to worship of a different sort; and, in this telling, Lady Catherine de Bourgh takes the disciplining of those in the parish very seriously. As for the handsome Mr. Wickham, he’s wickeder than ever! And of course there’s plenty of good old-fashioned bodice ripping that shows no pride or prejudice and reveals hot hidden lusts in every scandalous page-turning chapter. This is the book Jane Austen would have written, if only she’d had the nerve!”
We think she probably had the nerve, but not the need. Would you read a graphic bodice-ripper of an Austen novel? Let us know what you think in the comments!