Nope. I do know they are very popular at the library, and not just with teens and young adults, the groups that I would imagine are considered the target audience. I hate to touch the books-some of the covers are pretty dreadful looking-and when we need to send one to another library for a reserve, I always stick them into the transport bins cover down! I am faint of heart when it comes to creepies.

Isn't this just the weirdest trend. The Pride and Prejudice one has been out for awhile now. They even carry it at our local Costco. It just doesn't sound like something I want to read, though.

Frieda, were these recommendations from people who's opinions you know and trust or taken from the lit. section of those well-known magazines Vampires Weekly or Do-It-Yourself Ghoul Embalming?
I'm so old I don't know any 'teens' with whom I could discuss books but have noticed a few who now and again appear here at RP and are heavy into 'Gothism'. I suppose it's all a matter of taste.
Do you remember many year ago when Portnoy's Complaint came out? I was living in Canada and a friend lent me a copy saying it was the best book written for years. When I handed it back I told him 'best' wasn't how I would have described it and he admitted the expression should have been 'best-seller'.
btw, I suppose poor Portnoy is quite blind and trembly by now.

It would appear that reading a true classic is too daunting for the current generation. By reworking these masterpieces into sloppy parodies they probably feel they become more readable.
It is a prime example of the dumbing-down trend in most things.
More's the pity.

I haven't read any of these but I think that the idea of them is amusing. There is also a series of mystery novels with Jane Austen as the detective, as well as a number of sequels other authors have written to the various books Jane Austen wrote.

I suspect that a number of readers have read the original novels and seen the movies and are casting around for something else. Let's face it, neither Charlotte Brontë or Jane Austen are likely to oblige us with a new novel anytime soon. I've heard that some of these books are silly but clever and fun to read. They're not really my taste, but I see no harm in it.

Rosefolly

I'm one of those who is "casting around" for something else similar to Jane Austen. I just re-read P&P, and wish there were a sequel by Austen. I did read one about Mr. Darcy...can't remember the title. And I have seen a few more at the used-books store. But, obviously, nothing will ever compare to the real thing.

How are those detective novels with Jane as the detective? Has anyone read them?

I have read a couple-there is a romance element that I know is not factual, so for some reason that annoys me-even though I know Jane didn't solve mysteries either! I'm weird.
Anyway, the writing is not bad, and the mysteries are fairly middle of the road mysterious. If I see one on the shelf at the library I would pick it up, but I won't wait anxiously for the next one or goto the trouble of putting it on reserve. Would never buy them, new or used.

Thanks for the input, CeCe. I'll see if our library has any next time I'm there.

Seth Grahame-Smith was interviewed this morning on NPR Morning Edition Weekend-about his new book.....Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer. He sounded amazingly normal ;-) and slightly scholarly about this whole phenom. go to the link and scroll down to hear the 6 minute interview.

Here is a link that might be useful: npr interview with Seth Grahame-Smith

You might look for something by Jude Morgan. I just finished Indiscretion, an Austen-like title, don't you think? A Regency romance with a bit of a modern bent. I liked it very much and was reminded of Jane - not as subtle but very likeable characters with all of the human strengths and weaknesses worked into a gentle plot.

Thanks, Siobhan. I'll check out Morgan.

I'm reading "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" (as I mentioned in the "What are you reading" thread). It's not like Austen, but it has some similar traits, and I'm enjoying the characters.

Sarah - I am dying to read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but keep missing it at the library, it's too new for ILL, and it's against my rules to buy new hardcover... Sigh. Maybe it'll come out in papercover soon.... (wrings hands in delightful anticipation)

Umm? I could have sworn that I posted to this thread yesterday afternoon. If I did, it's gone now. Spooky.

Cece, thanks for the NPR link. Grahame-Smith does sound sane. The host played the interview straight, too, as if talking about actual historical events: Abe Lincoln certainly had a lot on his plate with a Civil War and seeking out the Undead. If I didn't know Grahame-Smith's first book was supposed to be a parody, I would have assumed, from the interview, that somebody is taking this seriously!

Well, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who thinks this trend is weird. In some forums I feel superannuated.

I probably get the "reworked classics" recommendations because I've listed Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte as a couple of my favorite writers, and I say that I like Gothic tales. The trouble is, though, that I don't mean the same thing by Gothic as a lot of newer readers do. I like the classic Gothics (e.g. Jane Eyre, Uncle Silas and Rebecca) and some of the mid-twentieth-century vintage of Gothic romance/suspense (Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart). The black lipstick, cut-me, bite-me, hurt-me kind of Gothic is not my thing. I want mystery, atmosphere, and suggestion but nothing too explicit or graphic. A little innuendo is all right.

There's probably some of the "make it more palatable to younger generations" aspect to these reworkings. The Gothics are hoary and maybe somewhat impenetrable, and not fast-enough moving, for novices.

I can see enjoying a parody of a classic that is already familiar. Well, maybe one or two of them...but a whole collection?! Rosefolly is probably right that it's harmless; but I get burnt out on three of anything, much less a dozen or more, so it's probably quite beyond my understanding.

I've never found anything to satisfy my yen for more Jane Austen. Georgette Heyer's historical romances and Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle came closest. I guess I've given up. I just reread Jane every few years.

freida - There was an article in our paper today about an author named Carol Goodman, whose writing was described as Gothic. Have you heard of her? The book they were reviewing is called "Arcadia Falls."

I used to read Whitney, Holt, Stewart and others of that ilk, and really enjoyed them. I think I mentioned before an author named Madeline Brent -- who someone, maybe you, told me was actually a man.

And if 'reworked classics' aren't enough for you, we have 'Shakespeare in Manga'.
Nuff said.

Frieda, maybe there is a confusion between what we in the UK know as Gothic/Gothick the writing style, eg 'The Raven', 'Wuthering Heights', 'Silus Marner', 'Castle of Otranto', 'The Monk' etc. . . . and Goth the style of punk-type piercings, black leather, biker-boots, vampires, pale faces and substance-consuming empty eyes.
Of course I'm so old these groups of sad teenagers are probably no longer crouched in dark alleyways or maybe they have made a 'comeback'. In the US are these the same people that read all this 'vampire' stuff?

My experience is that few of these books are purchased by Goths (or Emos, as they are often called here, youngsters who wear black clothes, dye their hair black and have it hanging in their eyes and have multiple piercings). Most are bought by females 16-35 who look quite normal *g*

Vicki, the name Carol Goodman didn't ring a bell with me, but I looked her up and noticed that she wrote The Ghost Orchid which I've had on my wishlist for a while. I won't get my expectations up (I've been disappointed too often), but I'm a sucker for anything that might be Gothic in the way that I think of it. Thanks for the lead.

Yep, I learned somewhere that Madeleine Brent was actually Peter O'Donnell, the fellow who wrote the Modesty Blaise books, of all things! He sure had me fooled with his Gothic/romantic suspense. Those heroines had little in common with the voluptuous, gun-wagging Modesty. (My brothers, as teenagers, salivated over that series, but I thought it was mundo bizarro. Of course it wasn't aimed at the likes of me anyway.)

Kath, the "Shakespeare in Manga" made me shudder, but then I recalled that my brothers and I read a bunch of Shakespeare comics in the 1960s. "Hamlet" was the best-drawn one. I think I remember "Macbeth" being good too. The little manga that I've looked at, all looks the same to me. The stylization irks me -- all the characters but the villains are just too pretty. And there are never enough words! Where the heck do the manga people (writers, editors?) put all Shakespeare's words? If they omit any of 'em...well, it's just not Shakespeare, in my opinion.

Vee, I wonder if the empty-eyed Goths could manage to read anything. As Kath relates of Australians, I get the impression that the American vampire-lit lovers are mostly young or youngish fairly normal-looking women. Has it always been thus? When I was in high school and college, many of my cohort were really into a vampire series called Dark Shadows. There was also a television series adaptation of the books -- a vampire soap opera -- that many wouldn't miss, even if they could have dates with real-live fellas. The vampire in chief was called Barnabas Collins. He didn't make my blood run hot or cold, but apparently some of the gals would have gladly opened a vein for him. Now, Frank Langella as Count Dracula (film)...oh my! And I have to admit that I enjoyed Roman Polanski's "The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck."

Freida - Funny you should mention "Dark Shadows." My former brother-in-law played Gerard Stiles on that series. All I really remember about that show was that toward the end of his run, he carried a head around in a glass case or something.

There were Dark Shadows books!?! My neighbor Deedee and I used to RUN from the busstop in order to be home in time for the show, moaning that we couldn't get out of school earlier so we didn't have to huff and puff. Happened across a replay a couple years ago-it was painful. Microphone shadows and overacting. The woman who played Victoria ended up being the mistress in the Sunny Bulow case. (I know I spelled that wrong, but gotta get to work!)

Cece, the Dark Shadows series that I read in high school and college (1966-1970 or '71) was written by one 'Marilyn Ross', the pseudonym of Dan Ross (aka W.E. Daniel, W.E.D. Ross, and Clarissa Ross). I read up a bit on the history of the series, and found that the books were based on the television show and not the other way around. I remember the books best because I only watched the show a few times -- it was an afternoon program and I was usually busy elsewhere. The few times I did watch it, I recall rolling my eyes -- you're right, it was awful, but fun in a campy sort of way. The books were faithful to the campiness.

'Marilyn Ross' is another of the men who wrote Gothics and romantic suspense. I always looked for her books, because they seemed to me, at the time, to be well written and not insulting to my intelligence. One I particularly liked was Fog Island; I reread it several times. There were at least thirty books in the original Dark Shadows series (there was a later series, written by someone else, that I never bothered with).

Thinking about it, the young women today who adore vampire romances probably come by it honestly: it was a legacy to them from older female readers/watchers.

Yes, Alexandra Moltke (later Isles) who starred as Victoria was Klaus von Bulow's other woman (one of them, anyway, and certainly the one he was carrying on with when Sunny went into her comas).

Frieda-They are under "New Humor" in our Library..so some people must find it funny. I don't get it either.

I haven't read any of these books yet, but I would like too. In fact, I found out a few days ago that I won a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, and I'm thrilled;-). I like the classics and I also (gasp!) like horror novels, so I think the idea of putting them together is interesting. I don't think anyone is suggesting these books replace the originals, or that readers will hold them in the same esteem as the originals. These "quirk classics" as I've heard them called are just meant to be fun and entertaining. I'm guessing too that many who enjoy reading them have already read the originals; probably not too many of your typical horror-novel crowd would be interested in anything having to do with Jane Austen. I could be wrong about that though:-). For the record, I'm a 33 year old stay-at-home Mom of three, married, girl scout leader. About as far from goth-like as you can get;-).

Sarah Canary, I read Arcadia Falls a few months ago. I didn't think it was very good. I'm surprised they are pegging it as gothic, because I didn't think it was at all. I would classify it as a murder mystery with a bit of romance and witchcraft thrown in. It is partially set in an old building; maybe they consider that enough to call it gothic;-)!

Kelly

Thanks for the input, Kren. You can never really tell by the hype at Amazon. Occasionally, though, you'll get an honest review from Publishers Weekly or Library Journal.

I do not have a clue for this strange trend to combine classics and vampires, werewolves, mummies, &tc. It is interesting, friedag, that it seems to be cyclical. I remember the Dark Shadows show too, but not the books.

friedag, have you read "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger? It is said to be "gothic," although I am not sure exactly what gothic entails. The Niffenegger book is a ghost story, has a haunted building and a rather spooky setting (the building is adjacent to Highgate Cemetery in London).

I think Frieda and I are on the same wavelength in what we regard as gothic, and I don't agree that Her Fearful Symmetry is gothic. Spooky, right enough, though, or maybe just strange. I did find it very readable and liked it.

I just got my copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls in the mail today;-). I plan on starting it after I finish my current read. I'll let everyone know what I think of it.

Kren, I'm looking forward to reading what you think. I have to admit that I'm now curious about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but not sure I'm curious enough to read it myself. Who knows, you might convince me...or not.:-)

Lydia, I haven't read Her Fearful Symmetry. It's not getting good buzz at places like goodreads or Amazon -- the readers are apparently disappointed that it's not more like The Time Traveler's Wife, whatever that means. But since I wasn't all that taken with TTTW, I might actually prefer ...Symmetry. It often works out that way -- the most popular books are just bleh to me and the maligned ones actually interest me more.

Carolyn, you have me pegged re Gothics. If you say that Her Fearful Symmetry isn't gothic in the sense I favor, I will trust your judgment.

Lydia, gothics and ghost stories are separate sub-genres, in my estimation. The former only seem to have supernatural elements and depend on suspense, while the latter definitely do leave things to the supernatural and depend on horror. I like both -- some of them, at any rate. And since you and Carolyn like Niffenegger's ghost story, I am now very willing to give it a try.