…and then the clock struck midnight and Lizzy turned into a PUMPKIN!
Dorothy! Dust off the Cluebat! It’s been much too quiet around here.
Alert Janeite Mandy sent us a link to the new Bloomsbury edition of Pride and Prejudice, marketed to teenagers, as should be obvious by the cover and the introduction by Meg Cabot. The cover is fairly dreadful, though we could learn to live with it if, as Mandy pointed out, it would be attractive to teens; after all, we wore five and ten light blue eyeshadow when we were that age so we probably shouldn’t judge; but the cover blurb is just insupportable!
In a remote Hertfordshire community, the Bennet family has a sensitive enterprise – Mr Bennet must marry off his five young daughters if any of them is to inherit his estate after he has died.
We understand that they are marketing this to the younkers, but is it necessary to turn it into a tale from the Brothers Grimm? “If they don’t get married by the time they are one and twenty, Longbourn will go POOF! and Mr. Collins will turn into a frog! Oh wait, that already happened…”
And none of them are going to inherit his estate whether they get married or not! ARGH! *beats silly book into primary colored pulp with Cluebat of Janeite Righteousness*
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Those colors are horrid! When I think of P&P, I don’t think of orange. Or overly large hearts fluttering around in the air.
ARGH! Colour it orange, slap it with hearts, let Meg Cabot say whatever she wants about it – I don’t give a shit. But DON’T f**k with the story, and at least take the trouble to get it STRAIGHT!!!
*yanks Cluebat out of Mags hand and starts whacking pulp into powder*
I often say that I do judge books by its covers (well, partly, anyway). If that cover was anything to go by I would *never* have picked it up. Ugh.
That cover is something truly atrocious! Simpering and yuck.
This is a cover, I would probably hide beneath an Jane Austen cover, when reading in public, and not the other way round!
And since when was Mr Bennet concerned about or even involved in marrying off his daughters? hmm!
I bet Meg Cabot’s intro will be really good…but then again, I AM a teenager…
“Ahem!” *Stentoriously*, “Once upon a time, in a remote Hertfordshire community, there lived a poor gentleman called Mr. Bennet. He had five beautiful daughters. But because the estate was entailed away, Mr. Bennet had established a matrimonial enterprise to provide husbands (=comfortable futures) for his daughters.
However, one daughter had to marry to keep the estate in the family. But none of the daughters volunteered. ‘Why?’ you may ask. Because to marry the daughter had to kiss a toad, her future husband. He would then turn into a man, so Mr. Bennet predicted.
None of the girls made a move, and the ugly daughter of wizard went to the toad’s pond. She reached and took the toad, kissed its lips, so marrying him. But he did not change into a man. Instead, the toad said solemnly, ‘Charlotte, dear, you don’t mind if we live in the swamp until Mr. Bennet dies?’”
One of my friends just saw P+P3 yesterday, and she burst out during the movie about Collins, squeeing, “I know what he is, he’s a toad!!”
I just sent Bloomsbury.com an email pointing out the error. Maybe if we all do, they will change it. But probably not.
I read P&P for the first time when i was 12, It had a plain blue cover. If it had a nasty cover and teen-lit into, i would have puked. that cover is as far from Jane as i can think.
I am know 17 and can not think why they would try too atract teen girls that, it wont work. Plus all the guys who might have read P&P will now run from it.
Ooh, Kerry, I would love to read exactly what you wrote in your e-mail to them. Could you post it here please?
First of all why would anyone want to change the story of P&P? It’s absolutely wonderful by itself. And you definitely shouldn’t have to change the story or make the cover flashy just to attract teenagers and just to make money.That’s completely inexorable and inexcusable. I’m 16. I am a teenager and I’m already completely infatuated with P&P. Changing any of Austen’s work is like blashphemy.
P.S.
Mrs. Bennet is the one who was desperately trying to get her daughters married. That’s why she acted so obnoxious sometimes. Mr. Bennet only wanted to see his daughter’s happy.Seriously, that book is infuriating!
Kelly, I don’t think they’re changing the story, they just wrote a terrible blurb for it. That was my complaint.