The Evolution of Mashup Literature: Identifying the Genre through Jane Austen’s Novels Amanda V. Riter Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy De Montfort University, January 2017 1 Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 6 Focus and Justification Scholarship ................................................................................... 7 Prior Scholarship ................................................................................................................. 9 Voigts-Virchow and Fan Fiction Zombies ....................................................................... 10 Nelson and Established Meanings Zombies ..................................................................... 15 Beyond Zombies............................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER ONE: DEFINING THE MASHUP ................................................................. 24 The Zombies Definition of Mashups ................................................................................. 25 The Mashup Culture Definition of Mashup Literature ................................................. 30 Music Mashups ................................................................................................................ 31 Film Mashups................................................................................................................... 35 A Definition and Taxonomy of Mashups ........................................................................ 38 CHAPTER TWO: THE EVOLUTION OF DIRECT MASHUPS ................................... 47 The Concern of Romance Mashups ................................................................................. 54 The Popularity of Mashups ............................................................................................... 71 Peritext ................................................................................................................................ 75 CHAPTER THREE: EXAMINING CHARLOTTE .......................................................... 83 Established Interpretations of Charlotte Lucas .............................................................. 83 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ...................................................................................... 90 Pride and Platypus ............................................................................................................ 100 A Clandestine Classic ...................................................................................................... 110 Wild and Wanton ............................................................................................................. 114 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 122 Works Cited .......................................................................................................................... 125 2 Abstract The aim of this thesis is to define, categorise, and justify the genre of mashup literature by providing a framework for understanding what mashup literature is, and analysing what it has to offer. The project seeks to examine the development of mashup literature, both from its influences in music and film mashups, as well as from fan fiction and the supernatural and romance genres that are mashed into the new work. The purpose is to show that the bounds of mashup literature as a genre extend beyond the few works that bear the name ‘mashup literature’, and that these works have the capability to comment and critique the source material in the same way as any other adaptation. This thesis analyses the development of mashup literature as part of the larger mashup movement and specifically discusses the influence of music and film mashups on the construction and objectives of mashup literature. This thesis acknowledges that the conception of mashup literature is often quite narrow, but by categorising the genre as part of the mashup movement rather than as independently occurring, this thesis shows the greater breadth and depth that mashup literature has reached and that has thus far gone unacknowledged. This thesis also examines one specific subcategory of mashup literature, tracing its development and discussing specific case studies of its application. By stepping away from the Zombies-centric definition of mashup literature and instead viewing it according to the parameters of the mashup movement as a whole, this thesis seeks to provide a more complete understanding of what a mashup novel is, and the value and analysis these works can add to their source texts. 3 List of Figures 2.1 p. Grahame-Smith, Seth and Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Production, 2009. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 2.2 p. Winters, Ben H. and Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books, 2009. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 2.3 p. Josephson, Wayne and Jane Austen. Emma and the Vampires. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2010. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 2.4 p. Nazarian, Vera and Jane Austen. Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons. Highgate Center, VT: Norilana Books, 2010. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 2.5. p. Nazarian, Vera and Jane Austen. Pride and Platypus: Mr Darcy’s Dreadful Secret. Highgate Center, VT: Norilana Books, 2012. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 2.6 p. Nazarian, Vera and Jane Austen. Mansfield Park and Mummies: Monster Mayhem, Matrimony, Ancient Curses, True Love, and Other Dire Delights. Highgate Center, VT: Norilana Books, 2010. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 2.7 p. Pillow, Michelle and Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice: The Wild and Wanton Edition. Adams Media, 2011. Kindle File Amazon.com. 2.8 p. Persell, Micah and Jane Austen. Emma: The Wild and Wanton Edition. Avon, MA: Crimson Romance, 2013. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 2.9 p. Armstrong, Amy and Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice: Clandestine Classics. Lincoln, UK: Total-E-Bound Pub., 2012. Print. Amazon.com. 2.10 p. Armstrong, Amy and Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice: Clandestine Classics. Lincoln, UK: Total-E-Bound Pub., 2012. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 2.11 p. Bloom, Annabella and Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice: The Wild and Wanton Edition. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2011. Kindle File. Amazon.com. 4 2.12 p. Lane, Lauren and Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility: The Wild and Wanton Edition. Avon, MA: Crimson Romance, 2013. Kindle file. Amazon.com. 2.13 p. Mitchell, Nina and Jane Austen. Mansfield Park: The Wild and Wanton Edition. Vol. 2. Avon, MA: Crimson Romance, 2013. Kindle file. Amazon.com. 2.14 p. Persell, Micah and Jane Austen. Persuasion: The Wild and Wanton Edition. Avon, MA: Crimson Romance, 2013. Kindle file. Amazon.com. 5 INTRODUCTION This thesis addresses the dearth of scholarly information and critical analysis available about mashup literature by utilising mashups of Jane Austen’s novels to trace the genre’s development from an afterthought of remix culture into the bestselling phenomenon that exists today. This thesis regards mashup literature as a logical outgrowth of mashup culture, as well as of the numerous Austen-affiliated works that are in publication. Mashup literature also produces valuable adaptations of the source novels by commenting both about the texts and about Austen’s place in popular culture. The term ‘mashup’ is first consistently applied to literature in 2009 with the publication of the surprise New York Times bestseller, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. Zombies spent 39 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list for trade paperback fiction, beginning on April 19, 2009, where it reached number 3 in its first week (“Print: Paperback Best Sellers, 2009”). The novel has also inspired a prequel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (2010) and a sequel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2011), both by Steve Hockensmith, as well as a graphic novel (2010) that spent nine weeks on the NYT bestseller list for paperback graphic novels (“Paperback Graphic Books”), and a film adaptation (2016). Zombies is often referred to as the first mashup novel and is credited with “unleash[ing] a whole new genre” (Sutton). The popularity of Zombies is such that, to date, it has inspired numerous imitators designed to capitalise on its success. The most successful of these is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2010), also by Grahame- Smith, which topped out on the NYT bestseller list at number 5 and had its own film adaptation in 2012 (“Print: Paperback Best Sellers, 2012”). Some mashups, like Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (2009) by Ben H. Winters and Mansfield Park and Mummies (2009) by Vera Nazarian, mash different Austen works according to the same method as Zombies, while works such as Android Karenina (2010) also by Ben H. Winters, Little 6 Women and Werewolves (2010) by Porter Grand, Little Vampire Women (2010) by Lynn Messina, and Jane Slayer (2010) by Sherri Browning Erwin use the same method, but with different source authors. These examples are just a few of the mashup works that came