Halloween is nearly upon us and I couldn’t let you go into the dark night without interviewing an author of a Jane Austen mashup of truly ancient horrific proportions.
Vera Nazarian is the author of Mansfield Park and Mummies, the story of Fanny and Edmund’s dealings with an ancient curse plaguing the distinguished halls of their lovely childhood home.
Mansfield Park and Mummies features mummies (of course), but you’ve included a few other well-known creatures of the night in your book, haven’t you?
Nazarian: Yes, indeed! To me the most entertaining comic “horror” stories have always included a smorgasbord of supernatural elements, all coming together for a rousing bit of literary mayhem. Think of the silver screen classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, which is chockfull of all kinds of monsters. In the climactic scene you have Dracula and the Wolfman breaking furniture and fighting each other round a dining table, while the Frankenstein monster is being chased by villagers with pitchforks, and our two zany heroes are in the thick of it all, and being chased by everyone... I’ve always loved this movie as a child, loved it to death, and I think it solidified the sense of comic mayhem and plural comic timing in my mind.
So… if you open the door to supernatural things, why stop at only one? Indeed, would there be only one? Might as well explore a whole imaginary world, when you have the potential of such a rich scenario.
In Mansfield Park and Mummies I’ve created an alternate Regency Jane Austen fantasy milieu, with a host of supernatural creatures in addition to mummies (which in my scenario feed on the breath of life of the living, and can only be destroyed if you stop up their mouth—which makes for some great comedy). There are also werewolves, vampires, and my own invention, a very monstrous killer duck—the infamous Brighton Duck, which, not unlike Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of Baskervilles, is an unholy terror upon the neighborhood.
I enjoyed the mixing of all these elements so much that some of them will show up more than once in my upcoming Jane Austen mash-ups. For example, definitely be on the lookout for the Brighton Duck to make return appearances in Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons.
Did you have a hard time choosing which of Austen’s characters would be your monsters or did they jump out at you?
Nazarian: To be honest, it was easy. They jumped, they leaped, they figuratively flew at me!
The elegant and brilliant (and ultimately heartless and shallow) Miss Crawford simply had to be a vampire, there was no hesitation there. By nature, Miss Crawford is a user of others, and she did not hesitate to take what she wanted, in a very selfish and vampiric way.
Her brother Henry Crawford, Fanny Price’s other romantic interest, could have easily been a vampire too. But I decided to leave him human, and only slightly tainted with his sister’s darkness. Henry Crawford is just tainted enough to see and recognize other dark creatures, and he is one of the few who can see and recognize the Mummy Pharaoh for what he truly is—not the shadowy and sexy Lord Eastwind, but an ancient royal Egyptian undead. In this way, they can be proper rivals for Fanny’s affections, both on a human level and on a supernatural one.
The awful bully, miser, and nag Mrs. Norris was such an obvious werewolf. And she infected the pompous and dimwitted Mr. Rushworth, so that the two of them by association, and via twists of the plot, got into several hilarious close encounters of a monstrous and even indelicate kind.
Then, there was Tom Bertram’s so-called demonic possession by the demon of idiocy, that had to be Exorcised by his younger brother and clergyman-in-training (and Fanny’s true love interest) Edmund Bertram. There was the army of Egyptian scarab beetles possessing the equally foolish and long-winded blabbermouth Mr. Yates.
All of these monsters made great metaphors for Jane Austen’s intended satiric commentary. And in most cases they simply heightened the natural proclivities of the characters.
If you could ask Jane Austen one question, what would it be?
Nazarian: Now this is a tough one. I would probably ask Jane a very personal question: ‘What was her own secret love story, and which elements in her novels were most autobiographic?’ But, I venture a guess, this is something she may not choose to answer.
Which is your favorite Jane Austen novel?
Nazarian: The response changes from year to year, but at the moment, it is probably Mansfield Park, closely followed by Pride and Prejudice, and then Sense and Sensibility. Seriously, what an awfully tough question! It’s like being asked to choose between flavors of chocolate.
Which classic horror novel would you recommend to readers this Halloween?
Nazarian: Because I am currently putting the finishing touches on Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons, I would recommend Ann Radcliffe’s gothic-creepy The Mysteries of Udolfo, which is frequently mentioned and thoroughly mocked in the Austen novel. But try it only after reading the original Northanger Abbey first, for a bit of metafictional humor!
What is next for you?
Nazarian: After writing and illustrating Mansfield Park and Mummies, I absolutely fell in love with the mash-up micro-genre. In many ways I think I’ve found my niche. My own natural style blends very well with the original classics. So now I am going to be doing all of Jane Austen books as mash-up parodies with completely different fantastic elements to be added—and no zombies! Enough zombies, already!
Currently I am finishing up Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons (forthcoming in a few weeks), which has angels, demons, temperature-changing nephilim, seraphim, a battle of Heaven and Hell, cryptography worthy of Dan Brown (it’s ‘The Udolpho Code!’), haunting ghosts, and great dragons guarding a secret treasure hidden somewhere in the ancient and scary gothic Northanger Abbey.
This will be followed by a very silly, wise, and stunningly Kafkaesque parody Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret. And if you think that sounds crazy, you have no idea… You will simply have to read it to believe it.
Next year, in the spring of 2011 there will be Pagan Persuasion: All Olympus Descends on Regency, with a wonderful mayhem invasion of Ancient Greek gods, demigods, heroes and creatures out of mythology.
And then by winter 2011, look for Emma Enchanted, which will feature creatures of dark and hoary Faerie—some beautiful, some terrifying, and many hilarious, but definitely not for the kiddies!
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