Since reading Pride & Prejudice in high school, Elizabeth Bennet has been my favorite heroine of my literary world. I don’t think many of you would disagree if I said she might be the favorite of yours as well. She’s beautiful, witty, independent, sensible, and deadly with a katana. Okay, that last attribute adding to Lizzy’s glowing character should be accredited to Seth Grahame-Smith, the co-author of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies , “the classic regency romance – now with ultraviolent zombie mayhem.” In P & P & Z , it’s 19th Century England and the country is dealing with the nuisance of the undead as well as all the inconveniences they can bring with them, i.e. lost messages due to zombie interference/the messenger being eaten, the risk of zombie attacks during those leisurely walks, etc. The Bennet family lives in the countryside where Mr. Bennet focuses on training his five daughters in martial arts and zombie-slaying techniques. As a result his daughters becom...
Chicago is known for many things: the second busiest airport, the locale of such events as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, as well as the home of many great buildings, companies, politicians and crooks. Let’s not forget something else Chicago is known for: The Everleigh Club, the most famous brothel in American history. In Sin in the Second City , Karen Abbot tells us the story of the Everleigh sisters, Minna and Ada, who opened and operated the Everleigh Club at the start of the 20th century and attempted to elevate the industry through their own practices. Everleigh girls at the brothel, or “butterflies” as the madams like to call them, were ensured to dine on gourmet food, to be examined properly by an honest doctor, and tutored in literature. Never did the sisters go out to find girls to work for them; they didn’t need to when they had a waiting list of girls that wanted to come work for them. They were well fed and well treated unlike many othe...