Regarding the "Quirky Classics"

For my birthday, Palmer being the excellent boyfriend that he is, I received a number of newly released books that I wanted to read but couldn't afford. One of those books was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. For those who don't know, it is a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with zombies included in the tale. Obviously, this necessitates deviation from the original story, but the author did a good job of blending zombie action in with Regency storytelling and prose.

P&P&Z became a massive hit, and of course the company quickly moved to expand on this phenomenon by releasing another Austen/monsters adaptation, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. While in Portland I purchased the book, and have been reading it with pleasure over the past several days. But I have to admit, I'm confused. While P&P&Z obviously did not follow the original exactly, I still understood exactly what had occurred in the Austen storyline. (Yes, I've never read the Pride & Prejudice, I know, I fail as a human being.) However, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters seems like such a divergence from what I imagine the original to be that I really have no idea what the fuck the equivalent story would be without the sea monsters. I mean, I get a lot of it, the relationship drama and whatnot. But what the hell is the original background? In this story, there are sea monsters and underwater stations, what was going on in the original? I am so confused! I may actually have to go read the original (once I've finished this one) just to understand what the fuck is up.

So confused!