Fifty Shades (novel series)

Fifty Shades
Trilogy pack set
Fifty Shades of Grey (2011)
Fifty Shades Darker (2012)
Fifty Shades Freed (2012)
Grey (2015)
Darker (2017)
Freed (2021)
AuthorE. L. James
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreErotic romance
PublisherVintage Books
Published2011–2021
Media typePrint (paperback)

Fifty Shades is a series of erotic novels by British author E. L. James, initially a trilogy consisting of Fifty Shades of Grey (2011), Fifty Shades Darker (2012) and Fifty Shades Freed (2012).[1][2] The series traces the deepening relationship between college graduate Anastasia Steele and young businessman Christian Grey. Christian introduces Ana to the world of BDSM.

The author has spoken of her shock at the success of the book: "The explosion of interest has taken me completely by surprise."[3] James has described the Fifty Shades trilogy as "my midlife crisis, writ large. All my fantasies in there, and that's it."[4] She did not start to write until January 2009, as she revealed while still active on FanFiction.Net: "I started writing in January 2009 after I finished reading the Twilight saga, and I haven't stopped since. I discovered Fan Fiction in August 2009. Since then I have written two fics and plan on doing at least one more. After that ... who knows?"[5] In August 2013, sales of the trilogy saw James top the Forbes' list of the highest-earning authors[6] with earnings of $95 million, which included $5 million for the film rights to Fifty Shades of Grey.[7] In spite of the success, the books have also been largely panned by critics,[8] with the first entry in particular "being ridiculed by virtually every critic who has read it."[9]

Since 2015 the series has been expanded with a parallel set of novels "as told by Christian": Grey follows the events of Fifty Shades of Grey but from the perspective of Christian Grey, Darker (2017) and Freed (2021) do the same for Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, respectively.

  1. ^ Julie Bosman (21 May 2012). "Libraries Debate Stocking 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Trilogy". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "The Shy British Mum Behind 50 Shades of Grey". Time. 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Fifty Shades of Grey author E L James – Exclusive interview". Shropshire Star. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  4. ^ "'Fifty Shades' author 'stunned' at success of erotic trilogy". Today MSNBC. Archived from the original on 20 April 2012.
  5. ^ "The Lost History of Fifty Shades of Grey". Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  6. ^ "E.L. James Seals A Spot On List of Britain's Richest Authors". Lia. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Fifty Shades makes EL James top-earning author". BBC News. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  8. ^ Hill, Libby (13 September 2016). "First 'Fifty Shades Darker' trailer filled with lots of plot, little kissing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 February 2017. The books were critically savaged hot messes that sold over 100 million copies for the sex.
  9. ^ Lyall, Sarah (11 February 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey,' the Movie, as a Fairy Tale". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2017.