It was just announced that EL James, the author of the iconic, sexified Twilight fan fiction 50 Shades of Grey, is officially releasing her next novel, The Mister, on April 16 of this year — Lucky us!!! The book will be published by Vintage, an imprint of Penguin Random House. The Mister will also be produced as an audiobook — if you're the kind of person who enjoys their literary porn huskily whispered into your ear at the gym.
So I know, I know, you're all dying to know: What's The Mister all about?! This contemporary romance takes place in London, and is a "Cinderella story for the twenty-first century," according to the author. Our leading man is the aristocratic Englishman Maxim Trevelyan (what are the odds that name came from an internet name generator?), who becomes helplessly entranced by troublesome Alessia Demachi, a skint-broke new arrival in London with a ~ dangerous ~ past. Erotic readers love nothing more than some misogynistic power dynamics, am I right ladies?
With one of the largest fan bases in the world (50 Shades of Grey sold over 150 million copies), EL James is sure to have no trouble snagging the #1 bestseller spot yet again. In the literary balance of "What is good?" and "What will sell?" James's work is a perfect example of the scales tipped towards commercialism. Did the plot of 50 Shades of Grey literally ever make sense? No. Was it well-written? Not in the slightest. Was is originally just a porno version of Twilight? YES. Yet it became a phenomenon.
While I certainly don't look to EL James as a literary great in any means, it's undeniable that she knows her market, and can write each and every dirty detail that her readers want. Keep an eye out for The Mister — I'm sure you'll see it in the hands of every middle-aged woman on public transportation in just a few months.
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