Author E.L. James is finally stepping away from Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. In fact, she’s going in an entirely new direction with her new book The Mister, telling a tale with more English overtones and with brand new characters this time. She recently appeared on Today to talk about the book, noting:
That is my latest novel. Well it’s just hopefully another inspiring love story with two completely new characters doing their thing. Shenanigans ensuing, boy meets girl, you know? It's about an aristocratic Englishman who meets a young woman. It’s a 21st century Cinderella.
The interesting thing about this announcement is that the original Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson took a lot of pains to make some nods to fairytales like Alice in Wonderland in her movie. (There’s an “eat me, drink me” moment with some “tablets” when Anastasia Steele has a hangover, for example.) So, it’s sort of interesting that E.L. James also had fairytales on the brain when she began to come up with the premise to her latest tale.
The “Cinderella” angle doesn’t sound like it will be too on the nose, however. Instead of Prince Charming and Cinderella, E.L. James went on to tell Today that the book’s new characters will be named Maxim (Trevelyan) and Alessia (Demachi). In addition, we know the new story will be erotica, so if you had any worries that she might be stepping away from the type of sexually-charged fiction that made her famous, you need not fear. Take a look at the cover as well!
Here’s an excerpt of what to expect from the new book:
Fast asleep facedown and sprawled naked across the large bed. She stands, shocked and fascinated at once, her feet rooted to the wooden floor as she stares. He’s stretched across the length of the bed, tangled in his duvet but naked . . . very naked. His face is turned toward her but covered by unkempt brown hair. One arm is beneath the pillow that supports his head, the other extended toward her. He has broad, defined shoulders, and on his biceps is an elaborate tattoo that is partially hidden by the bedding. His back is sun-kissed with a tan that fades as his hips narrow to dimples and to a pale, taut backside.
Since its publication in 2011, Fifty Shades of Grey has really been at the forefront of the erotica genre, going from fan-fiction to dominance in its publication and buoyed up even further thanks to a film franchise that has brought in over a billion dollars across three movies.
Because of this, there’s been a lot of interest in what E.L. James is going to do next. Still, E.L. James is careful to make it clear that even though the book will be erotic it won’t be like her Fifty Shades novels, due to it being an entirely new concept.
Will The Mister manage to gain the same sort of attention as Fifty Shades of Grey? We’ll have to wait and see.
As for hopes that a fourth Fifty Shades book (not counting the rewrite from Christian’s perspective) will come to fruition, we may have to wait for a while if not indefinitely for more to that story. Although E.L. James has said she does have an idea for another story…
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