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Bring the pain: a new erotic novel from E.L. James is on the way

'The Mister' will be published in April, James' first book since her 'Fifty Shades of Grey' series dominated bestseller lists starting in 2012.
 
Published Jan. 24, 2019

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a new thriller, Cari Mora, coming in May from The Silence of the Lambs author Thomas Harris.

Today's email brought an even scarier announcement. Coming in April: The Mister, a new novel by E.L. James.

I kid. Sort of. James' vast army of fans is no doubt panting for a new book from the woman whose Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy dominated the bestseller lists like no other.

Since its publication in 2012, the erotic saga of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele has sold 150 million copies worldwide and spawned movies with box office totals of $1 billion, according to the announcement from Knopf/Penguin Random House. Its Vintage imprint will publish The Mister in trade paperback, e-book and audio formats on April 16.

The Mister, according to the email, "is a contemporary romance set in London, Cornwall, and Eastern Europe that introduces readers to the privileged and aristocratic young Englishman Maxim Trevelyan and the mysterious, talented, and beautiful Alessia Demachi, who's recently arrived in London owning little more than a dangerous and troublesome past."

Fifty Shades originated as Twilight fan fiction; no word on the possible inspiration for The Mister, although in the email James calls it a "Cinderella story for the twenty-first century."

The burning question is whether this novel, James' first since the Fifty Shades books, will perform as vigorously. As a book critic, I'm hoping she's spent some of her fortune on courses in character development and basic grammar.

Contact Colette Bancroft at cbancroft@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8435. Follow @colettemb.