E. L. James E. L. James Erika Leonard (née Mitchell; born 7 March 1963), known by her pen name E. L. James, is an English author. She wrote the bestselling erotic romance trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey", "Fifty Shades Darker", and "Fifty Shades Freed", along with the companion novels "" and ""; and under the name Snowqueen's Icedragon the Twilight fan fiction "Master of the Universe" that was the basis for the Fifty Shades trilogy. The combined novels have sold over 125 million copies worldwide, over 35 million copies in the United States and set the record in the United Kingdom as the
Fifty Shades (novel series) and as sweet and safe as BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism) erotica can be without contravening the trade descriptions act" and also praised the book for being "more enjoyable" than other "literary erotic books". However, "The Telegraph" criticized the book as "treacly cliché" but also wrote that the sexual politics in "Fifty Shades of Grey" will have female readers "discussing it for years to come." A reviewer for the "Ledger-Enquirer" described the book as guilty fun and escapism, but that it "also touches on one aspect of female existence [female submission]. And acknowledging that fact – maybe even appreciating