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New E L James novel coming in November
Cornerstone is to publish the next instalment of the Fifty Shades series, a retelling of 2012's Fifty Shades Darker from the perspective of Christian Grey, on 28th November 2017.
Susan Sandon, managing director of Cornerstone, acquired UK and Commonwealth Rights (excluding Canada) in Darker: Fifty Shades Darker as Told by Christian by E L James. The deal was struck with Valerie Hoskins of VHA Ltd in London.
In Darker, James revisits the world of Fifty Shades with a re-telling of Fifty Shades Darker from Christian Grey’s point of view. The first in the series of retellings from Grey's perspective, Grey, was published in 2015.
The new book begins with a wounded Christian Grey trying to entice a cautious Ana Steele back into his life, but she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. Last year, James posted two pages of sample material from the book on Facebook "in honour" of fictional protagonist Ana Steele's birthday. The extract shows an internal dialogue of Grey while he waits in impatiently for Ana outside her new place of work in his car.
“The inside of Christian's head is a pretty daunting place to be,” said James. “Writing Darker offered me new insights into his character and motivations, and I hope readers find those insights as compelling as I did.”
Selina Walker, publisher of Arrow and James’ UK editor, added: “Christian Grey is one of the most conflicted and charismatic heroes of modern fiction, and this new book is full of surprises. In Darker, Ana and Christian confront some seemingly insuperable challenges, and I - like millions of other 'Fifty' fans - can't wait to discover more.”
Darker will be published this November in paperback, e-book and in audio. Publication will be simultaneous with Vintage in the US, Penguin Random House Canada, and soon after, in territories around the world. A US Spanish language edition, published by Vintage Español, will be available in December.
The next Fifty Shades film, "Fifty Shades Freed", will be released in February 2018.
Fifty Shades of Grey is the bestselling title in Nielsen BookScan history, with 4.7 million copies sold. Sequels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed sold over three million copies apiece. Grey, the first title re-told through Christian Grey’s eyes, sold 1.1 million copies in 2015, and went straight into the UK Top 50 number one spot with 350,000 copies sold in a week.
