Jack Of All Shades

With The Mister, E.L. James is looking to break free from the bondage of all that Fifty Shades has come to represent—and start fresh. But can she?

- Maureen Lee Lenker

BODICE RIPPERS. MOMMY porn. Airport trash. Critics of romance fiction have no shortage of lazy ways to dismiss one of publishing’s most lucrative genres—and one of their most popular targets is E.L. James. In 2012, she upended the publishing world with her mega-selling debut, Fifty Shades of Grey, an erotic tale about the relationship between a college grad and a billionaire that captured millions of women’s imaginations. It spawned two sequels, three films, an SNL parody, and probably more than a few children conceived in rekindled marriages.

For many, James emerged as the face of romance, though the author, 56, is reluctant to embrace the concept: “I find it a little overwhelming.”