Seeing Twilight in Fifty Shades of Grey?
E.L. James’ book, Fifty Shades of Grey, has garnered plenty of positive reviews on various book review sites, and has had fans of both romantic fiction, and erotica, swooning. Fifty Shades of Grey is the first in a trilogy of the same name. It is followed by Fifty Shades Darker. And the final book in the trilogy, Fifty Shades Freed, was just recently released. The trilogy follows the very young and naive English major Anastacia Steel as she navigates an intense romance with billionaire entrepreneur Christian Grey. Written from Ana’s perspective, we get a glimpse into her thought processes as Christian introduces the innocent to his interest in BDSM.
As a fan of Cherise Sinclair and Joey W. Hill, I have read and enjoyed the first and second books in James’ series, and have added the last book to my TBR pile. The books were pretty darn erotic and as such the sex scenes were quite hot. For the squeamish among us, the BDSM element was fairly light, and in fact, J.R. Ward’s portrayal of V’s predilections in the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) series is far more graphic and dark.
Given the romantic nature of the books, and the not-so-graphic BDSM elements, it came as no surprise that Hollywood scouts have been sniffing around the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy for a possible movie or series. (I for one, would love to see how the book translates into film or television – particularly since James is herself a TV executive!) But I was stunned by the follow-up article detailing the responses from readers who claimed that because Fifty Shades of Grey began life as Twilight fan fiction, there could be copyright infringement issues.
Now, I’ve read the Fifty Shades books very carefully, and read some parts (heh) more than twice. I’d be hard pressed to find a single sparkly vampire in the book. Nor have I come across any fangs, werewolves, or even high school students. There’s nary a single drop of blood in the books. (Well, if I must be indelicate, Ana does talk a bit about tampons, but that’s hardly the stuff that Edward’s after.) I’ve also read the Twilight books. While one might argue that like the Twilight books, Fifty Shades is also written from the point of view of a young female narrator, surely Stephenie Meyer can’t have a monopoly on that, or Little, Brown (Meyer’s publisher) would be suing authors left, right, and center.
Although Little, Brown has said that its policy is to “proactively monitor and investigate all reports of potential copyright infringements” I doubt they’ll be able to pin anything on James. The similarities, if any, are far too nebulous. No doubt, I’m not the only one who thinks so. Amanda Hayward, CEO of The Writer’s Coffee Shop, which published Fifty Shades of Grey, said James’s book “bore very little resemblance to Twilight…Twilight and Fifty Shades Trilogy are worlds apart, new readers are totally surprised it was ever a Twilight fan fiction story.” To quote Christian Grey, “fair point, well made”.
If you want to read books similar to Fifty Shades of Grey see this article –> If You Like the Fifty Shades of Grey Books You’ll LOVE These
[...] our earlier article, Seeing Twilight in Fifty Shades of Grey, I wrote about allegations that the Fifty Shades of Grey series may be facing copying infringement [...]
I have read the trilogy and the fanfiction, in fact, I have both on my Nook, so I can say for sure that the Fanfiction and the original are almost exactly the same with changes in names and some physical features. I’d say that EL James has used SM’s fanbase to make herself some money and get the attention she may not have gotten otherwise. Using fanfiction as an outlet of creativity and using fanfiction to build a brand are two completely different things…
Thanks for coming by and commenting on this post Angela. I confess I have not read the fanfiction, and will bow to your judgment on the similarities between the fanfiction and the books that eventually came out.
hola angela…tienes la trilogia de fanfiction?? los podrias pasarmelo porfa!!!! o un link donde descargarlos..gracias
I am not into BDSM stories, but I have to say that I really loved “Fifty Shades of Grey”. This was one of those books that keeps you glued to the pages; staying up reading into the early morning. I found it to be very addicting which is really disturbing for me.
This is the love story of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. Christian is such a complex character. You love him and hate him at the same time and it’s really confusing. He’s the ultimate alpha male, bad boy with a very dark and disturbing desire to inflict pain. He literally gets off on it. He meets and falls for Anastasia. When they meet she is an innocent college student and happens to still be a virgin. This is their love story and its deeply disturbing. Our boy Christian has some serious demons and its making Ana think long and hard about their relationship. This is not your typical boy meets girl let’s date and fall in love romance. He wants to dominate her and he wants her submissive. He comes up with a contract that he wants her to sign. She’s torn between her love for him and her fear of him. She wants to know why he is so Fifty Shades of “f’d” up. She wants to get to the bottom of what happened in his past to make him need this type of relationship and why he hates to be touched. He introduces her to the “dark side” of his sexual habits and in his desire to keep her and make her happy, tries for the “vanilla relationship” she desires. Will Ana embrace Christian’s dark side or will it be more than she can handle? The way he makes love to her is so erotic, steamy, sexy and scary all at the same time.
I know it does not sound like it, but there is a real love story there. Ana brings out feelings in Christian that he has never felt with anyone else. As crazy as it sounds, I have a lot of hope for these two and I am eager to read the next installment.
Have a lovely day,
Wendy
Hey Wendy,
Glad you liked Fifty Shades of Grey – I was glued to the pages, just like you! I’m sure you’ll love the next two books as well… and there’s so much more about Christian in those books to love!
I’ve just finished with Fifty Shades of Gray and I am perplexed that the author of this review doesn’t find the characters similarities striking! Anastasia(Ana)/Isabella(Bella) are plain Jane, creamy skinned, raven haired, clumsy and naive. They are instantly smitten with gorgeous, bronze haired, aloof, wealthy, piano prodigy, dangerous man-children. Both Edward and Christian are adopted by doctors, Mia and Alice are very similar little sisters. Bella and Ana’s mothers are both whimsical dreamers who have had multiple marriages and are living in the warm and humid south, their fathers are both quiet doting fisherman. Both series take place in the Pacific Northwest. The more I write the more embarrassingly obvious this becomes. I could go on about the plot too, but I won’t.
That being said Fifty Shades is a fun read if you have an afternoon to laze about and get a little hot and bothered, and it won’t leave you feeling shameful (the BDSM is pretty “vanilla”!).
Thanks Lauren for your comment, and for pointing out the similarities between the two. Perhaps we can agree to disagree on whether the publishing house will be successful in proving copyright infringement… but we can agree that Fifty Shades is a fun read!
Lauren,
My friend and I were just having a conversation today discussing how much Fifty Shades parallels Twilight – In character and plot! Take out the supernatural and add some steamy sex and there you go. Don’t get me wrong – I like both stories but I see what you see, and I agree 100% that they are similar. Like you, I could go on and make a lengthy list of all the similarities right down to supporting characters and plot sidelines.
I absolutely agree with you! I noticed the similarities almost immediately, and can’t imagine anyone who has read Twilight not being able to see them. I’m only on chapter 3, and will continue to read, but have to admit that being a HUGE fan of Twilight, I am a little turned off by the resemblance to it.
Thanks Vickie for your comment. I’m sorry to hear that you’re feeling a bit turned off by the similarities you’re seeing up to Chapter 3! Taken on its own, Fifty Shades is still a pretty fun book to read though so hopefully you’ll enjoy the rest of it!
I agree with Lauren. Having been a Twilight fan, I immediately saw the similarities in this book, and even yelled out to my boyfriend who was in the next room, “This is Twilight erotica!”
What tipped me off first was Christian’s warning to Ana to stay away from him, that he’s not the man for her.
Memories came flooding back to when Edward gave Bella the same warning, but of course neither characters stay away and become somewhat obsessed with their dangerous men.
Another glaring similarity is how both men stalk their women.
Edward watches Bella sleep from within her room and on several occasions shows up without invitation, and Christian keeps tabs on Ana at all times, giving her tracking gifts such as a lap top and a Blackberry. Even going as far as flying to Georgia to be by her or appearing at her house while she happens to be upset and crying.
I won’t recount what above commenter had said, but that is all in keeping with Twilight and has made it obvious to me that this has undercurrents of Twilight, even if there are no actual vampires, werewolves, or high schooler.
Jose would definitely be the werewolf if there were. Just saying.
I completely agree! There are so many similarities…being a Twilight fan, I do feel a little indignant, I am not saying that Fifty Shades is not a fun read, but then again, the similarities are too glaringly obvious…to quote one..Ana’s mom’s husband twists a ligament so she is unable to come for the graduation..ring any bells? Ana has a blue quilt that is made by her mom..ummm..reminds us of anything? I mean when James put in so much effort to write the book, why not put in a little more effort in the the nitty-gritty of the storyline is my question…there are many many more like this….oh I have to mention this one Jose trying to kiss Ana!?..its not the characters or vampires or werewolves literally but the entire storyline, dialogue, characterizations, and situations in Fifty Shades that are completely Twilight-like!
I also agree about the similarities between Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight. I am always baffled at people who say that they can’t see any. At a passing glance, and to those who have had little to superficial exposure to Twilight, the parallels are lost, but if you dig just a little the similarities are extremely numerous and evident! I have watched all the Twilight flicks and read both Twilight Book 1 and Midnight Sun and I am amazed at all the deep and superficial details and arcs derived from Twilight. I am not going to point all of them out, but one of the most evident similarities is the cast of characters. I could immediately recognize the Twilight ensemble in FSoG (from Bella’s mom and dad complete with the same personality traits) to all the Cullens/Greys to Jasper and Rosalie (Kate and Ethan in FSoG) to Jake (José in FSoG) to Bella and Edward themselves incarnate in Ana and Christian.
I do admit that at first I was also in the “Can’t see Twilight here at all, Christian is so different to Edward” wagon, but upon further thought and once the euphoria/endorphin wave induced by all the sex and addictive quality of Fifty Shades allowed me to think a little clearly, I could draw the lines from one to the other easily. A reread of Midnight Sun had me agape, to the point I actually exclaimed “Fugg me, FSoG is such a Twilight rip-off!”.
I just heard Fifty Shades is now #1 NY Times Bestseller, so kudos to E.L. James. All the media attention catapulted it straight to the top (the list measures velocity of sales) but SERIOUSLY, I completely agree with the above poster who said this is Twilight erotica and in all honesty, although James did a couple of really creative, witty things with the plot, including the whole e-mail exchange, the heart and core of this remains firmly rooted and derived from Twilight. Sure, there are no paranormal elements, but the characters, character dynamics, mannerisms and plot arcs are pretty much the same!
A lot of the similarities of Twilight with 50 shades are the same as every romance novel. It was a fan fiction so of course originally it would have some resemblance. 50 shades did not steal from Twilight in my opinion! If the mom was at the graduation in 50 shades it would not change the story! Stephanie does not own Seatle! The character dynamics are not the same at all!! Edward would never do any of Christian action! I think jealousy is the main reason the twilight fan fiction community are crying foul. They are all wishing their fiction was the best seller! That’s all! I belong to the Twilight fandom! I will support Twilight till the end! But stop being mad for Stephanie when she is not! Twilight audience and 50 shades are so different! And I think this new publicity will in fact increase Twilight books sale!
It’s always nice to see someone profiting off Stephenie Meyer fans. The ‘borrowed’ elements are far from subtle and I’m completely dumbfounded that she is getting away with this. How pathetic. She didn’t even bother to change the location.
Not to mention that it is a completely unrealistic, poor, and all around disgusting depiction of true BDSM relationships and scenarios. It’s insulting to people that actually participate in the lifestyle. I’ve been a submissive for many years, and I’ve spent time in a contracted relationship and it is not something to be treated as a disease, or practiced only by those with a dark past, as the author makes it out to be. She portrays it as something shameful, and that is ridiculous.
This story was a joke as fanfiction, and even more so now that people are supporting her blatant plagiarism. His name may be Christian Grey here, but really he’s just Edward Cullen with a riding crop, because that’s exactly what this started out as.
Honestly I’m very surprised the author of this pst doesn’t see the similarities between twilight and fifty shades. They are striking!
Thanks to Maria, Lilien, Addison and Lisa for the comments on my blog post, and for sharing their views. I see this is a topic that many are very passionate about!
This is a hilarious article written about the idea of how Christian Grey would be a few years and few kids down the road. It’s front page of the Huff Po – so funny.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenny-isenman/christian-grey_b_1342563.html?ref=parents
[...] have pointed out the many similarities between the characters, plot, and setting in response to my earlier blog post on [...]
My heart goes out to the real BDSM here (Beautifully Dedicated Stephenie Meyer!). Fifty Shades was recommended to me by someone who knows what a dedicated Twilight fan I am, but told me that it was the next big vampire love story. So, of course, I was eager to download it to my Kindle and dive right in. Once I discovered there was not a vampire in sight, I still was willing to give it a shot because I had heard of all the hype.
Shock overtook me by the time I got to the third/fourth chapter. There was no doubt in my mind that this was Bella and Edward in an all-human fanfiction erotic love story. The similarities have mostly been listed here already, so I won’t rehash them. I write fanfiction for Twilight, always making sure that my disclaimer gives proper due to the original creator of these wonderful characters. And I receive no money for the pleasure of continuing their stories in different (sometimes erotic) circumstances.
I am saddened to think that I paid $9.99 to read about characters that were invented by someone other than the person who will receive a royalty from my purchase. Shame on you E L James!!! Shame on you!!!
I’m a huge fanfiction reader and Fifty Shades is a fic first named Master of the Universe. It’s the same as the book, word for word. She only changed names.
I disagree with all this twilight knock off debate. As a woman who grew up reading her mothers romance novels let me be the first to say that if james is copying meyer then meyer is copying a multitude of authors. The clumsy average girl and the wealthy dashing billionaire has been played since the beginning of time! Look at darcy and elizabeth , catherine and heathclliff; authors like heather grahm, nora roberts, maggie shayne, danielle steele, catherine coulter… theyve all developed characters that echo one another!! I mean come on, meyer did not create the image of tall dark and handsome. She does not own the creativity behind these complex characters. Theres a reason people have always and will always create them… because we love them. Besides if you want to start complaining about copywrite infringements then one should be looking at meyer herself who has taken the age old tale of vampire/human relationship and turned it into sparkly, shot in the dark fan fiction from Eclipse onward. Its made about teenagers for teenagers. If you love that then dive into the romance section at your local bookstore, its sure to blow your mind.
Thank you my love! I was thinking the same thing!
So there is a page in EW that acknowledges that this story did begin as Twilight fanfic
hi Angela!my name is maria and I relly want to read fifty shades of grey. can you send me the fanfiction by mail please or at least tell me where I can found it.
XOXO from argentina
pd: sorry for my English.
It all said came from fan fiction from Twilight,
Who cares by the similarities beside Fifty Shades of Grey
More like twilight it doesn’t matter to me. I like the book
& the storyline was awesome. It’s remind me more like
Robert Pattinson the character hihi that’s why I like it.
Fifty Shades Of Grey better than Twilight because
It’s more like Robert & Kristen, Christian is Rob & Ana
Is Kristen, too hot to handle sex is awesome in this book.
I can’t stop reading maybe because I obsess with Rob.