The Mister

Last updated

The Mister
The Mister.jpg
Author E. L. James
Audio read byDominic Thorburn, Jessica O'Hara-Baker [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Romance
Set in London, Cornwall and Albania, 2019 [2]
Published16 April 2019
Publisher Vintage Books
Media typePrint: paperback
Pages624
ISBN 978-1984898326
823.92
Website www.eljamesauthor.com/books/the-mister/

The Mister is a 2019 romance novel by E. L. James. [3]

Contents

Plot

English aristocrat Maxim Trevelyan inherits the Earldom of Trevethick after the sudden death of his elder brother, Kit. He sleeps one time with his sister-in-law Caroline, who was his lover but had chosen his brother instead of him. He falls for his Albanian undocumented immigrant housemaid, Alessia Demachi. He finds out about her many talents and her past life. He takes her to his place in Cornwall when two unauthorised people came to his apartment searching for Alessia. He introduces Alessia to sexual pleasure and enjoys her company. At first she has no idea of Maxim's title but finds out and decides to run away. Maxim stops her and reveals his affections for her and they reconcile. Alessia reveals the truth about her abusive betrothed who kidnaps her when they are in England. Alarmed, Maxim confronts Caroline and goes after Alessia to Albania. Due to the absence of her documents and passport, she travels with her fiancée through another route. Maxim reaches her home and asks for her hand in marriage and Alessia enters soon after where she reveals the truth about her fiancée to her father and tries to get Maxim to be married to her. The novel ends with Alessia's father threatening Maxim to marry his daughter and them being together.

Reception

The Mister received mixed to negative reviews by literary critics, with review aggregator Book Marks reporting three negative and two positive reviews among 6 collected. [4] The Guardian described it as "A coked-up lord bonks a trafficked Albanian immigrant as the Fifty Shades of Grey author swaps BDSM for dispiritingly creepy power games" and adding that "There is a complete dearth of emotional maturity that is genuinely unsettling." [5] Jezebel wrote "the narrative is so committed to sexualizing Aleissa's vulnerability and powerlessness that the result is offensive." [6] The Atlantic said it was "hopelessly retrograde and dismally unentertaining." [3] In a positive review, Booklist stated that "the book's belief in the infinitely transformative power of love will hit the sweet spot for readers looking to be swept away." [7]

Film adaptation

On February 25, 2020, it was announced by Variety that The Mister would be adapted into a film produced by Universal Pictures. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Taylor-Johnson</span> British film director, artist and photographer (born 1967)

Samantha Louise Taylor-Johnson is a British film director and artist. Her directorial feature film debut was 2009's Nowhere Boy, a film based on the childhood experiences of the Beatles' singer and songwriter John Lennon. She is one of a group of artists known as the Young British Artists.

Trevelyan is a Welsh and Cornish name derived from a place-name which originally meant "farmstead 'trev' or Tref of Elyan".

<i>Cast Two Shadows</i>

Cast Two Shadows: The American Revolution in South Carolina is a 1998 historical novel by Ann Rinaldi, a part of the Great Episodes series. It is told in first-person.

Kelly Marcel is a British screenwriter. She has written the films Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), Venom (2018) and its sequels Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and the upcoming Venom: The Last Dance (2024), with which she will make her directorial debut. She also created and served as executive producer of the television series Terra Nova (2011).

<i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i> 2011 erotic romance novel by E.L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It became the first installment in the Fifty Shades novel series that follows the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It contains explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving BDSM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. L. James</span> British author

Erika Mitchell, known by her pen name E. L. James, is a British author. She wrote the best-selling Fifty Shades series of erotic romance novels, which spawned a multimedia franchise including a film trilogy of the same name. Prior to this, she wrote the Twilight fan fiction "Master of the Universe" that served as the basis for the Fifty Shades series under the web name Snowqueens Icedragon. In 2019 she published her first book unconnected with the fictional world of Fifty Shades, The Mister, to negative critical reaction.

<i>Fifty Shades Freed</i> Erotic romance novel by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Freed is the third and final installment of the erotic romance Fifty Shades Trilogy by British author E. L. James. After accepting entrepreneur CEO Christian Grey's proposal in Fifty Shades Darker, Anastasia Steele must adjust not only to married life but to her new husband's wealthy lifestyle and controlling nature. The paperback edition was first published in April 2012.

Andrew Shaffer is an American author. Under the pen name "Fanny Merkin," he authored the Fifty Shades of Grey parody Fifty Shames of Earl Grey. His other books include Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love, and Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors. He is the founder and creative director of Order of St. Nick, a greeting card company. He resides in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, novelist Tiffany Reisz.

<i>Fifty Shades</i> (novel series) Erotic novel series by E. L. James

Fifty Shades is a series of erotic novels by British author E. L. James, initially a trilogy consisting of Fifty Shades of Grey (2011), Fifty Shades Darker (2012) and Fifty Shades Freed (2012). The series traces the deepening relationship between college graduate Anastasia Steele and young businessman Christian Grey. Christian introduces Ana to the world of BDSM.

<i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i> (film) 2015 film by Sam Taylor-Johnson

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2015 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel. Produced by Focus Features, Michael De Luca Productions, and Trigger Street Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is based on E. L. James' 2011 novel of the same name, and serves as the first installment in the Fifty Shades film series. Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle and Marcia Gay Harden, the film's story follows Anastasia "Ana" Steele (Johnson), a college graduate, who begins a sadomasochistic relationship with young business magnate Christian Grey (Dornan).

<i>Fifty Shades of Oy Vey: A Parody</i>

Fifty Shades of Oy Vey: A Parody by E. L. Jamesbergstein is a parody of E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey. It was published in print and e-book editions by Alfred A. Knish in 2013. Described on its book jacket as "So erotic, you'll plotz", the comic novel, which follows the outline of the original Fifty Shades of Grey, tells the story of the relationship between a beautiful young woman, Anatevka Stein, and a portly bagel tycoon, Chaim Silver.

<i>Fifty Shades Darker</i> 2012 erotic romance novel by E. L. James

Fifty Shades Darker is a 2012 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It is the second installment in the Fifty Shades trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. The first and third volumes, Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Freed, were published in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The novel is published by Vintage Books and reached No. 1 on the USA Today best seller list.

<i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i> (soundtrack) 2015 soundtrack album by Various artists

Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the film of the same name adapted from E. L. James's eponymous novel that was released through Republic Records on February 10, 2015. It was the seventh best-selling album of 2015 with 2.2 million copies sold worldwide.

<i>Fifty Shades Freed</i> (film) 2018 film directed by James Foley

Fifty Shades Freed is a 2018 American erotic romantic drama film directed by James Foley and written by Niall Leonard, based on E. L. James's 2012 novel of the same name. Produced by Perfect World Pictures, Michael De Luca Productions, and Trigger Street Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is the third and final installment in the Fifty Shades film series, following Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) and Fifty Shades Darker (2017). The film stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, and follows the couple as they marry, and must deal with Ana's former boss Jack Hyde, who begins to stalk them.

<i>Fifty Shades Darker</i> (film) 2017 film by James Foley

Fifty Shades Darker is a 2017 American erotic romantic drama film directed by James Foley and written by Niall Leonard, based on E. L. James's 2012 novel of the same name. Produced by Michael De Luca Productions and Trigger Street Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is the second installment in the Fifty Shades film series and the sequel to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey. The film stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, with Eric Johnson, Eloise Mumford, Bella Heathcote, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Kim Basinger, and Marcia Gay Harden in supporting roles. It follows Ana and Christian as they must decide to rekindle their relationship, this time with "no rules, no punishments, and no more secrets" terms.

<i>Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian</i> Novel by E. L. James

Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey As Told by Christian, also referred to as Grey, is a 2015 erotic romance by British author E. L. James. It is the fourth installment in the Fifty Shades series, which had its start as fanfiction.

<i>Fifty Shades</i> (film series) 2015 to 2018 film series based on the novels by E. L. James

Fifty Shades is a British-American film trilogy series based on the Fifty Shades trilogy by English author E. L. James. It is distributed by Universal Studios, and stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as the lead roles Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively. Sam Taylor-Johnson directed the first film, and James Foley directed the second and third films.

<i>Maestra</i> (novel) Book by Lisa Hilton

Maestra is a 2016 erotic thriller novel by L.S. Hilton, the penname of British author Lisa Hilton, and the first book in a trilogy consisting of Maestra (2016), Domina (2017) and Ultima (2018). The book was first published in the United Kingdom on 10 March 2016 through Zaffre Publishing and was released in the United States on 19 April of the same year, through G.P. Putnam's Sons, who also re-released Maestra in the UK.

<i>Darker: Fifty Shades Darker as Told by Christian</i> Erotic romance by British author, E. L. James

Darker: Fifty Shades Darker As Told by Christian, also referred to as Darker, is a 2017 erotic romance by British author, E. L. James. It is the fifth installment in the Fifty Shades novel series. The books were originally told by Anastasia Steele, the main protagonist, whereas Darker: Fifty Shades Darker as Told by Christian is told from the male character's point of view of the events of the second installment, Fifty Shades Darker.

<i>After</i> (Todd novel) 2014 novel written by Anna Todd

After is a 2014 young adult romance novel written by American author Anna Todd under her Wattpad name Imaginator1D and published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. After is the first installment of the After novel series.

References

  1. "The Mister" via Amazon.
  2. "The Mister". www.eljamesauthor.com.
  3. 1 2 Gilbert, Sophie (18 April 2019). "The Indelible Awfulness of E. L. James's 'The Mister'". The Atlantic.
  4. "Book Marks reviews of The Mister by E. L. James". Book Marks. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  5. Cain, Sian (17 April 2019). "EL James's The Mister – turns out books and sex can be this bad" via www.theguardian.com.
  6. Faircloth, Kelly. "E.L. James's The Mister Fucks a Duck". Jezebel.
  7. Maguire, Susan (April 2019). "The Mister". Booklist.
  8. Kroll, Justin (25 February 2020). "Movie Rights to 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Author's 'The Mister' Land at Universal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 11 June 2021.