Classic reads: E.L James and the erotica of the century!

Today class we will be starting our new novel. Get out your E-readers and open a new speak and note document. Today we will be discussing a classic, don't groan like that, it is over a hundred years old and was subject to lots of controversy in 2011 and 20012. You may have heard of it, we will be discussing the book Fifty Shades of Grey. Ahh, so you have. I bet your mothers have it on their bookshelf. Now since this is only the first lesson its will only be a overview.

The main plot is about a woman called Anastasia, Ana, who attends university in Vancouver, she meets a handsome business man, Christian Grey, whom she is doing an interview on for a sick friend. Ana is instantly attracted to Mr Grey but finds him intimidating. At this point most people would assume that she would just forget about him. No, when they meet again for photos to go alongside the interview, they go for coffee and things just escalate from there.

Now what did the public think of it? The fan bases of the book and author were mostly made up of and run by women over thirty. The more intelligent people of society read the book, and then threw it into a dusty corner of the room never to be mentioned again. Now it's easy to think that I'm being very anti- feminist by saying this but its true. The women who read the book were not to be messed with and would defend the story for years to come. Despite the fact it was a very bad example of a BDSM lifestyle.

Now the author. A fifty year old woman with two teenage sons. I only sympathise with those kids. Imagine your own mother writing explicit books.... Actually don't. I know all your mothers and I don't want to scar you for life. She originally wrote it as a Twilight fan-fiction. Remember Twilight from last year, let;s not revisit that disaster. She described her book as "My mid-life crisis, writ large. All my fantasies in there, and that's it." Later E.L James was named one of the most influential people in the world.

A movie was produced and released in February 2015. It was of course very popular and the cinemas were filled with exited fans. Many women who were fans of the book took their partners along for ideas. This was before the automatic matching programs were the norm. The audience left the room moaning, in two very different ways.

Now for your homework. Tell me your view on the book, don't just watch the film! I want to know how controversial this can get.