<Tr> <Th> Published </Th> <Td> 2011--2015 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Media type </Th> <Td> Print (Paperback) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Fifty Shades trilogy is a series of erotic novels by E.L. James . The trilogy consists of Fifty Shades of Grey (2011), Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed (2012). The trilogy traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey . </P> <P> Fifty Shades of Grey, Darker and Freed follow the relationship between the protagonist, Ana, and Christian Grey . Grey introduces Ana to the world of BDSM . James has spoken of her shock at the success of the book, "The explosion of interest has taken me completely by surprise" she said . James has described the Fifty Shades trilogy as "my midlife crisis, writ large . All my fantasies in there, and that's it ." She did not start to write until January 2009, as she revealed while still active on FanFiction.Net: "I started writing in January 2009 after I finished the Twilight saga, and I haven't stopped since . I discovered Fan Fiction in August 2009 . Since then I have written my two fics and plan on doing at least one more . After that...who knows?" In August 2013, sales of the trilogy saw James top the Forbes' list of the highest - earning authors with earnings of $95 m which included $5 m for the film rights to Fifty Shades of Grey . However, the books have also been largely panned by critics, with the first entry in particular "being ridiculed by virtually every critic who has read it ." </P>

How many books in the fifty shades of grey series