FIFTY SHADES OF Grey has overtaken Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code to become the best-selling book of all time in Britain.

Random House, the publisher of the erotic novel, said that the book is now more popular than the highway code as its sequels continue to fly off the shelves. Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed have sold 3.6 million and 3.2 million copies respectively, with global sales of the trilogy said to be over 40 million.

However the author EL James still has a way to go to outpace JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series in sales. 450 million copies of the bespectacled wizard’s adventures have sold worldwide. The best-selling book in the series was Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows, which sold 4.6 million copies. The Da Vinci Code sold 5.2 million copies.

Fifty Shades of Grey, which will soon get its own music album from EMI,  is now to be turned into a Hollywood film with Ryan Gosling and Scarlett Johansson among the high profile stars touted to star in it.

Poll: Have you read Fifty Shades of Grey?>

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More