‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Is the UK’s Best-Selling Book Ever

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Bookworms make sure that you’re sitting down for this one. The Independent reports that the same nation that gave birth to some of the world’s most brilliant writers has now purchased more than 5.3 million copies of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey (3.8 million physical books and 1.5 million ebooks), making it the best-selling British book of all time — or at least since they started keeping tabs on such things. Insanity!

The previous record holder? The much more PG-rated Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — which thanks to the fact that plenty of people don’t want you to be able to see that they’re reading Fifty Shades of Grey, still reigns supreme when it comes to print sales. Globally, James’ trilogy has reportedly sold over 40 million copies, meaning that she’s still got a lot of catching up to do if she ever wants to hit the 450 million mark collectively hit by the seven books in the Potter series. We’re curious: Do you think it could actually happen, or will we all have forgotten Anastasia Steele’s name by this time next year?