First-time author, Stephanie Meyer's debut novel, Twilight, and the subsequent novels in the series, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn follow the love story between a vampire, Edward Cullen and an ordinary human, Bella Swan. The series has celebrated wide critical and popular success and is currently being adapted into a nearly identical series of movies.
The series was praised by critics for its new and interesting perspectives on vampires and romance. It has sparked widespread, and in some cases, almost cult-like following. Teen girls fall in love with Edward. Grown women quit their day jobs to sell Twilight-themed jewelry online (I'm dead serious). The fanaticism continues.
And it is equally fervant on the other side. English teachers ridicule the poor sentance structure and grammatical errors of the books. Parents worry about Edward's controlling tendancies (and Bella's rationalization that he controls her because he loves her) and the effect this will have on their children's real-world relationships, especially as he is portrayed as the perfect man.
Stephanie Meyer has been compared to Jane Austen, JK Rowling and other great authors. She has appeared on national television and gained notice- and heavy criticism- from such famous authors as Stephen King. Who is she really?
And what does the twilight series say about her and our society?
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