Twilight Saga

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are the central characters of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga — the four-novel phenomenon that became one of the best-selling series in publishing history and defined a generation's experience of paranormal romance fiction. Bella is a seventeen-year-old who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington, and falls in love with Edward, a vampire who has abstained from human blood for nearly a century, setting off a romance complicated by the fundamental incompatibility of their natures.

Meyer wrote the series with extraordinary emotional intensity focused on romantic longing — the Twilight experience for its readers was primarily about the feeling of wanting and being wanted with absolute totality, and the supernatural elements are scaffolding for this emotional core. The series sold over one hundred million copies and was translated into thirty-seven languages.

The film series starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson grossed over three billion dollars worldwide and created one of cinema's most devoted fan communities. The cultural conversation around the series — both the devotion it inspired and the criticism of its gender dynamics — makes it one of the most significant popular culture phenomena of the 2000s.

Begin with Twilight (2005) and read all four in order.