INTRODUCTION

Twilight is a young-adult vampire-romance novel by author Stephenie Meyer. It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The novel is followed by New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. It became an instant bestseller when published originally in hardback in 2005, debuting at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list within a month of its release and later peaking at #1. That same year, Twilight was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2005.The novel was also the biggest selling book of 2008 and the second biggest selling of 2009, only behind its sequel New Moon. It has been translated into 37 different languages. When first published, Twilight gained much critical acclaim. Critics often described it as a "dark romance that seeps into the soul" and praised it for capturing "perfectly the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation". On the other hand, in more recent reviews, some critics thought that Bella's appeal to Edward was "based on magic rather than character" and that Bella is a weak female character. However, almost all critics, whether they acclaimed the novel or not, agreed that it was a literary phenomenon. A film adaptation of Twilight was released in 2008. It was a commercial success, grossing more than $392 million worldwide and an additional $157 million from North American DVD sales, as of July 2009.

Twilight Series
Twilight
Bella Swan moves from Phoenix, Arizona to live with her father in Forks, Washington to allow her mother to travel with her new husband, a minor league baseball player. After moving to Forks, Bella finds herself involuntarily drawn to a mysterious, handsome boy, Edward Cullen. She eventually learns that he is a member of a vampire family who drinks animal blood rather than human blood. Edward and Bella fall in love, but James, a sadistic vampire from another vampire coven, is drawn to hunt down Bella. Edward and the other Cullens defend Bella. She escapes to Phoenix, Arizona, where she is tricked into confronting James, who tries to kill her. She is seriously wounded, but Edward rescues her and they return to Forks, having killed James.

New Moon
Edward and his family leave Forks because he believes he is endangering Bella's life. Bella falls into a deep depression, until she develops a strong friendship with Jacob Black, who she discovers can shape-shift into a wolf. Jacob and the other wolves in his tribe must protect her from Victoria, a vampire seeking to avenge the death of her mate James, by killing Bella. A misunderstanding occurs, and Edward believes Bella is dead. Edward decides to commit suicide in Volterra, Italy, but he is stopped by Bella, who is accompanied by Edward's sister, Alice. They meet with the Volturi, a powerful vampire coven, and are released only on the condition that Bella be turned into a vampire in the near future. Bella and Edward are reunited, and she and the Cullens return to Forks.

Eclipse
The vampire Victoria (James' mate from Twilight) has created an army of "newborn" vampires to battle the Cullen family and murder Bella for revenge. Meanwhile, Bella is compelled to choose between her relationship with Edward and her friendship with Jacob. Edward's vampire family and Jacob's werewolf pack join forces to successfully destroy Victoria and her vampire army. In the end, Bella chooses Edward's love over Jacob's and agrees to marry him.

Breaking Dawn
Bella and Edward are married, but their honeymoon is cut short when Bella discovers that she is pregnant. Her pregnancy progresses rapidly, severely weakening her. She nearly dies giving birth to her and Edward's half-vampire-half-human daughter, Renesmee, but Edward injects Bella with his venom to save her life and turns her into a vampire. A vampire from another coven sees Renesmee and mistakes her for an "immortal child". She informs the Volturi, as the existence of such beings violates vampire law. The Cullens gather vampire witnesses who can verify that Renesmee is not an immortal child. After an intense confrontation, the Cullens and their witnesses convince the Volturi that the child poses no danger to vampires or their secret, and they are left in peace by the Volturi.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About the Author. The daughter of Stephen and Candy Morgan, Meyer was born on December 24, 1973, in Hartford, Connecticut. The uncommon spelling of Morgan's first name was "a gift from [her] father." He added the letters "I" and "e" to the end of his name to create "Stephenie." The Morgans relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, four years later. As the second of six children, Meyer took on the duties associated with being an elder sibling in a large Mormon family. In between caring for her younger brothers and sisters she showed a passion for reading, becoming a fan of classic authors including Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and Margaret Mitchell. Although she felt out of place among the privileged population of Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, Meyer was an excellent student. Graduating in 1992, her high marks earned her a

National Merit Scholarship. She used the award to attend Brigham Young University, choosing to major in English literature. In 1996, between her junior and senior years, Meyer became reacquainted with childhood friend Christiaan "Pancho" Meyer. The two had grown up in the same social circles and, less than a year after their first date, 21-year-old Stephenie married Pancho. After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1997, Meyer chose to become a stay-at-home mother to sons Gabe, Seth and Eli. Some six years later, on June 2, 2003, Meyer became an author in earnest. Following a compelling dream the inspiration for Twilight, and the basis for Chapter 13 of the first bookMeyer began a frenzied writing spree. The beginnings of her novel explored the romance between Edward, a vampire, and Bella, a human girl. Influenced by authors like William Goldman, Orson Scott Card, and Douglas Adams, Meyer set to work fleshing out the story, often writing while her children slept. Within three months, she had created a 500-page manuscript and begun searching for publishing contact. Using advice taken from author Janet Evanovich's website, Meyer was eventually contacted by Jodi Reamer, a literary agent at Writer's House. Reamer and Meyer worked together polish the manuscript among other things, Reamer insisted Meyer change her first title, Forks, to the current title and Reamer soon began to present the book to publishing houses. Shortly after, Reamer secured a three-book deal with a $750,000 advance from Little, Brown and Company. This marked the highest sum the publishing house had ever paid a new writer.

Twilight was released in 2005 to rave reviews. As an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Meyer eschewed strong sexuality in her writing. Instead, she supplanted it with florid sensuality; a draw for her numerous (and primarily female) readers. Like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter franchise, Meyer's book bridged the gap between teen and adult fiction. She also increased her popularity through her online accessibility, and frequently made herself available to her fan base. A best seller, the book was honored as a New York Times Editor's Choice and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. The following year, Meyer published her sophomore effort the sequel New Moon and sold the film rights to Twilight. With Eclipse (2007) and Breaking Dawn (2008), the four vampire books have sold over 250 million copies, and have been translated into 37 languages. Additionally, the film adaptation of Twilight, which stars actor Robert Pattinson, has grossed over $191 million domestically. In 2008, Meyer released her first nonTwilight work. The Host, a grittier novel targeted at an adult audience, features an alien romance instead. However, the Twilight books continue to garner media and fan attention, and a film version of New Moon is due out in November of 2009. Stephenie Meyer's Books: Meyer's started her writing career in Young Adult fiction. In 2005, she published her first book, Twilight, about a teenager who falls in love with a good vampire. Meyer has also published four sequels to Twilight and one adult novel, The Host.

Stephenie Meyer's Awards:

A New York Times Editor's Choice A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year An Amazon.com "Best Book of the Decade...So Far" A Teen People "Hot List" pick An American Library Association "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults" and "Top Ten Books for

Stephenie Meyer Trivia:

Meyer was inspired to write Twilight after a dream she had on June 2, 2003. The transcript of that dream is Chapter 13 of Twilight. The unique spelling of Meyer's name comes from her father's name (Stephen + i.e.) Meyer loves music and has created playlists to correspond to each of the books in the Twilight Saga. Meyer's favorite authors (according to her Web site): Orson Scott Card, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Maeve Binchy, Charlotte Bronte, Daphne DuMaurier, L.M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Eva Ibbotson, William Goldman, Douglas Adams, Janet Evanovich

CHARACTERISATION
Main characters Isabella "Bella" Swan
The protagonist of the series, teenager Bella is a perpetually clumsy "danger magnet" with dark brown hair and brown eyes. She is often portrayed as having low self-esteem and unable to comprehend Edward's love for her. She has animmunity to supernatural abilities involving the mind, such as Edward's mindreading ability. After her transformation into a vampire in the saga's fourth installment, Bella acquires the ability to shield both her and others from "mental harm" from other vampires.

Edward Cullen
Edward is a vampire who lives with a coven of like-minded vampires known as the Cullen family, who feed on animals rather than humans. Over the course of the Twilight series, Edward falls in love with, marries, and then has a child with Bella. At first, Edward feels a mutual hatred toward Jacob Black because of his love for Bella, but in Breaking Dawn, he comes to see Jacob as a brother and friend. Like some vampires, Edward has a supernatural ability: mind reading. It allows him to read anyone's thoughts within a few miles radius. Bella is immune to his power as a human, but learns how to lower this "shield" after her transformation to a vampire

Jacob Black
A minor character in the first novel, Jacob is introduced as a member of the Quileute tribe. He resurfaces in Moon with a much larger role as Bella's best friend as she struggles through her depression over losing Edward. Although he is in love with Bella, she initially sees him as just her best friend. He and other tribe members can shape shift into wolves. In Eclipse Bella realizes that she loves Jacob, though her feelings for him are overpowered by her love for Edward Cullen. In Breaking Dawn, Jacob finds a soul mate in Bella and Edward's baby daughter, Renesmee, ridding him of his heartache for Bella.

Inspiration and Themes

According to the author, her books are "about life, not death" and "love, not lust. Each book in the series was inspired by and loosely based on a different literary classic: Twilight on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, New Moon on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Eclipse on Brontes Wuthering Heights, and Breaking Dawn on a second Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Meyer also states that Orson Scott Card and L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series are a big influence on her writing. Other major themes of the series include choice and free will. Meyer says that the books are centered around Bella's choice to choose her life on her own, and the Cullens' choices to abstain from killing rather than follow their temptations: "I really think that's the underlying metaphor of my vampires. It doesn't matter where you're stuck in life or what you think you have to do; you can always choose something else. There's always a different path." Meyer, a Mormon, acknowledges that her faith has influenced her work. In particular, she says that her characters "tend to think more about where they came from, and where they are going, than might be typical." Meyer also steers her work from subjects such as sex, despite the romantic nature of the novels. Meyer says that she does not consciously intend her novels to be Mormon-influenced, or to promote the virtues of sexual abstinence and spiritual purity, but admits that her writing is shaped by her values, saying, "I don't think my books are going to be really graphic or dark, because of who I am. There's always going to be a lot of light in my stories

ORIGINS AND PUBLISHING HISTORY

Stephenie Meyer says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003. The dream was about a human girl, and a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the transcript of what is now chapter 13 of the book. Despite having very little writing experience, in a matter of three months she had transformed that dream into a completed novel. After writing and editing the novel, she signed a three-book deal with Little, Brown and Company for $750,000, an unusually high amount for a first time author. Megan Tingley, the editor who signed Meyer, says that halfway through the reading manuscript she realized that she had a future bestseller in her hands. The book was released in 2005. Following the success of Twilight, Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008). In its first week after publication, the first sequel, New Moon, debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books, and in its second week rose to the #1 position, where it remained for the next eleven weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list. After the release of Eclipse, the first three "Twilight" books spent a combined 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. The fourth installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, was released with an initial print run of 3.7 million copies. Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day alone, setting a record in first-day sales performance for the Hachette Book Group USA.Upon the completion of the fourth entry in the series, Meyer indicated that Breaking Dawn would be the final novel to be told from Bella Swan's perspective. In 2008 and 2009, the four books of the series claimed the top four spots on USA Today's yearend bestseller list, making Meyer the first author to ever achieve this feat.

SERIES OF TWILIGHT