Fifity Shades of GreyThe owner of publishing giant Penguin has admitted that sales suffered as erotic best-seller Fifty Shades of Grey dominated the market.

EL James's tale of a steamy relationship between a college graduate and young business magnate, published by Vintage Books, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and beat the Harry Potter series as the fastest-selling paperback of all time.

Penguin, which published 49 best-sellers in the six months to June, saw sales fall 4% to £441 million in the half as the saucy trilogy opener and teen-fiction The Hunger Games reigned over the market.

Parent company Pearson, which also has a large education division and owns the Financial Times newspaper, saw sales rise 7% to £2.6 billion and underlying operating profits drop 10% to £188 million.

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