Bonkbuster is a term coined in 1988 by British writer Sue Limb to describe a subgenre of commercial romance novels from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as their subsequent miniseries adaptations. In 2002 the Oxford English Dictionary recognized the portmanteau, defining it as a type of popular novel characterized by frequent explicit sexual encounters between characters, and in 2016 Jilly Cooper, called the queen of the bonkbuster, suggested the term be updated to shagbusters as bonk felt out of date.
Facts
Place of Origin Notable ExampleScruples by Judith Krantz 1 Defining TraitCharacterized by frequent explicit sexual encounters between characters 1 FAQs
Which authors are most associated with the bonkbuster?
Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, Shirley Conran and Jilly Cooper.
The term has been used generally for bodice-rippers such as Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor, and for the novels of Jacqueline Susann and Harold Robbins. It is specifically associated with the novels of Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, Shirley Conran and Jilly Cooper, known for their glamorous, financially independent female protagonists and salacious storylines.
Sources
1. Bonkbuster, Wikipedia
Lead section
Bonkbuster (a play on 'blockbuster' and the verb 'to bonk') is a term coined in 1988 by British writer Sue Limb to describe a subgenre of commercial romance novels in the 1970s and 1980s.
Genre history section
In particular, Krantz's novel Scruples, which describes the glamorous and affluent world of high fashion in Beverly Hills, California, helped define the bonkbuster.
Lead section [defining-trait] [2]
a type of popular novel characterized by frequent explicit sexual encounters between the characters.
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