Bonkbuster (a play on "blockbuster" and the verb "to bonk") is a term coined in 1989 by British writer Sue Limb to describe a subgenre of commercial romance novels in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as their subsequent miniseries adaptations. [1] [2] [3] In 2016 Jilly Cooper suggested that the term ought to be updated to "shagbusters" as "bonk" felt out-of-date. [4]
Although the term has been used generally to describe "bodice-rippers" such as Forever Amber (1944) by Kathleen Winsor, [5] as well as Valley of the Dolls (1966) and the novels of Jacqueline Susann [6] [7] and Harold Robbins, [8] 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. [9] Many of these novels were adapted in the 1980s into glossy, big-budget miniseries, reminiscent of primetime soaps of the time, such as Dallas , Knots Landing and Dynasty .