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] They have also been referred to as sex 'n' shoppingorshopping and fucking novels (S&F).[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.
