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] Although the term has been used generally to describe "bodice-rippers" such as Forever Amber (1944) by Kathleen Winsor,[4] as well as Valley of the Dolls (1966) and the novels of Jacqueline Susann[5][6] and Harold Robbins,[7] 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.
[8] 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.