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A bodice ripper is a genre of romantic fiction, often historical fiction. In the 1970s and 1980s, the heroine of such a novel often lost her virginity by force. While the genre has turned away from the trope of forced seduction, contemporary bodice rippers still feature unrestrained romantic passion, and a heroine who initially dislikes and actively resists the hero's seduction, only ultimately to be overcome by desire. Look up genre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
This article refers to the wide variety of writing called romantic. For literature from the European Romantic movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, see Romanticism: Art and Literature. ...
A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, where the time the action takes place in predates the time of the first publication -- distinguish and contrast the genre of alternate history. ...
This article is about the type of character. ...
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In literature, a trope is a familiar and repeated symbol, meme, theme, motif, style, character or thing that permeates a particular type of literature. ...
It has been suggested that womanizer be merged into this article or section. ...
Heroine (female hero) redirects here. ...
In social psychology, interpersonal attraction is the attraction between people which leads to friendships and romantic relationships. ...
The term bodice ripper derives from the covers of the books, which generally depict a female whose bodice is being ripped by a muscular, often shirtless man. The story often features a dominant alpha male. Sometimes there will be violence, i.e. rape or physical abuse toward the heroine of the story. A bodice is an article of clothing for women, covering the body from the neck to the waist. ...
An alpha male or alpha female is the individual in the community to whom the others follow and defer. ...
The heroines of such a novel were often abducted, held for ransom, sold into slavery, forced into marriage, or captured after running away. Larger than life heroines toured the world, fell from princess to pauper, rose from gutter rat to queen. These women were frequently seduced by their alpha-heroes, sometimes forcibly.
Heroes ran the gamut from aristocrats to highwaymen, from gamblers to pirates. They were universally strong, physically fit, demanding, prone to choosing action over inaction.
These historical romances did not shy away from sensational topics such as rape, slavery, the loss of family members, and the effects of poverty and disease.
The period from 1970-1980 saw explosive growth in the sale of these books, and romance today accounts for more than 40% of all fiction commercially sold. Modern versions of the old-fashioned bodice ripper can be found by searching among books labeled Dark Romance, Erotic Romance, Romantica, Erotic Historical Romance etc.
External links
- The Onion pokes fun at the genre
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