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Bonkbuster
''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. In 2016 Jilly Cooper suggested that the term ought to be updated to "shagbusters" as "bonk" felt out-of-date. Genre history Although the term has been used generally to describe " bodice-rippers" such as '' Forever Amber'' (1944) by Kathleen Winsor, as well as '' Valley of the Dolls'' (1966) and 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. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirley Conran
Dame Shirley Ida Conran (; 21 September 1932 – 9 May 2024) was an English author, designer, journalist, and social entrepreneur. After Conran's marriage to Terence Conran, with whom she worked as a designer and sales director at Conran Fabrics, she became women's editor of ''The Observer'' and the ''Daily Mail'', launching its Femail section. After a serious illness left her with ME, making it difficult for her to work, she wrote best-selling books including the feminist self-help ''Superwoman'' (1975) and the bonkbuster ''Lace'' (1982). In later life, Conran campaigned and founded charities to encourage maths education for women. For this, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and was invested in hospital a week before her death. Early life Conran was born as Shirley Ida Pearce on 21 September 1932 in the Municipal Borough of Hendon, Middlesex, to Ida and Thirlby Pearce. She attended St Paul's Girls' School and then a finishing school in Switz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sue Limb
Margaret Susan Limb (born 1946) is a British writer and broadcaster. Biography Limb was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Her family moved to Cheltenham where her father worked at GCHQ. Educated at Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham, she studied Elizabethan lyric poetry at Newnham College, Cambridge and then trained in education. While her first published book was a biography of the Antarctic explorer Captain Lawrence Oates co-authored with Patrick Cordingley, later works have been predominantly novels – many of them for young adults – and comedies for radio and television, often with a literary or historical setting. Limb's debut novel '' Up the Garden Path'' was adapted as a BBC Radio 4 sitcom, and subsequently broadcast on television on ITV. For Radio 4, she has written a number of comedy series (which pay unusual attention to music and sound effects): ''The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere'' (a pastiche of the poet William Wordsworth and his circle at Grasmere, two s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jilly Cooper
Dame Jilly Cooper, (born Jill Sallitt; 21 February 1937) is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. Cooper is most famous for writing the '' Rutshire Chronicles''. Early life Jill Sallitt was born in Hornchurch, Essex, England on 21 February 1937, to Mary Elaine (née Whincup) and Brigadier W. B. Sallitt, OBE. She grew up in Ilkley and Surrey, and was educated at the Moorfield School in Ilkley and Godolphin School in Salisbury. Journalism and non-fiction After unsuccessfully trying to begin a career in the British national press, Cooper became a junior reporter for ''The Middlesex Independent'', based in Brentford. She worked for the paper from 1957 to 1959. Subsequently, she worked as an account executive, copywriter, publisher's reader and receptionist. Her break came with a chance meeting at a dinner party. The editor of '' The Sunday T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Her books have sold more than 500 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages. Eight of her novels have been adapted for the screen, either as films or television miniseries. She was the younger sister of Joan Collins, Dame Joan Collins. Early life Collins was born in 1937, in Hampstead, London, the younger daughter of Elsa (née Bessant) Collins (died 1962) and Joseph William Collins (died 1988), a theatrical agent whose clients later included Shirley Bassey, the Beatles, and Tom Jones (singer), Tom Jones. Collins's South African-born father was Jews, Jewish, and her British mother was Anglicanism, Anglican. A middle child, Collins had an elder sister, Joan Collins ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judith Krantz
Judith Krantz (née Tarcher; January 9, 1928 – June 22, 2019) was an American magazine writer, fashion editor, and novelist. Her first novel '' Scruples'' (1978) was a ''New York Times'' best-seller and was translated into 50 languages. ''Scruples'', which describes the glamorous and affluent world of high fashion in Beverly Hills, California, helped define a new sub-genre of the romance novel - the bonkbuster or "sex-and-shopping" novel. She also became a "celebrity author" through her extensive touring and promotion. Her later books included ''Princess Daisy'' (1980), Mistral's Daughter (1982)'' Till We Meet Again'' (1988), ''Dazzle'' (1990), and ''Spring Collection'' (1996). Her autobiography, ''Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl'', was published in 2000. Biography Early years Judith Bluma-Gittel Tarcher was born on January 9, 1928, in New York City, the daughter of Mary (Braeger), a Lithuanian-born attorney, and Jack D. Tarcher, an advertising execu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blockbuster (entertainment)
A blockbuster is a work of entertainment—typically used to describe a feature film produced by a major film studios, but also other media—that is highly popular and financially successful. The term has also come to refer to any large-budget production ''intended'' for "blockbuster" status, aimed at mass markets with associated merchandising, sometimes on a scale that meant the financial fortunes of a film studio or a distributor could depend on it. Etymology The term began to appear in the American press in the early 1940s, referring to the blockbuster bombs, aerial munitions capable of destroying a whole block of buildings. Its first known use in reference to films was in May 1943, when advertisements in '' Variety'' and '' Motion Picture Herald'' described the RKO film, '' Bombardier'', as "The block-buster of all action-thrill-service shows!" Another trade advertisement in 1944 boasted that the war documentary, '' With the Marines at Tarawa'', "hits the heart like a two t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bare Essence
''Bare Essence'' is an American prime time soap opera television series which aired on NBC from February 15 to June 13, 1983, during the 1982–83 season. It starred Genie Francis as Tyger Hayes, and explored the intrigues of the perfume industry. Miniseries (1982) ''Bare Essence'' first appeared in the form of a two-part, 4-hour TV miniseries shown over two nights on October 4 and 5, 1982 on CBS. Based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Meredith Rich, it was directed by Walter Grauman and written by Robert Hamilton. The miniseries starred Bruce Boxleitner as Chase Marshall, Linda Evans as Lady Bobbi Rowan, Genie Francis as Bobbi's daughter Patricia "Tyger" Hayes, Lee Grant as Ava Marshall, Joel Higgins as Matt Phillips and Donna Mills as Barbara Fisher. Francis Benard, John Dehner, Jonathan Frakes, Susan French, Belinda Montgomery and Tim Thomerson appeared in supporting roles. It garnered excellent ratings, but CBS passed on a proposed series, which NBC picked up instead. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princess Daisy (novel)
''Princess Daisy'' is a 1980 novel by American author Judith Krantz. Plot summary The novel tells the story of Princess Marguerite "Daisy" Valensky. She is the daughter of Prince Alexander "Stash" Valensky, a wealthy Russian-born polo player and former playboy, and his wife Francesca Vernon, a beautiful and talented American actress. Stash and Francesca, madly in love, are thrilled by her pregnancy and the news that she is carrying twins. However, a problem during delivery denies one of the twin girls, named Danielle by the doctor who delivered her, enough oxygen, and she is born brain-damaged, while Daisy is healthy. Francesca suffers from acute post-partum depression and enters a fugue state for several weeks. Stash, who has a fear and disgust of illness, disability and abnormality after a childhood spent watching his beloved mother slowly waste away from tuberculosis, is unable to accept or love Danielle, and cannot even bring himself to name her, leaving the doctor to name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princess Daisy (miniseries)
''Princess Daisy'' is a 1983 American television miniseries directed by Waris Hussein, based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Judith Krantz. Plot ''Princess Daisy'' tells the story of a young girl who is sent to England to live with her father, Prince Valensky, after her mother's death in a car crash. Unfortunately, Daisy is immediately separated from her twin sister Dani, who is a special needs child not accepted by their father. When Daisy turns 16, their father dies in a plane accident. The girl is forced to take care of her life herself, especially when her half-brother starts seeing in her more than just a sister. Cast Critical reception Richard Corliss wrote of the miniseries, "Not even trash can guarantee the happy ending, and, alas, it happened to Jane Doe: ''Princess Daisy'' proved a small screen bust." However, ''The Guardian'' was more positive; while it criticized the acting, it concluded, "Despite all that, ''Princess Daisy'' is much better quality kitsch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucky Chances
''Lucky Chances'' is a 1990 television mini-series written by Jackie Collins and based on her bestselling novels '' Chances'' and '' Lucky''. It starred Vincent Irizarry, Sandra Bullock, Eric Braeden Eric Braeden (born Hans-Jörg Gudegast; April 3, 1941) is a German-American film and television actor, known for his roles as Victor Newman (fictional character), Victor Newman (from 1980) on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', as H ..., Nicollette Sheridan, Anne-Marie Johnson, Phil Morris, David McCallum, Richard Anderson and Robert Duncan McNeill. It was directed by Buzz Kulik. Cast References External links * * 1990s American television miniseries 1990 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings Santangelo novels American English-language television shows {{US-tv-film-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chances (novel)
''Chances'' is a 1981 novel by Jackie Collins and the first in her Santangelo novels, ''Santangelo'' novels series. The novel has three focal points, two of them focusing on the main characters of the novel and a third during the New York City blackout of 1977. The novel made the New York Times Bestseller list upon its release. Synopsis ''Chances'' is broken up into parts. The first part looks at the 1977 New York City blackout, blackout in New York City and how this affects the main characters. The second is focused on Gino Santangelo and later includes his children Lucky Santangelo, Lucky and Dario Santangelo, Dario. The third part examines the life of Carrie Berkley and later her son Steven Berkley, Steven. July 14/15 1977, New York City/Philadelphia The New York City blackout of 1977, blackout, a real event that Collins describes in some detail, affects all the major characters either directly or indirectly. * Lucky Santangelo was in Costa Zennocotti's office, trying to co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scruples (novel)
''Scruples'' is a 1978 novel by Judith Krantz. A direct sequel, ''Scruples Two'', was published in 1992. The novel details the life story of protagonist Wilhelmina Hunnewell Winthrop ("Billy"), as she evolves from the overweight "poor relation" in an aristocratic Boston Brahmin family to become a thin, stylish woman who is left a vast fortune by the death of her much older first husband and who founds an upscale Beverly Hills boutique called "Scruples". Plot Born the only child of a distinguished scientist, who is a member of the venerable Winthrop (surname), Winthrop family but must work for a living, Wilhelmina is nicknamed "Honey", a diminutive of her middle name. In her infancy, her mother dies and she is raised by her distant father and a housekeeper. She grows up isolated from her extended family and, with the help of the housekeeper, turns to food for comfort. Around the time she graduates from high school, she is left $10,000 by a maiden aunt, who begs her to spend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
