Definition

Noun: A type of popular romantic novel, typically set in a historical period, characterized by melodramatic plots and scenes of passionate, often forceful, sexual encounter, frequently involving the heroine.

Usage

This term is used to describe a specific, often formulaic, subgenre of romance fiction. It is sometimes used humorously or pejoratively to highlight the genre's stereotypical elements of dramatic passion and historical setting.

Examples

• Noun:
  • She spent her vacation reading a bodice ripper set in Victorian England.
  • The bookstore has a whole section dedicated to bodice rippers.

Advanced Usage

• The term itself can be used metaphorically to describe any overly melodramatic narrative with elements of forced passion.
  • Their political scandal was described by the press as a real-life bodice ripper.

Variants and Related Words

• Historical romance (n): A more neutral term for a romance novel set in the past, which may or may not contain the stereotypical "bodice ripper" elements.

Synonyms

• Historical romance novel
• Melodramatic romance

Related Idioms/Phrases

• While not a phrasal verb, the term "rip the bodice" is the implied action central to the genre's cliché.
  • The plot inevitably leads to a scene where the hero rips the bodice of the heroine's gown.

Noun

1. a romantic novel containing scenes in which the heroine is sexually violated