IMPORTANT NOTE- There has been a push for Authors/publishers to "adapt" their back catalog to align with today's "tastes". If you have a choice between borrowing 2 different publishing years, choose the earlier publishing date to ensure you have the original "bodice-ripper" version.
The genre "Bodice Ripper" refers to any romance novel published during the 1970's -2000, regardless of the "heat" level. For this collection I am only including books which meet the below definition:
The stories often feature a dominant alpha male. Sometimes there will be violence, i.e., rape or physical abuse toward the heroine of the story. According to "Art and Pop Culture", 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.
Heroes run the gamut from aristocrats to highwaymen, from gamblers to pirates. They were universally strong, physically fit, demanding, prone to choosing action over inaction.
These romances featured book covers which generally depict a female whose bodice is being ripped by a muscular, often shirtless man.
You can read or borrow a book if the bar underneath the cover says "Borrow" or "Read." If a book says it is "not in library" or "checked out," another copy might still be available! Click on the book's cover to see if you can borrow one of the other editions.
To view all the books in the collection- "click" on the subject headings (e,g, Medieval Bodice Ripper to 1600's) to see all the book's in a list view.
The Collection is mainly sorted by time period in which the story takes place.
Some newer books, published years 2000 and on, are here, but are primarily in their own collection called "Dark Romance".
If you are seeking earlier published "Bodice rippers" known as "sleazy pulp" there is a separate collection which covers 1940-1970.
If you would like to have a book added to this collection, you can request it here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e0sNUs__SH09mVaoj-EOngo8t0LaL7Ord41faj7Isp8/edit?usp=drivesdk
History
- Created September 8, 2022
- 55 revisions
| February 5, 2024 | Edited by ditchqueen | Edited without comment. |
| April 6, 2023 | Edited by ditchqueen | Edited without comment. |
| February 21, 2023 | Edited by ditchqueen | Edited without comment. |
| February 21, 2023 | Edited by ditchqueen | Edited without comment. |
| September 8, 2022 | Created by Mek | Edited without comment. |