Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous discussion

Hi everyone!!

I want to check in with you guys to discuss your favorite Bodice Ripper TROPES.



The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a Bodice Ripper as:
"a historical or Gothic romance typically featuring scenes in which the heroine is subjected to violence."


tv Tropes does not appear to have a separate page that lists Bodice Ripper tropes (only one for romance novels in general), but there are two novels that I found which have their tropes listed:

Forever Amber

and

The Flame and the Flower

Our own Wendy also listed many Romance Tropes on her blog: Sweet Savage Flame. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to post outside links in this thread, sorry!

What are your favorite tropes?

How do you like your heroes and heroine?

Which trope do you never want to see again?

Trope examples:

- Pirate with a heart of gold
- Tightlaced corsets in the wrong historical time
- Crazy Ex
- Nice fiancé was a psycho murderer all along

etc.

Great post, Caro!

I'm an old-fashioned girl in some ways, so my favorite is a good kidnapping or captor-captive plot. Forced marriages, I enjoy too. In bodice rippers, I also like revenge plots, not revenge against a family member like the brother of the heroine, but against the heroine herself, perhaps for spurning the hero.

A plot that's more common in newer romances is the heroine in pursuit, although if I find them in older books, that's always a plus for me.

For some reason, I love wicked other women. I know some readers don't like it when the other woman is a bitch (in order to make the heroine look saintly in comparison), but I grew up on crazy telenovelas and the villains were way OTT and usually came to bad ends like being devoured by a crocodile, or drowning in quicksand. I like really nasty villains who get their comeuppance.

Hate big misunderstandings where the plot would be resolved if the hero & heroine would just talk rather than argue and bang like bunnies. Also, hate when the hero is mourning for a dead love. Like I said, I don't another woman competing for the hero, she just has to be alive and part of the story.

Strong independent heroines are fine and welcome, but I can't stand anachronistic ones who behave in ways that would get them ruined and they suffer no social consequences. Lots of BR heroines were outcasts for their behaviors, and in part, that's why some continent hopped: they were looking for a new place to start without scandal.

I'm totally in agreement with Wendy's likes and dislikes..but one I dislike the most and wont read, is what I call "Pass-around-Polly"
( I have a shelf just for them ) That's when pretty much the whole story is about the female character being passed around by a lot of men, and she accepts her lot in life then ends up with the guy who started the rape/pass around. And forgives and loves him..nope not my cuppa..

I love an alpha rogue! I tend to like the H to be in a powerful position. Forced marriages, revenge, secret pregnancy, ect.

I like a strong h! There are many types of strong. A h can be quite, mature, opinionated or feisty. I hate a shrew!

I avoid books: with amnesia- they rarely done well. Misunderstandings that could have been fixed in 5 min. of conversation. "Pass-around-Polly" - not big on that either Sandi. I also don't like nonstop rape by a villian.

My favorite trope is enemies to lovers, where both the MMC & FMC have legitimate reasons to hate one another, and the hate feels real.

While I can read it, my least favorite trope is probably long separations. I like feeling the tension, angst, turmoil, push and pull between the couple while reading - long separations sometimes waters that out.

I totally get those.

My favorite kind of heroine are actually two distinct types:

Type A: the Scarlett O'Hara. Vain, selfish, single-minded, driven, ambitious, superficial, cutting and mean. Could be a glorious diva or a scheming villainess. Essentially just a very bad girl, whether she knows and celebrates it or doesn't know and thinks she's great. I really like this type of heroine. One extreme example of the Mean Girl is the heroine of Wideacre. She is a despotic, incestuous murderer. The reason why I like this type of heroine is because she has an agenda, and she sticks with it. What I absolutely can't stand is a goody-two-shoes heroine who is holierthanthou and then gets betrayed by her body.

Type B is the Snared Rabbit. Like Anna Champion in Lemonade, this heroine may be strongwilled and feisty, but she is no criminal mastermind. Instead, she is at the wrong place at the wrong time pissing off the wrong man (the heinous hero) and suffers the consequences. The Rabbit is trapped into an arrangement she doesn't want and fights, but her methods are very different from the alpha heroine posturing, screaming, plotting and violence. She rejects and fights the hero and the antagonists in quieter ways, although she is by no means a passive tool of her fate.

Tropes I hate:

The Doormat Pretzel: a heroine who bends over backwards while licking the foot of people who treat her with malice and disdain. A timid crsature who will find excuses for a hero who rapes her and cheats with a whole circus of other women which he parades in front of her. She lets other get away with anything and everything and avoids conflict at all cost. She has no respect for herself and therefore no one else does either. This trope is at its worst when the usually roguish hero gets away with his antics to the end, without any attempt at atonement or a demand by the heroine that he do better.

The Untouched Widow Who Doesn't Know What A Penis Looks Like: puh-leaze


Every Place is Like Home: the heroine visits another country and everyone acts the same way as in Victorian England.

Teaching the Naughty Vicount: the heroine is a dull, plain teacher (ugh) and the hot womanizing hero finds her dark frock and artless coiffure and sensible shoes so fascinating he falls in love (I also hate plots with spinsters and nannies)

The Makeover: I don't need a heroine to get dolled up for her man

The Pirate who Opposes Rape on Principle Because Feminism: same goes for highwaymen. If the plot has a hero from the organized crime milieu, him being offended by rape just doesn't make any sense. The hero doesn't have to be a rapist himself, but a Captain or Highwaymen Chief who forbids his crew from raping women on principle just sounds unrealistic to me.

Talk no Jutsu: the heroine is dumb as a toaster but she rspeatedly convinces random strangers to help her for free, just by talking to them and appealing to their higher selves.

Racist crap: the white heroine is pure, the brown concubine is an evil seductress etc.

From Orgasm to Love: the heroine thinks she's in love after one night with the hero, often despite being raped. Girl, you don't know him!

Tropes I love:

Abduction and Captivity

Auctions of any kind, be it for a dance or a kiss

Several Lovers: both for the heroine and the hero ("lovers" means people the heroine chose to be with herself)

Evil siblings and supportive siblings: I love it when the hero and/or heroine have a family with several siblings that have distinct personalities to give them flavor.

Doppelgängers: cheesy but I love those

My Big Fat Greek Tragic Wedding: one messy festival or incident during which everything goes wrong and the world changes overnight, think the Red Wedding Episode on GOT.

From Hot Coals into the Frying Pan: the bad situation everyone is in just keeps getting worse as the characters eat the consequences of their actions. See: Eden series by Marilyn Harris

Generally I just love it when everyone goes nuts and the plot is an OTT train wreck where you just can't look away.

Caro ♡ Hot Mess Sommelière wrote: "I totally get those.

My favorite kind of heroine are actually two distinct types:

Type A: the Scarlett O'Hara. Vain, selfish, single-minded, driven, ambitious, superficial, cutting and mean. Coul..."

Caro!! You have perfectly described the heroines that I stan for! I love a heroine who is not afraid to be authentic to her nature. If she is supposed to be a seducer, own it. If she is scrappy, show it. I hate the switcheroo that happens in newer romances where the courtesan or the rake is actually not that at all. This is why if a heroine is "mean" or "selfish" or "angry", I will generally give them rope because most times, a heroine is written to be so performative about her morals so we know to "like" and "root" for her.

And the snared rabbit - oof I love this heroine especially when she is paired up with a dangerous alpha, and usually if the heroine is then a spinster or a wallflower, I enjoy this type of power dynamic.

Fav Tropes:

Obsessive alpha heroes who are unpredictable. I like heroes who cannot control their attraction to the heroine. Add on to that, if they feel like they can't trust the heroine - even better!

Class differences. I have a fondness for guttersnipe heroines because they can act in ways most ladies cannot, they are also physically capable, and can be sassy.

Least fav tropes:

Not down with doormat heroines, the ones who have no self respect/life/will of her own. I don't mind heroines who deal with insecurity or confidence issues but it comes down to how well the author writes that psychological characterization.

Related to this, the dumb heroine who is scared and helpless, almost as though she is written for the male gaze - she has no interior life. I think it's realistic for a heroine to be scared if she is put in life-or-death situations, but I also would like a little more going on inside, or some growth to happen.

Big misunderstanding. I hate it when they either don't have time to tell the truth OR they tell the truth and the other person does not believe them, or still decides to punish them.

irene, I love your take!! I love characters who are unafraid to be themselves.

as you wrote, class differences can be a great trope when done right and I do love a heroine who is working class and capable.

Caro ♡ Hot Mess Sommelière wrote: "irene, I love your take!! I love characters who are unafraid to be themselves.

as you wrote, class differences can be a great trope when done right and I do love a heroine who is working class and..."

Thank you! :)

That's a great post! I see most BR readers tend to prefer the same tropes.

I'm not difficult, what I prefer is a the hero being obsessed with the heroine,even when he thinks he hates her, he can be cruel, forceful, a cheater but the heroine must be his obsession. Exp: Lemonade, Stormfire, The Silver Devil.
On the other hand the heroine needs to have some selfesteem.
Class difference is great, but it's rare to have a real one. Most poor FMCs are the secret daughters of some lord.
A trope that I love is interracial relationships, when the hero is uber snob , and he falls for a black woman or an indian american (I never found a BR about a bwwm couple though!).

What I hate: Doormat, too forgiving heroines. Heroine being raped by others, like you well called it "the pass around polly".

It also comes down to how well author writes the book. I do not mind If heroine has another relationship if she is separated from hero but not like numerous ones. Again, it comes down to how well written it is. My preference is an only relationship with hero, though.

I like it when heroine shows little interest in hero, maybe she is interested in another man or she does not like him for whatever reason as in Flesh and the Devil, Trade Winds.
Do not like instant love.

If anyone know of any similar books let me know.

Meredith, aka Sock Puppet M wrote: "My favorite trope is enemies to lovers, where both the MMC & FMC have legitimate reasons to hate one another, and the hate feels real.

While I can read it, my least favorite trope is probably lon..."

I 100% agree with you! Those are both my favorite and least favorites!!!!

I also LOVE crazy obsessed villain's- male or female. I also love villain's who get the girl :)

Snobby, arrogant hero's also are a win for me as long as they redeem themselves.

I don't like amnesia stories or feisty TSTL heroines.