Sue Limb
Encyclopedia
Sue Limb is a British
writer and broadcaster. She studied Elizabethan lyric poetry at Cambridge and then trained in education. She lives on an organic farm near Nailsworth
, Gloucestershire.
She is the co-author of a biography of Antarctic
explorer Captain Oates
. Her work includes novels – many of them for young adults – a sitcom for ITV
television and BBC Radio 4
, Up the Garden Path
. For Radio 4, she has written a number of comedy series :The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere (two series), The Sit-Crom, Four Joneses and a Jenkins and Alison and Maud – and Growing Pains, a documentary about ageing, Hilaire Belloc and Cities (six programmes of literary anthology).
Under the name Dulcie Domum, Limb wrote Bad Housekeeping, a humorous weekly column in The Guardian
s Guardian Weekend section between 1988 and 2001. Collections of the columns, a feminist novelist's diaries of a rural idyll gone wrong, were republished in book form. The books, reissued by Solidus Press in 2002, are listed below. In 1989, as Domum, Limb coined the term "bonkbuster", a play on "blockbuster"
and the verb "to bonk", a British slang term for sexual intercourse
. In 2002 the Oxford English Dictionary
recognized this word for the first time, defining it as "a type of popular novel characterized by frequent explicit sexual encounters between the characters." Limb commented on the honour, "It's an unexpected event. People keep telling me I've made my place in history, so I can die happily now."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer and broadcaster. She studied Elizabethan lyric poetry at Cambridge and then trained in education. She lives on an organic farm near Nailsworth
Nailsworth
Nailsworth is a town in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds. It has a population of around 6,600 people and lies on the A46 road....
, Gloucestershire.
She is the co-author of a biography of Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
explorer Captain Oates
Lawrence Oates
Captain Lawrence Edward Grace Oates was an English Antarctic explorer, known for the manner of his death, when he walked from a tent into a blizzard, with the words "I am just going outside and may be some time"....
. Her work includes novels – many of them for young adults – a sitcom for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television and BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, Up the Garden Path
Up the Garden Path
Up the Garden Path was a 1984 novel by Sue Limb which was then adapted into a radio series by BBC Radio 4 and later into a television sitcom by Granada TV for ITV...
. For Radio 4, she has written a number of comedy series :The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere (two series), The Sit-Crom, Four Joneses and a Jenkins and Alison and Maud – and Growing Pains, a documentary about ageing, Hilaire Belloc and Cities (six programmes of literary anthology).
Under the name Dulcie Domum, Limb wrote Bad Housekeeping, a humorous weekly column in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Guardian Weekend section between 1988 and 2001. Collections of the columns, a feminist novelist's diaries of a rural idyll gone wrong, were republished in book form. The books, reissued by Solidus Press in 2002, are listed below. In 1989, as Domum, Limb coined the term "bonkbuster", a play on "blockbuster"
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
and the verb "to bonk", a British slang term for sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. In 2002 the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
recognized this word for the first time, defining it as "a type of popular novel characterized by frequent explicit sexual encounters between the characters." Limb commented on the honour, "It's an unexpected event. People keep telling me I've made my place in history, so I can die happily now."
Works
- Captain Oates, Soldier and Explorer (with Patrick Cordingley), Batsford, 1982, ISBN 0-7134-2693-4
- Up the Garden PathUp the Garden PathUp the Garden Path was a 1984 novel by Sue Limb which was then adapted into a radio series by BBC Radio 4 and later into a television sitcom by Granada TV for ITV...
, Transworld, 1984, ISBN 0-370-30595-7 - Love Forty, Transworld, 1986
- The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere, Bantam, 1987, ISBN 0-593-01296-8
- Chicken Mission, Orchard, 1988, ISBN 1-86039-081-1
- Tree Trouble, Orchard, 1988, ISBN 1-85213-096-2
- Love's Labours, Transworld, 1989, ISBN 0-7278-5253-1
- Me Jane, Orchard, 1989, ISBN 1-86039-084-6
- Big Trouble, Orchard, 1990, ISBN 1-85213-097-0
- Dulcie Domum's Bad Housekeeping, Fourth Estate (reissued by Solidus Press 2002), 1990, ISBN 1-872180-27-2
- Sheep's Eyes and Hogwash, Heinemann, 1992, ISBN 0-434-42446-3
- More Bad Housekeeping, Fourth Estate (reissued by Solidus Press 2002), 1992, ISBN 1-85702-151-7
- Come Back, Grandma, Red Fox, 1993, ISBN 0-09-921951-4
- Dulcie Dishes the Dirt, Fourth Estate (reissued by Solidus Press 2002), 1994, ISBN 1-85702-236-X
- Passion Fruit, Heinemann, 1995, ISBN 0-434-00278-X
- Enlightenment, Heinemann, 1997, ISBN 0-434-00280-1
- Dulcie Goes Native, Severn House (reissued by Solidus Press 2002), 1998, ISBN 0-9543377-9-4
- Big and Little, Orchard, 1999, ISBN 1-85213-073-3
- You At The Back Stop Laughing, Beaver Books, 1999, ISBN 0-09-942670-6
- China LeeChina LeeChina Lee, born Margaret Lee, is an American model and actress. She was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for the August 1964 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Pompeo Posar. She was the first Asian American Playmate...
(reissued as You're Amazing, Mr Jupiter), Orchard, 2004, ISBN 1-852-13031-9 - Girl, 15, Charming But Insane, Bloomsbury, 2004, ISBN 0-7475-7185-6
- Girl (Nearly) 16: Absolute Torture, Bloomsbury, 2005, ISBN 0-7475-7562-2
- Girl 16: Pants on Fire, Bloomsbury, 2006, ISBN 0-7475-8216-5
- Ruby Rogers is a Waste of Space, Bloomsbury, 2006, ISBN 0-7475-8321-8
- Ruby Rogers: Yeah Whatever..., Bloomsbury, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7475-8322-6
- Girl, 15, Flirting for England, Bloomsbury, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7475-8477-3
- Zoe and Chloe: On the Prowl, Bloomsbury, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7475-8272-4
- Ruby Rogers is a Walking Legend, Bloomsbury, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7475-8323-3
- Girl, 16, Five-Star Fiasco, Bloomsbury, 2010
- Chocolate SOS, Bloomsbury, 2012