US novelist Winsor's 1945 novel Forever Amber was a world-wide blockbuster, selling two million copies in hardback alone, except in Australia where it was banned in 1945. Pioneering the bodice-ripping, bawdy, historical romance novel, the book was popularly known as 'Amber' and its banning much discussed in the Australian press. It was made into a Hollywood film, in which Winsor herself had a small part, and inspired many imitators. Winsor became a minor celebrity, but attempted in subsequent books to write more serious, high brow 'literary' novels.
