Barbara Taylor Bradford Dies: ‘A Woman Of Substance’ Author Was 91

Barbara Taylor Bradford, author of A Woman of Substance, which was adapted into a hugely successful Channel 4 drama series, has died aged 91. Taylor Bradford died yesterday after a short illness.

Bradford’s publisher Harper Collins confirmed the news this morning. The publisher’s CEO Charlie Redmayne described her as a “truly exceptional writer whose first book, the international bestseller A Woman of Substance, changed the lives of so many who read it – and still does to this day.”

Taylor Bradford was born in Leeds in 1933, moving to London in her twenties where she first started writing.

In 1979, she published her rags-to-riches debut A Woman of Substance about protagonist Emma Harte and the retail empire created by her and her family. The book sold 30 million copies worldwide and made a star of Taylor Bradford, who went on to write six more in the series.

A Woman of Substance was made into a Channel 4 drama series in 1984 starring Jenny Seagrove. It was watched by 14 million people, which remains a Channel 4 record, and was nominated for two Emmys. Another nine of Taylor Bradford’s books were made into TV mini series or movies over the years, all of which were produced by her husband Robert E. Bradford, the American film producer who died in 2019. These included Hold the Dream, To Be The Best, Act of Will and Voice of the Heart from the Emma Harte saga.

Taylor Bradford was prolific and wrote many other books including the Ravenscar trilogy, Cavendon chronicles and House of Falconer trilogy, the last of which was written last year, titled The Wonder Of It All, which was her 40th novel.

Paying tribute, her publisher and editor Lynne Drew told the BBC: “Dominating the bestseller lists, she broke new ground with her sweeping epic novels spanning generations, novels which were resolutely not romances, and she epitomised the woman of substance she created, particularly with her ruthless work ethic.”