Barbara Taylor Bradford had ‘elegance, poise and steely determination’

The journalist, whom Barbara Taylor Bradford called the first woman of value, hailed the late author as a person characterized by “elegance, poise and steely determination.”

The awards were presented to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Taylor Bradford’s debut novel, “A Woman of Substance,” which was first published in 1979 and told the story of a servant who eventually became the head of a business empire.

In 2009, Lisa Salmon from Leeds was named the first woman to receive the award after overcoming adversity following a 2001 car and truck accident that left her virtually blind.

A year later, her newborn son died in her arms.

Taylor Bradford died on Sunday at the age of 91 after a short illness, “surrounded by her loved ones until the end,” her spokeswoman said.

Ms Salmon said: “I think at least part of the reason BTB, as everyone called her, chose me to win this award is because she was from Leeds, where I live, and she was also a journalist before she started writing novels , so there were clear similarities in our early lives.

“I met her several times and was struck by her elegance, poise and steely determination – it was absolutely clear that BTB was a woman who understood what it takes to succeed in life.

“But even though she had lost her Yorkshire accent after so many years of living in the US, she still retained her Yorkshire warmth and I definitely got the impression that even though I won the award, it was Barbara Taylor Bradford herself who was the real Woman of Substance.”

Ms Salmon, family editor and senior health, home and reactive writer at the PA news agency, said she was “honoured” to receive the award.

At a ceremony at London’s Dorchester Hotel more than 10 years ago, Taylor Bradford said: ‘Lisa’s story is incredible.

“She had to deal with not one, but a series of tragedies that caused her enormous physical and emotional pain, she had to find the strength to continue, and she had to overcome great adversity to rediscover herself and live her life to the fullest.”

Ms Salmon also suffered from rheumatoid arthritis as a young child, her father died when she was a child and while on holiday she discovered she had a potentially fatal blood clot in her leg.

After cataract surgery, she regained some vision in one eye and supported Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which saved her life after a collision near Skipton.