Barbara Taylor Bradford, “the grande dame of best-selling novels”, dies at the age of 91.

It has been announced that best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford, author of A Woman Of Substance, has died at the age of 91.

The author died peacefully at her home on Sunday, November 24, after a short illness, “and surrounded by her loved ones until the very end,” the spokeswoman added.

She has written a total of 40 novels throughout her career, with the most recent, The Wonder of It All, published last year.

Often called “the grande dame of blockbusters,” her books have sold over 91 million copies to date and have been published in over 40 languages ​​and 90 countries.

She was born in Leeds in May 1933, the only child of Winston and Freda Taylor.

She started working as a typist at the Yorkshire Evening Post before working her way up to reporter and then becoming the paper’s first female editor.

At the age of 20 she moved to London and worked on Fleet Street for Woman’s Own and the London Evening News.

She met her husband, American film producer Robert Bradford, in 1961 and they fell in love at first sight, marrying in London on Christmas Eve 1963.

The following year she moved to New York to live with him.

The couple was married for 55 years until his death in 2019 from a serious stroke.

Taylor Bradford, while continuing her career in journalism, began writing several novels and abandoned them until she hit her big break with the publication of A Woman Of Substance in 1979, making her an overnight success .

The plot tells the story of Emma Harte’s journey, despite numerous personal tragedies along the way, from serving in rural Yorkshire to leading a business empire.

It became a huge bestseller and was followed by many other successful books.

A television adaptation of A Woman Of Substance followed in 1985, starring Liam Neeson and Jenny Seagrove as Emma Harte. It aired on Channel 4 and earned two Emmy nominations, including for six-time Oscar nominee Deborah Kerr, who played the adult Emma.

Seagrove said: “It’s 1984 and I’m about to meet the world-famous legend that is Barbara Taylor Bradford. I starred in a miniseries based on her best-selling novel, A Woman Of Substance, and it’s really important to me that she’s happy. I’m a young actress and I’m very nervous.

“The door opens and all I can say is that a power of charm and warmth rushes towards me, grabs me, hugs me and says… ‘You are my Emma Harte.’ And so began a long friendship with a force of nature I am proud to call my friend – Barbara Taylor Bradford.

“We saw each other whenever she and her beloved Bob were in London. I made Hold The Dream for them as another mini-series.

“We shared stories about dogs – we are both fascinated – and talked about everything under the sun. She never changed. Success never diminished her warmth and humor or her ability to connect with everyone she met, whether a cleaning lady or a princess. She never, ever forgot that she was just a Yorkshire girl who worked hard and achieved success. RIP, dear friend.

The author later published A Man Of Honor, a prequel to A Woman Of Substance which begins five years before the original and follows Blackie O’Neill as he leaves Co Kerry for Leeds to build a better life and meets maid Emma Harte.

Other books also became series, including The Ravenscar Trilogy, which began in the Edwardian era and followed the loves and dealings of the DeRavenel family, the Cavendon series, which focused on the changing fortunes of an aristocratic line, and the Victorian-set trilogy The House of Falconer Series.

Other TV adaptations of her books include ITV’s Act of Will, starring Elizabeth Hurley and Victoria Tennant, and To Be The Best, the sequel to A Woman Of Substance starring Lindsay Wagner, Stephanie Beacham and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Taylor Bradford was awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to literature.

Charlie Redmayne, chief executive of publisher HarperCollins, said: “Barbara Taylor Bradford was a truly extraordinary writer whose first book, the international bestseller A Woman Of Substance, changed the lives of so many readers – and continues to do so.

“She was a born storyteller, deeply proud of her Yorkshire roots – she told us about her time working at the Yorkshire Evening Post with fellow reporter Keith Waterhouse and trainee photographer Peter O’Toole, the early days of Soho’s café community and the many happy years she spent with the love of her life , husband Bob.

“She was an important part of our company for 45 years and a great, great friend – she will be greatly missed – but there is some comfort in knowing that she is now back by her beloved Bob’s side. A life well lived…

Taylor Bradford is also involved in charity activities, including: as an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust in the UK and on the board of Literacy Partners in the US.

On X, the trust said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Barbara Taylor Bradford. She was a passionate ambassador for many years. We are incredibly grateful that her work continues to leave a lasting legacy in literacy.”

She has received several honorary doctorates in literature from the US and UK, such as the University of Leeds, the University of Bradford, Connecticut’s Post University, and the New York institutions Siena College and Mount Saint Mary College.

Taylor Bradford also served on the board of Literacy Partners US, the Police Athletic League and Reporters Without Borders, was a patron of the Leeds Library and was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Journalism.

The Yorkshire Society, of which Taylor Bradford was vice-president, said she left behind a “wonderful legacy”.

Women in Journalism called her “an inspiration to so many women journalists.”

After a private funeral in New York, the author will be buried with her late husband at Westchester Hills Cemetery.