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Bestselling British-American writer Barbara Taylor Bradford, whose debut novel A Woman of Substance turned her into an overnight success and sold over 30 million copies, has died aged 91, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

Taylor Bradford, who wrote 40 novels and notched up 91 million book sales worldwide during her career, died peacefully at her home on Sunday following a short illness.

She “was surrounded by loved ones to the very end”, the spokeswoman said, adding that a private funeral would be held in New York.

A Woman of Substance tells the story of servant Emma Harte, who overcomes a humble start in Taylor Bradford’s native Yorkshire in northern England to head a business empire and navigate numerous personal tragedies.

Many of her subsequent novels are also set in Yorkshire and follow a similar rags-to-riches theme, echoing her story of success against the odds, powered by grit and hard work.

“What I wanted to do was to write about a very strong woman, because I’m strong,” she told an interviewer in 1983.

“That doesn’t mean I’m tough or hard but I have the strength to meet adversity, not to give in,” she said, adding that she wrote 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Her most recent novel The Wonder of it All was published last year.

Born in Leeds in northern England in May 1933, Taylor Bradford began her working life at age 15 as a typist for her local newspaper The Yorkshire Evening Post before becoming a reporter.

She moved to London aged 20 where she continued working as a journalist while dipping her toe into the world of fiction.

She started and abandoned several novels before striking gold with A Woman of Substance, which was an instant success when it was published in 1979.

The novel spent 45 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It was turned into a double Emmy-nominated miniseries in 1985 and starred Liam Neeson with British actor Jenny Seagrove in the role of Emma Harte.

Seagrove paid tribute to a “dear friend” and “powerhouse of glamour and warmth”.

“Success never diluted her warmth and humour or her ability to relate to everyone she met, whether a cleaner or a princess. She never, ever forgot that she was just a girl from Yorkshire who worked hard and made good,” she said.

Charlie Redmayne, chief executive of publisher HarperCollins, described Taylor Bradford as a “truly exceptional writer”. A Woman Of Substance changed the lives of so many who read it — and still does to this day,“ he said.

“She was a natural storyteller, deeply proud of her Yorkshire roots. For 45 years, she was a huge part of our company and a great, great friend — we will miss her so much,” he added.

Taylor Bradford was honoured in 2007 by the late Queen Elizabeth II who made her an OBE (officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to literature. She had lived in the United States since 1964 following her marriage the previous year to American film producer Robert Bradford. The couple were married for 55 years until he died in 2019.

Taylor Bradford’s spokeswoman said she would be buried alongside her late husband at Westchester Hills Cemetery, north of New York City.

Originally published in Dawn, November 26th, 2024