The Woman of Substance: The Secret Life That Inspired the Renowned Storyteller Barbara Taylor Bradford

The definitive biography of Barbara Taylor Bradford, author of twenty-one top-of-the-lists blockbuster bestsellers, starting with A Woman of Substance

For the first time ever, take a fascinating look at the remarkable life of Barbara Taylor Bradford. Her first book, A Woman of Substance, is one of the bestselling novels of all time and has made her one of the most successful authors in the world. Yet her rise to fame and fortune was not an easy one. Barbara came from humble beginnings in Yorkshire, the only daughter of a laborer and a nanny. From an early age, her mother Freda had marked her daughter out for glory---at any cost. This drive, ambition, and desire to triumph helped Barbara take the Yorkshire Evening Post and Fleet Street by storm. But her biggest achievement was undeniably A Woman of Substance. The novel's unforgettable heroine, Emma Harte, was a powerful, success-fuelled woman whose rise from kitchen maid to international business woman was an inspiration to women the world over. Emma's life is a testament to Barbara's imagination but here, for the first time, Piers Dudgeon unearths amazing parallels in the lives of Barbara's fictional characters and her real-life family. More remarkable still is that Barbara herself was previously completely unaware of these deeply buried secrets. In this incredible story, fact and fiction exist side by side and art unwittingly imitates life. This is the first time Barbara Taylor Bradford has collaborated on a memoir of her amazing life. Full of revelations, it's as absorbing a read as any one of her bestsellers.