‘A Woman of Substance’ author Barbara Taylor Bradford dies at 91

Barbara Taylor Bradford, the renowned British-American author, has died at 91.
The author died Sunday in her home peacefully, her website confirms, “following a short illness” and “surrounded by loved ones to the very end.” A private funeral will be held for the author in New York before she is buried alongside her husband Robert Bradford.
Best known for her 1979 debut novel, “A Woman of Substance,” Bradford went on to become a literary darling, penning 40 novels, many of which were international best-sellers.
USA TODAY has reached out to Bradford’s representatives for comment.
Bradford got her start as a journalist, writing short stories and columns for local magazines in her teens. Beginning as a typist at the Yorkshire Evening Post, she worked her way up the ranks to reporter before moving to London at 20 to become the fashion editor at Woman’s Own.
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Spreading her byline from the London Evening News to Today Magazine and Designing Woman, Bradford wrote about everything from interior design to crime to entertainment.
With strong bona fides in non-fiction, she made the genre leap in her 40s with “A Woman of Subtance” and never looked back.
Her novels, which have sold over 91 million copies to date according to her website, are often centered around fierce women. “A Woman of Substance” in many ways set the tone for her literary career, centering around Emma Harte, a servant with little to her name who rises to become an international business maven.
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“You have to write about what you know. I suppose I’m strong woman myself,” she told The New York Times in 1979. Harte was the gift that kept on giving as Bradford spun her story into sequel after sequel. Her rags-to-riches tale became a sensation among readers.
“I’m not going to go down in history as a great literary figure. I’m a commercial writer — a storyteller. I suppose I will always write about strong women. I don’t mean hard women, though. (I) mean women of substance,” Bradford told the Times.
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Her spate of novels made Bradford herself one of those women, worth more than $200 million in the end, the Associated Press reports. She was honored with a postage stamp in the U.K. in 1999.
In 1963, the author married television producer Bob Bradford, who would later help turn 10 of her novels into films or TV series. He died in 2019.
The television adaptation of “A Woman of Substance” starring Jenny Seagrove and Liam Neeson was both a commercial and critical success, garnering two Emmy nominations.
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Seagrove remembered Bradford fondly in an obituary posted to the author’s website. “Success never diluted her warmth and humour or her ability to relate to everyone she met, whether a cleaner or a princess,” the actress said. “She never, ever forgot that she was just a girl from Yorkshire that worked hard and made good. RIP dear friend.”
HarperCollins CEO Charlie Redmayne also said, “Barbara Taylor Bradford was 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. … For 45 years, she was a huge part of our company and a great, great friend – we will miss her so much — but there is some solace in the knowledge that she is now, once again, alongside her beloved Bob. A life well-lived.”