A Woman of Substance

By: Barbara Taylor Bradford

Narrated by: Diana Quick

Now a major new Channel 4 series starring Brenda Blethyn (Vera) and Jessica Reynolds (Outlander) from OBE‑honoured, award‑winning author Barbara Taylor Bradford

One girl. One secret. One unstoppable ascent.

In 1905 a young kitchen maid leaves Fairley Hall. Emma Harte is sixteen, single and pregnant.

By 1968 she is one of the richest women in the world, ruler of a business empire stretching from Yorkshire to the glittering cities of America and the rugged vastness of Australia.

But what is the price she has paid?

‘Rivals meets Poldark, with a dash of Downton and Dynasty’ Guardian

'Still a story for our times' The Times

‘ [This] blockbuster 1979 period saga of female empowerment has been remade for a new generation' Daily Mail

‘An extravagant, absorbing novel of love, courage, ambition, war, death and passion’ New York Times

‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the best at spinning yarns’ Guardian

Critic reviews

Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford:

‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns’ Guardian

‘As romantic and thrilling as the rest’ Independent on Sunday

‘Another great yarn from the ultimate storyteller’ The Sun

‘An extravagant, absorbing novel of love, courage, ambition, war, death and passion.’
New York Times