A Woman of Substance

By Barbara Taylor Bradford

The unputdownable multi-million copy bestseller charting the rags to riches story of Emma Harte

With new Foreword from Fern Britton.

A WOMAN'S AMBITION…
In the brooding moors above a humble Yorkshire village stood Fairley Hall. There, Emma Harte, its oppressed but resourceful servant girl, acquired a shrewd determination. There, she honed her skills, discovered the meaning of treachery, learned to survive, to become a woman, and vowed to make her mark on the world.

A JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME…
In the wake of tragedy she rose from poverty to magnificent wealth as the iron-willed force behind a thriving international enterprise. As one of the richest women in the world Emma Harte has almost everything she fought so hard to achieve-save for the dream of love, and for the passion of the one man she could never have.

A DREAM FULFILLED-AND AVENGED.
Through two marriages, two devastating wars, and generations of secrets, Emma's unparalleled success has come with a price. As greed, envy, and revenge consume those closest to her, the brilliant matriarch now finds herself poised to outwit her enemies, and to face the betrayals of the past with the same ingenious resolve that forged her empire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Nov 12, 2009
• ISBN: 9780007346943

Barbara Taylor Bradford

Barbara Taylor Bradford was born and raised in Leeds, and worked as a journalist in London. Her first novel, A Woman of Substance, is one of the bestelling novels of all time and Barbara’s books have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. In 2007, Barbara was appointed an OBE by the Queen for her services to literature. Ten miniseries and television movies have been made of her books. She currently lives in New York City.

Reviews for A Woman of Substance

[raggedtig · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Not impressed in the least with this book. Characters popped up out of nowhere, the storyline was dry, and I just lacked any kind of care at all for any of these characters. The climax of the story was the biggest disappointment. You figure that Bradford builds you up so much on who the father is going to be just to find out that it's someone that hasn't been mentioned in this novel until the last few pages. Horrible.

[caropg_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First, a confesion, by accident I bought the 5th bookof this saga (Unexpected Blessings) without knowning that it was a saga. They kept mentioning past events, but since they talked about it I was able to enjoy the book without reading the precedent books. However,in a recent sale of my local library I saw Emma's secret and thought,well that's the same author of that book I liked. Well was I in for a surprise!.Anyway, Emma's secret is the fourth book of the Emma Harte's saga, (The first book is A woman of substance,and I already reserved it from the library) It continues the story of the Harte family, a wealthy family from England,that got the emporium stablished by hard working. I will not give the details, because I don't want you knowing the end details like I did. But praise to the author!. The descriptions of the scenary are gorgeous. Also, and this part I loved, is the way she describes all the dresses :). I am a girl after all. But I believe the construction of the characters is delightful, you can actually get carried on their lifes, going trough the pages to know what's happening know.I find it funny how she "writes" the accents, the way people who are from outside London would talk, I'm not sure if I liked it, but I sure find it easier to build the characters in my head with this.I hope you enjoy the book, I specially lkied Linnet and Tessa as characters, opposite as they may be. As for Evan...I think her character could be stronger, but at the same time I guess is that fragility that makes her lovable trough the book. Now, Paula is a strong character, a determined mother that would do anything necessary to protect her bussiness and most importantly her family.

[soosthemoose · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the first three books in the series and this is a nice continuation.

[sueincyprus · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Emma Harte is an ambitious servant-girl who eventually rises to become a wealthy businesswoman. A little far-fetched at times, but the book was quite readable.

[elkehannover · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Inhaltsangabe:Dieser Titel besagt sinntgemäß, das nur Rache die Würze des Lebens ist. Emma Harte’s Antrieb zu Geld und Macht ist einzig und allein Rache.Schon mit 12 Jahren beginnt sie Anfang des 20.ten Jahrhunderts im Hause Fairley als Dienstmädchen zu arbeiten. Sie kommt aus ärmlichen Verhältnissen und die gesamte Familie (Emmas Vater und ihre zwei Brüder) steht in den Diensten der Familie Fairley. Die Erzählung beginnt, als Emmas Mutter stirbt. Stets von ihrem Ehrgeiz getrieben, endlich aus dieser Armut heraus zu kommen, arbeitet Emma sehr hart und unermüdlich. Sie spart jeden Penny, um irgendwann nach Leeds gehen zu können – dort, wo der Reichtum liegen soll.Edwin Fairley, der jüngste Sohn des Hauses, kann Emma von seiner Liebe zu ihr überzeugen und verführt sie in einer schwachen Minute. Jedoch nicht folgenlos: Sie wird schwanger. Als sie ihm von der Schwangerschaft berichtet, wird ihr der Klassenunterschied nur allzu deutlich bewußt. Was vorher ein Gefühl von Liebe war, erwächst innerhalb von wenigen Minuten zu grenzenlosem Haß, weil er nicht die Verantwortung für das Kind übernimmt.Mit ihren Ersparnissen geht Emma nach Leeds und baut sich dort ihr Imperium auf. Angetrieben von dem Wunsch, die Familie Fairley zu vernichten, arbeitet sie Tag und Nacht und bezahlt auch ihren persönlichen Preis dafür. Ihre erste Tochter Edwina haßt sie, ihre zwei Ehen sind ohne aufrichtige Liebe und ihre große Liebe Paul kann sie nicht heiraten. Als sie herausfindet, das ihre Kinder nach ihrem Tod das Imperium vernichten wollen, holt sie zu einem letzten Schlag aus und bricht nach über 60 Jahren mit ihren eigenen Prinzipien, zur Überraschung aller!Mein Fazit:Dies ist ein Roman der Extra-Klasse. In wunderbarer Erzählform beschreibt die Autorin das Leben und Streben der Emma Harte. Obwohl es sehr konservativ geschrieben wurde und das Buch überwiegend vom Erzählen lebt, ist es spannend bis zur letzten Seite. Und die detailreichen Beschreibungen und die wohlgeformten Dialoge bezeugen nicht nur, das die Autorin sich selbst in diesen Kreisen bewegte, sondern auch aus dem Yorkshire-Milieu stammte. Eine persönliche Anmerkung noch von mir: Es ist das erste Buch, wo ich mir eine Notiz beim Lesen machte. Dieses Buch ist wärmstens zu empfehlen.Anmerkung: Die Rezension stammt aus Oktober 2001.Veröffentlicht am 29.08.14!

[edachille-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this book years ago. It has stood the test of time and is my all-time favorite book. I have always credited this book as what prompted my love of reading about powerful and strong women. If you have NOT read this book - you simply MUST. If you HAVE read this book - read it again!It is the rags to riches story of a British woman who goes from working as a simple maid to becoming the powerful head of a business empire in the early 20th century. It is a magnificent novel about the strength and commitment one woman has to pull herself out of poverty and the sacrifices she makes to survive and become powerful in a world and age dominated by men.

[ellencam · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this book many years ago but remember it so clearly even now. My threadbare copy has been in many of my friends' hands. The Irish accents are so well conveyed that I found myself speaking with an Irish lilt after reading this book. Emma Harte is one of the most memorable characters I have ever read about. I don't think any of this author's books comes close to this one. loved it.

[theresahope · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love this book. Emma is one strong willed woman. Fights her way to top and does everything she can to stay there. I was easily pulled into her world and enjoyed being there through the good times and bad.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I love historical fiction, and to my mind there aren't enough that focus on the drama of building a business, so the premise of this appealed to me. It's the rag to riches story of a British woman who went from lowly maid to powerful head of a business empire in the early 20th century when women weren't by and large able to rise to such heights. However, the writing style here was puerile romance aisle, and far too wretched to make me willing to stay with this for over 900 trade paperback pages. Within ten pages we have such cliched and purple writing as "implacable mouth" and eyes "cold as steel," (Emma Harte's, our heroine--they're green--classic Mary Sue color--as is those of her granddaughter protege--those are "violet.") and loads of adverb, adjective and simile prose pile-ups and dizzying point of view shifts. I guess there's something to be said for getting engrossed in a trashy book, but I knew dozens, let alone hundreds of pages of this would drive me insane.

[avaavalon02 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Took awhile for me to get into it, so glad I kept reading. Love the Emma Harte books!

[cataryna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful novel about the strength and dedication one woman has to pull herself out of poverty and the sacrifices she makes to survive and become powerful in a world and era dominated by men. It is also about the revenge that guides her throughout her life and how she comes to terms with it. It is also about destiny and how it always finds a way of coming through. My only negative and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars, is its length. At a little over 900 pages you really have to love the story to want to see it through, which for me, I felt the author did a wonderful job of making that happen.

[kerril_11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It took me a little while to get into this book, some of the passages seem excessively wordy, but once I got into the story, I fell in love. Emma is such a strong, captivating character, you can't help but get wrapped up in her story.

[woodcat_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Yes, yes, yes, she's gritty, determined, beautiful, nobody's fool, etc etc. Does Ms Bradford have to keep repeating it. I get the picture.

[jenreidreads · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I tried to like this book. I really did. I loved Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose, and a friend recommended this one because it's also a family drama and historical fiction. But the main difference between these two novels is the quality of the writing—Barbara Taylor Bradford's writing style was annoying, frankly. Every description was excessive and flowery (the elegant clothes, rooms, furniture...), and the plot was incredibly predictable. I couldn't feel attached to any of the characters; the main one, Emma Harte, because she was so cold to everyone (and not in a good way like Scarlett O'Hara, who Bradford was clearly trying to channel), or anyone else, because I knew exactly what would happen to them (and which ones would die) as soon as they were introduced. Emma's great revenge scene was very anti-climactic, and her supposed "great" romance was a cheap imitation of Scarlett and Rhett (and with GWTW being my absolute favorite everything, that was particularly grating). I slogged through the whole thing because I figured things had to improve after the flowering beginning—and they did, mostly, during the middle when Emma moved away from Fairley Hall to begin making her fortune—but the ending was incredibly disappointing. But I couldn't not read the last 100 pages after reading the first 800! Save yourself the trouble and avoid this one.

[nancy5jean · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A continuing of the Emma Harte sage--she just keeps living on thru all of these related characters--I love Emma--the whole idea of her