Barbara Taylor Bradford, OBE, was one of the world's best-loved storytellers. Her 1979 debut novel, A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE, ranks as one of the top 10 bestselling books of all time, with more than 30 million copies in print. All her novels to date have been major worldwide bestsellers.

Barbara was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, the only child of Freda and Winston Taylor. She grew up in the Leeds suburb of Armley and left school at 15 for the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post. At 16 she was a reporter, and at 18 she became the paper’s first woman’s page editor. By the time she was 20, she had moved to London where she became a fashion editor and columnist on Fleet Street. Barbara started writing fiction when she was just seven, and sold her first short story to a magazine for seven shillings and sixpence when she was 10 years old.

Barbara’s books have sold more than 91 million copies worldwide in more than 90 countries and 40 languages. Ten of her books were made into Emmy-nominated miniseries and television movies by her late husband, the film producer Robert Bradford.

In 2007, Barbara was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for her contributions to literature. A passionate supporter of literacy, she was an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust; in 2019, she was made an ambassador for Women in Journalism and in the same year was presented with The Leeds Award, which recognized her loyalty to, and depiction of, her Yorkshire roots. Her original manuscripts are archived at the Brotherton Library at Leeds University, alongside the works of the Brontë sisters.

Barbara passed away in 2024 at the age of 91 following a short illness.

Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Sudden Change of Heart

by Barbara Taylor Bradford