Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of death
Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford passed away “peacefully at her home” on Sunday, November 24, as confirmed by People magazine. The author’s representative shared a statement with the outlet confirming Bradford’s death and revealed that the unfortunate occurrence happened after a short illness.
The statement expressed “deepest and heartfelt” sadness over the news and added that the author was “surrounded by loved ones to the very end.” Bradford wrote the best-selling novel A Woman of Substance and left a remarkable legacy with her works, including Three Weeks in Paris (2002), To Be the Best (1988), and her most recent title, The Wonder of It All (November 2023).
Bradford could be considered a child prodigy, as she sold her first story to a magazine at the age of 10 and left school at 15 to pursue writing as her career. She joined the U.K. newspaper The Yorkshire Evening Post.
She became a reporter for a regional outlet and the first woman editor at 18. Two years later, she moved to London to work as a columnist and editor for British national newspapers. Her debut novel, A Woman of Substance, published in 1979, was a massive success and made her a household name.
In 1985, the novel was adapted into an eponymous series starring Jenny Seagrove and Liam Neeson. The Emmy-nominated show was produced by her husband, Robert Bradford, who also adapted nine of her other books into shows until his death in July 2019.
Seagrove, the star of A Woman of Substance series, paid a heartfelt tribute to Bradford. The actress recalled meeting the author and her “beloved Bob” whenever they came to London. During their lengthy conversations under the sun, Seagrove noticed that fame never “diluted” Bradford’s generous nature.
“Success never diluted her warmth and humor or her ability to relate to everyone she met,” the actress wrote. “She never, ever forgot that she was just a girl from Yorkshire that worked hard and made good. RIP dear friend,” Seagrove added.
The author was also awarded an OBE for her contributions to literature by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.
