International bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford died peacefully at her home on Thursday at age 91, her publishing house confirmed.
The writer died following a short illness and was surrounded by loved ones when she passed, HarperCollins UK said in a post on Facebook.
“Barbara Taylor Bradford was a truly exceptional writer,” said Charlie Redmayne, CEO of HarperCollins. “For 45 years, she was a huge part of our company and a great, great friend — we will miss her so much.”
Bradford was perhaps best known for her debut novel, “A Woman of Substance.” After being published in 1979, the book went from bestseller to super seller within its first year and stayed on the New York Times’ list for 43 weeks, HarperCollins UK said.
She wrote 40 novels throughout her life, each of which became a worldwide bestseller. More than 91 million copies of her books have been sold to date, published in more than 40 languages and in 90 countries, according to HarperCollins UK.
“Working with a storyteller as remarkable as Barbara for over 20 years was a huge privilege but also a huge amount of fun. Perennially curious, interested in everyone and extraordinarily driven, she loved writing and the conversations we had about her characters were unfailingly the best hours of my week,” said Lynne Drew, Barbara’s long-term publisher and editor at HarperCollins. “I’m so proud to have been her publisher for over 20 years — working with her has been one of the great thrills of my career, and I and everyone at HarperCollins will miss her greatly.”
Bradford started writing at just 7 years old and sold her first short story to a magazine at age 10, HarperCollins UK said. Born and raised in Leeds, she left school at age 15 to work at the Yorkshire Evening Post, where she later became its first woman’s editor at age 18. Two years later, she moved to London to become a columnist and editor.
She met and fell in love with her husband, Hollywood film and television producer Robert Bradford, in 1961. They married two years later and moved to New York, spending 55 years together until Robert died in July 2019, according to HarperCollins UK.
Bradford worked with her producer husband to adapt 10 of her books for television. One of the most well known was the TV adaptation of A Woman of Substance which starred Jenny Seagrove and Liam Neeson. The series was nominated for two Emmy awards and boasted 13.8 million viewers on its premiere date, setting a record for Channel 4 in the UK in 1985 as its highest-ever audience, HarperCollins UK said.
“Success never diluted her warmth and humour or her ability to relate to everyone she met, whether a cleaner or a princess,” Seagrove spoke of Bradford. “She never, ever forgot that she was just a girl from Yorkshire that worked hard and made good. RIP dear friend.”
Bradford was awarded five Honorary Doctorates of Letters during her career, was an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust in the UK and served on the Board of Literacy Partners in the U.S. for six years, according to HarperCollins UK.
The accomplished writer was awarded an OBE for her services to literature in 2007 by HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace, the publishing company said.
“[Bradford] was a legend in so many ways, but chief among them was her utmost professionalism and dedication to her craft. She never missed a deadline and if she said she was going to deliver her book on a Thursday, that’s when it would arrive,” said Jennifer Enderlin, President and Publisher of St. Martin’s Press. “Barbara’s novels would always transport you. She was the definition of A Woman of Substance.”
Bradford will be buried alongside her beloved husband Robert at Westchester Hills Cemetery, New York after a private funeral, HarperCollins UK confirmed.
She was recently asked what would be on her epitaph, according to her publishing company. Bradford replied, “She made her dreams come true.”
