Barbara Taylor Bradford is the author of 30 bestselling novels, including The Cavendon Women, Cavendon Hall, and The Ravenscar Dynasty. She was born in Leeds, England, and from an early age, she was a voracious reader: at age 12, she had already read all of Dickens and the Brontë sisters. By the age of twenty, she was an editor and columnist on Fleet Street. She published her first novel, A Woman of Substance, in 1979, and it has become an enduring bestseller. Barbara Taylor Bradford’s books are published in over 90 countries in 40 languages, with sales figures in excess of 88 million. Ten of her novels have been adapted into television mini-series starring actors including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Liam Neeson, Deborah Kerr and Elizabeth Hurley. She has been inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame of America, and in June of 2007, Barbara was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to Literature. She lives in New York City with her husband, television producer Robert Bradford, to whom all her novels are dedicated. http://us.macmillan.com/author/barbar...
Serves on the board of PAL, the Police Athletic League, a charity for underprivileged children.
Member of the Authors Guild of America Council and is on the board of Girls Inc., the nations leading voice and advocate for girls, whose aim is to inspire young girls to be strong, smart and bold for the 21st Century.
In 1990, the child who disappointed her parents by going to work on a newspaper instead of pursuing a higher education received a Degree of Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa from the Chancellor of Leeds University. She received the award from HRH the Duchess of Kent.
Along with many fiction novels, she has written childrens books and 8 books on decorating.
Wrote a syndicated column, Designing Woman, covering interior design and lifestyles, which appeared three times a week in 183 newspapers across America. The column was published for twelve years and garnered several awards.
She says that her journalism background has helped her in writing historical fiction by teaching her to get facts right and to meet deadlines. Journalism also helped to give her psychological insight into a persons thoughts and actions.
She sold her first short story to a childrens magazine when she was 10.
When she was a teenager, she got a job in the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post. By the time she was 18, she had worked her way up to womens page editor.
As a child, she loved reading Dickens, Jane Austen, and the Brontes.
She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2007 Queen Elizabeths Birthday Honors List for her services to literature.
I always wanted to write fiction, but I was smart enough to know that,you have to grow up and experience life first.
Never let stress shape your strategy. Most women think better after a brisk walk, a light meal, a massage and a nap.
Even the most powerful woman needs a place to unwind.
A person with taste is merely one who can recognize the greatest beauty in the simplest things.
She put her hand in his, and he clasped it firmly, knowing he had been waiting for her all his life.
The past was always there, lived inside of you, and it helped to make you who you were. But it had to be placed in perspective. The past could not dominate the future.
Why him?He was as likely to offer me security and safety as a violent terrorist holding a gun to my head. So why I had chosen him?Because he had charmed me into a love affair,had truly convinced me he was madly in love with me.
Always present yourself as a woman who expects to succeed.
