MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Barbara Taylor Bradford, the author behind "A Woman Of Substance" and dozens more bestselling novels, has died. She was 91 years old. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento has this appreciation.
ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: Barbara Taylor Bradford sold her first short story when she was just 10 years old. But she wouldn't publish her debut novel, "A Woman Of Substance," for another three decades. It follows a young woman who overcame several tragedies to rise out of poverty and build an empire. Published in 1979, it immediately became a hit, staying on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 43 weeks. In 1985, "A Woman Of Substance" was adopted into a critically acclaimed TV series.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE")
JENNY SEAGROVE: (As Young Emma Harte) I don't want a man getting involved with the business.
MICK FORD: (As Frank Harte) Oh, that blasted business. I don't know. How much money is enough for you?
SEAGROVE: (As Young Emma Harte) How much is there?
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Born in Leeds, England, Bradford became a reporter at her local newspaper as a teenager. By age 18, she was its first woman editor. She spent years working in news until friend and writer Cornelius Ryan gave her advice for foraying into fiction, as she told NPR in 2014.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD: When I wanted to go from journalist to novelist, he said, you must put something down every day. And he was right about that. So I'm lucky that I had that advice so many years ago.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: That advice turned into 40 novels, 10 screen adaptations and countless awards, including an Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth in 2007. Bradford continued writing stories about strong, driven women for her entire career. She told NPR they resonated with readers.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
BRADFORD: I think women have found the books both challenging and inspiring because I have women that conquer the world, that - they overcome terrible odds and terrible problems. And I don't mean to send a message, but I guess in a funny way I am intending to send one, which is stand up and be counted and go out and do it.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: That is, after all, what Barbara Taylor Bradford spent her life doing.
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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