A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford is a 2014 RosettaBooks publication. (originally published in 1979)A Classic saga that stands the test of time-This is the story of Emma Harte, a poverty ridden young woman employed by a wealthy family, who eventually works her way to the top of a rich and powerful business empire. Her personal disappointments, hardships, loves and losses all play a role in solidifying Emma’s fortitude, as her instincts for human nature develops, helping her to beco...

Great series! one of the best novels in print...had to reread it a few times because it was that good,the storyline was well developed along with all the characters. The plotline showed emotional turmoil for its main character (Emma)because it was too much on her family...kudos to the movie also

Another reread for me, and one that certainly stands the test of time - delightful!

This is a very long, verbose book that has a good story buried among its endless descriptions of, well, just about everything. This book left a lot of unanswered questions in my mind, and there were a lot of times when I was skimming through the long, boring descriptions of Emma's furniture and china and walls and clothes and the color of the sky and the degree of greyness of the clouds - ack!! The interactions between the characters were generally quite good, but it was like slogging through mu...

I think this is the first grown up book I read. I recall reading it in bed when I was having a sleepover at my aunts and uncles house when my parents were away. If I needed babysitting perhaps I was too young to be reading this?! I do want to re-read this though. Those were the days of reading whenever and however. Nice to reminisce. I wonder if this is like Danielle Steele?! Which I do like of course!

Magnificent, a spellbinding saga in lifeAdvantages: truly captivating, can boost your willDisadvantages: noneA bestselling book by Barbara Taylor-Bradford, A woman of substance is a spellbinding saga in life that will instill within your heart, the will and drive to succeed. This is the first of the six novels about Emma Harte and her family, among others are Hold the Dream, To be the Best, Emma's Secret, Unexpected Blessings and Just Rewards. A Woman of Substance is really one of the best novel...

LOVED IT!! One of my all-time favorite books, IT CHANGED MY LIFE.I read it 30 years ago in my bookclub and I am currently re-reading it. I read the series, each about the next generation of the Harte family, and enjoyed them immensely, but each book stands alone with satisfying endings.A friend described it as a "delicious read," which is an apt description. Another friend refers to as "your biblical guide for attaining excellence."I remember devouring every page as I learned more about the cent...

I'm not entirely certain how I feel about A Woman of Substance. It was a NYT Bestseller in the 1970s, so I feel like the writing style, etc was a bit dated. My main complaints were that the author loved to use big, impressive words and described everything in super detail. I'm all for using good vocab, but sometimes a simple word does the job best. Also, the dialogue seemed a bit forced and unnatural, and the main character HAD NO FAULTS. None. Except that she was born poor. It was kind of irrit...

I have definitely read this book but remember only bits and pieces of the story maybe because I skipped some parts of the book to get to the end of it, not because it was bad but because the book was very long for the teenage me to complete properly. Giving it a 3* for the bits I remember reading and who knows might give it a go again.

My all-time favorite book/story.I will re-read and re-read this book time and again.The beginning of a large saga, this book captures the hearts of anyone who loves a great story and one with a young girl named Emma who has a "Plan with a capital P." Emma stays true to her plan and in the meantime we are learning all about her and her circumstances as a young child in poverty. Emma's strength and willpower is inspiring. Anyone who has a dream of their own will enjoy reading about a young woman w...

I read this book when it was first published and considered it one of my favorites and a "I must read this book again." Now some 40 years later I have begun to read the series again I have not been disappointed. Yes it is a long book, yes there are long descriptive passages of furniture and clothing, but all of this should remind the reader of the time period in which Emma, her friends, her opponents and her family live. A time not like today but a woman who would most likely succeed in today's

I have given other books 5 stars in the past, but this one TRULY deserves it. My mother read this book when it first came out in the late 70's and she still says it was one of her favorite books. She has told me a few times over the years to read it and I always read something different - thinking that a book that was almost as old as I am couldn't possibly be worth the time. I was wrong. However, you aren't going to find a Kindle edition and you're not going to find it in the book section at BJ...

This is my very first Bradford book and I fell completely in love with her engrossing writing that I immediately got addicted to. Emma Harte is the quintessential timeless heroine I loved reading about in the 20th century back drop of a rags to riches story of power, greed, ambition and most of all one of the hardest to attain amidst everything is love. A sweeping saga that I loved and was highly entertained by. I highly recommend this book for a timeless sweeping saga.

I love historical fiction, and to my mind there aren't enough that focus on the drama of building a business, so the premise of this appealed to me. It's the rag to riches story of a British woman who went from lowly maid to powerful head of a business empire in the early 20th century when women weren't by and large able to rise to such heights. However, the writing style here was puerile romance aisle, and far too wretched to make me willing to stay with this for over 900 trade paperback pages....

I reread this book after, well lets just say a long time ago. It was such a great read. its a long one and one you can devour it over a few days. Bradford is one of my favorite romance authors.I am so happy for this 40 anniversary edition. I gave it 4 stars and even if you have read it in the past grad a copy and reread, you will be so happy that you did. The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

Emma Harte rises from a housemaid in Yorkshire to one of the wealthiest people in the world. This book is a tour de force, a sweeping narrative with a memorable heroine. I really enjoyed reading about Emma’s rise through the ranks of society. The characters are lively and vivid, even the supporting ones. Of course it’s not perfect. The romances are all underdeveloped, which is a cause for concern because a few of them propel the plot. But Emma is such an indomitable character that sweeps the sto...

This book was realistic fiction at its finest. I felt the "nod" of previous works such as Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, even short stories like "The Yellow Wallpaper"... then put that in a blender with 80s classics like Dallas and Dynasty and you have this fabulous book. This isn't a work for everyone - the early parts of the book are intensely descriptive, again like those great British literature works, listed above, so there is great description of the sweeping moors, the s...

Far too long. Far too much "colloquial dialect" in the parts dealing with Emma's young life. If edited, the story could be better, but still not really memorable.This book even contains some very surprising grammatical errors (which were obviously not intentional, as those in Emma and her family's tedious dialect were)The seduction scene in the cave drags on and on until one thinks the characters will be to old to act upon their desires. Hardly necessary to devote that much time leading up to th...

When I first began reading this book, I didn't think I was going to be able to make it through. There were a few things this author did that caused me some minor annoyances. It was hard to develop any true feeling toward Emma in the beginning of the book because many of her thoughts seemed contradictory. The beginning is really slow going. Also, this author likes to make extremely long-winded descriptions of interiors, which I find detract from the plot, especially when a character is ruminating...

A Woman of Substance Is a meticulously plotted, extensively detailed, verbose and sometimes tedious saga, that overall comes to a satisfying conclusion. The novel spans over 50 + years, following Emma from rags-to-riches, as she basically builds an enterprise from the ground up. The character of Emma is a strong one. She's a calloused, strong willed, business woman at her core. She doesn't allow anyone to take advantage of her or mistreat her, including the men in her life, which is a huge thing...

Probably the most impressive work of fiction I ever read in my life. Absorbing, comprehensive and unbelievably powerful. Anyone who wants to know what revenge is about should read this novel, though it took me a long time to finish it! I for one can easily believe that the author is probably the best in the whole wide world

Read it many years ago and loved it. Was a Barbara Taylor Bradford devotee. Just wanted to add it to my books. I've read most of her books.

This book boiled down to two words: boring and aggravating. The plot and book description initially sold me in this book, but I lost interest very quickly when the plot was covered by endless adjectives and praises about the main character, Emma Harte. It was completely unnecessary and annoying to have the author blab on and on about how great Emma is. How she is a genius, and how she suddenly went from being described as slightly attractive to so beautiful everybody who met her just had to have...

This is a story about a young woman Emma Harte told through the eyes of her and the characters around her. The penurious conditions in which she's born teaches her a lesson and she sets out on her journey to earn money and make it big in the world. The story revolves around revenge, love, loss, hatred and it's protagonist is someone you'll love or hate for her ideals. She's cunning, street smart and shrewd which are all necessary qualities to help her with her business plan. Even though she come...

36 pages of insufferably bad writing was enough to convince me that I would not make it through 910 pages of it. Everything described in such minute detail, with adverbs piled on adjectives piled on multiple subordinate clauses in every sentence. Everything told; nothing shown. It's maddening. A few reviews seem to suggest that it gets at least marginally better after the first section, but I just can't do it. I also gather that the story itself is half decent, so maybe if someone makes a mini-s...

I flat out, wholeheartedly love this book. Both the plucky Emma Hart and the sweep of 50 years of history make this a leap-from-the-pages saga. Emma's battle from poverty to high-powered business woman is a dramatic, sensational story and Bradford's prose captures Yorkshire in gorgeously. Anyone who loves a big, breathtaking story will love this. (Also, it's the best of the bunch. Hold the Dream isn't nearly as good, nor are any if its other sequels)

A 'rags to riches' novel, A Woman of Substance is an epic and evocative read; the pages teeming with greed, ambition, envy, passion, power, and revenge! One couldn't ask for more. This rather lengthy but thoroughly absorbing story truly has it all. Emma Harte is one of my favourite fictional characters, and as has been similarly said by others, she truly epitomises a woman of substance.

This was an interesting story but too slow for me. I am going to set it aside for now....

Long and indulgent. Way too many words. And it makes me sad that there isn't a moral compass for the characters in the book. "Paul had patiently explained to her that their combined wealth set them above the usual conventions, making them invulnerable to social censure, and she admitted the truth in what he said. Her natural self-confidence and courage soon overcame her earlier misgivings." "Tell me, did you discover anything special along the way that you would like to impart to your old friend...

I stayed up later than I usually do in order to finish this book, not because I was riveted, but because I just couldn't stomach one more evening spent on it. It's so long. Length is not itself a deterrent for me, but when it's so much unnecessary length of so little substance (heh...irony), it becomes tedious. I don't need to know everything everyone wore on every occasion. I get it. She's pretty and dresses better than everyone else could possibly hope to dress. Save the detailed descriptions