Cavendon Hall

Barbara Taylor Bradford was born and raised in Leeds. She left school at 15 for the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post.At 16, she became a reporter on the paper and, at 18, its first Woman’s Editor. Aged 20, she moved to London and became a columnist and editor on Fleet Street.Her first novel, A Woman of Substance, is one of the bestselling novels of all time and Barbara’s books have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. In 2007, Barbara was appointed an OBE by the Queen for her services to literature.Barbara was married to her beloved husband, television and film producer Robert Bradford, for 55 years until he died in 2019. She continued to live in New York and write novels, her last entitled The Wonder of It All, until she died in November 2024.

‘Barbara Taylor Bradford returns to her roots with this classic saga of loyalty, secrets, passion and intrigue…if you’ve been suffering withdrawal symptoms from Downton, this is for you’ Daily Mail‘A stately home, a dangerous secret and two families whose fates have been intertwined for generations…a gripping period piece set on the brink of the Great War. Exquisite escapism of the highest order’ The Lady‘A glorious family saga for Downton Abbey fans…This is Barbara Taylor Bradford in her element, terrific stuff full of drama, passion, romance and danger.’ Sarah Broadhurst, Lovereading.co.uk‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns’Guardian