Writers, journalists and poets agree that it’s hard to deal with words. After all, you can work on one word or phrase for hours, days and weeks. That is why writing is so valuable and unique. Barbara Taylor Bradford knows first-hand what it’s like to cope with texts because she has written many novels. In this article, we will tell you about this outstanding author who was born in Leeds. Read more about Bradford’s success story at leedski.com.
Childhood and youth
The future writer was born in Leeds in the family of an engineer. Barbara loved books from her childhood, so she liked to read Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Thomas Hardy and Colette. At the age of ten, Barbara decided that she would be a writer. She even wrote a story, submitted it to a local magazine and was paid for it. The girl bought handkerchiefs and a green vase for her parents with that money.
Barbara decided to leave her studies when she was 15 years old and started to work for a newspaper. Soon, she became a reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post, working with Keith Waterhouse.
Start of her writing career
Barbara moved to London when she was twenty years old. After some time, she became the editor of Woman’s Own magazine and a columnist for the London Evening News.
Barbara wrote four novels but then abandoned this activity. Later, the woman admitted that if she didn’t write novels, she would hate herself. After all, Barbara wanted to realise herself as a writer.
In 1979, Barbara Bradford published her debut novel A Woman of Substance, which became a bestseller. By the way, according to Reuters, it is listed among the top ten best-selling novels. Then the writer wrote another 38 novels. All of them became bestsellers in the USA and England.
Barbara’s works have been sold in more than 90 countries and translated into 40 languages. The total circulation is more than 92 million copies.
The writer considers the Irish historian and writer Cornelius Ryan her mentor. After all, she told him about her ambitions and he encouraged her to write novels.
Why is Barbara Taylor Bradford so successful? What are her books about? In fact, her storylines and topics are quite simple. She writes about ordinary women who have achieved success in their lives thanks to hard work and self-sacrifice. Ten of the writer’s books were screened and made into a miniseries.
Personal life
Barbara met her future husband, the American film producer Robert E. Bradford, in 1961. In two years, the couple got married and moved to the USA. By the way, the writer became a US citizen in 1992.
Barbara Bradford received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leeds, the University of Bradford, Mount St. Mary’s College, Siena College and Post University. In 2007, she was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contribution to literature. Ten years later, Barbara Bradford was recognised as one of the 90 Great Britons.
The writer’s husband died in 2019.
That was the success story of the famous writer Barbara Taylor Bradford, who was born in Leeds and became known throughout the world.
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