Barbara Taylor Bradford

Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE was born and raised in England. She left school at 15 for the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post. At 16 she was a reporter, and at 18 she became the paper’s first woman’s page editor. Two years later, aged 20, she moved to London and became a fashion editor and columnist on Fleet Street.

Barbara started writing fiction when she was just seven-years-old and sold her first short story to a magazine for seven shillings and sixpence when she was ten.

Barbara has had 39 books published, all worldwide bestsellers, and her latest novel, The Wonder of It All, is due out in December. This will be her 40th!

Ten of her books have been produced as TV films or drama series by her movie producer husband Bob Bradford and actors including Liam Neeson, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jenny Seagrove, Deborah Kerr, Sir John Mills and Elizabeth Hurley.

Barbara holds five Honorary Doctorate of Letters. These are from the University of Leeds, Yorkshire; the University of Bradford, Yorkshire; Teikyo Post University, Connecticut; Siena College, Loudonville, New York; Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, New York.

In October 2007, Barbara was appointed an OBE by The Queen (HM Queen Elizabeth II)  for her services to literature.

Barbara is the recipient of 25 other awards for her writing achievements and philanthropy.

The Brotherton Library of Leeds University is the Keeper of the Barbara Taylor Bradford Archive. All of Barbara’s original manuscripts are housed there (39 works of fiction). They are displayed next to those of Yorkshire’s other legendary writers, including the Brönte sisters.

Today, Barbara Taylor Bradford is published in over 90 countries in 40 languages, with sales figures in excess of 90 million.