Barbara Taylor Bradford, author of 40 best-selling novels, has died. The British-American novelist was 91 years old.
HarperCollins UK Publishers confirmed the legendary writer’s passing and shared the news with its Instagram followers on Monday (Nov. 25).
“With the deepest and heartfelt sadness, it is confirmed that international bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE has died,” HarperCollins UK shared. The social media post went on to tell fans that Bradford “died peacefully at her home” after a “short illness.”
Barbara Taylor Bradford is among those elite authors to have all of the books she published make the bestseller list. Her debut novel, A Woman of Substance, came out in 1979 and went from bestseller to super-seller in its first year of publication. The book remained on the New York Times’ list for 43 weeks.
Some creatives come into writing later in life. Bradford, however, was destined for a career as an author.
“I was a serious little girl growing up in Leeds and had supportive parents who were instrumental in my success,” she shared during a 2021 interview. “My mother sold my first story to a children’s magazine when I was 10. My father, an engineer, funded my addiction to taxis when I started working on Fleet Street.”
At the age of 16, Barbara Taylor Bradford had a job as a typist at the Yorkshire Evening Post. “[I] became a reporter after secretly slipping stories on to the subs’ desk,” the author revealed.
“I was the only woman in the newsroom. My mother told me: ‘Keep your head down and don’t flirt at work. Your attitude towards men will dictate their attitude towards you.’ The best advice I ever had.”
Barbara’s final novel, The Wonder of It All, was released in the United States last December. “A storyteller of substance, Barbara was greatly admired, much loved, and will be dearly missed by her family, friends, and fans around the world.”