A five star rating cannot even begin to express the quality and beauty of, "A Woman of Substance", the first book in the Emma Harte Series. It is simply superb.

Emma Harte is a young woman determined to become a woman of substance. She conquers poverty, unwed motherhood and lack of formal education to become one of the wealthiest women in the world. Though she is a fictional character, she comes to life in an unforgettable way through the words of the extraordinarily gifted Barbara Taylor Bradford.

I first read this book shortly after its publication in 1979, and I have reread it several time since then. It, and the other six books in the Emma Harte Series are special to me as well, not only because of their content, but because they remind me of how much my mom loved them. So, it is like coming home and spending time with Mom once again.

I recommend this book, and the others in the Series, to anyone who likes to read family sagas and/or books featuring strong and capable women.

I tried to read this because it seemed like something I might like but I didn't like the style of writing, it just didn't appeal and then I realized the book was originally written in 1958. I think the book is a little dated though the plot isn't. Honestly, I didn't read that far into the book before I made my decision but then... so many book, so little time. On to the next one.

This is a great story of someone who grow up poor but became an amazing business woman, plus the story of her family along the way. It was first published in 1979 but it so holds the test of time. I read this book for the first time in 1995. I read it again 25 years later and it’s just as good.

Das Buch erzählt die Geschichte von Emma Harte, die sich vom Küchenmädchen zur Millionärin hocharbeitet.
Ich habe dieses Buch gelesen, als ich noch sehr jung war und war vom Ehrgeiz und von der Motivation Emmas sehr angetan.
Das Buch ist auch über die Jahre hinweg eines meiner liebsten geblieben. Emma Harte arbeitet bei der reichen und adeligen Familie Farley als Dienstmädchen. Sie verliebt sich in einen der Söhne. Als sie schwanger wird, verfolgt sie die Familie mit all ihrer Abneigung. Um der Schande, die es zu der Zeit war, zu entgehen, flieht sie aus der Stadt und verändert ihr Leben von Grund auf. Sie schwört sich, nie wieder von der Gnade eines reichen Menschens abhängig zu sein. Sie will selber reich sein, arbeitet Tag und Nacht, und gründet eine Dynastie.
Wie gesagt habe ich das Buch vor langer Zeit gelesen, ich war noch sehr jung.
Mir gefällt die Motivation und Härte, die Emma Harte ausstrahlt und auch sich selbst gegenüber hat.
Wer jemals ein wenig „Push“ für sein Leben braucht, möge dieses Buch unbedingt lesen. Es ist sehr mitreißend.

Sadly this wonderful book is out of print and it’s a real shame because the story is timeless and highly relevant for this new generation.

The first time I read Emma’s story was In the 1980’s when I was starting up a new business. Emma’s entrepreneurial savvy and indomitable spirit inspired me to keep on keeping on despite the inevitable challenges that usually accompany a new start-up.

The second time I read this book was when I unearthed it from a dusty old box in my attic at a time when my children were all grown up and considering entering the workplace for the first time. I wanted them to read it and hopefully be as inspired and as unstoppable as I was.

Just recently this book fell on my head at the public library and I couldn’t resist reading it once again. Each time I read Emma’s story I learn something, and new awarenesses weaves itself into my consciousness and inspires me to keep pursuing my hopes and dreams despite it all.

Different elements of this story has resonated with me at pivotal points in my life causing me to be deeply moved each time.

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 world!
As I recall from my previous reading some of the unknown or unanswered information other reviewers are looking for are answered in the remaining books in the series. i recall reading at least 3 but I see now a few more have been added. I plan to reread/read all of them! I look forward to what I remember, what I've forgotten and what the writer found to add in the newest book.

Never and I repeat NEVER has a book invoked such ridiculously strong emotions in me. And they were a million in one. Anger, hurt, humiliation, joy, love, pity, extreme annoyance, fustration, I mean,... you just name it. And yes, each of them was directed at a particular character.
So of course the first thing I wanted to do what kill Barbara for destroying some of my favorites characters.
So for Edwin pity

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.

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

Barbara seems to have gone to the school of "never use one word when ten will do"

A lot must be said about a book that is 40 years old that still to this day has the power to overcome you with Ms. Bradford’s extraordinary writing and character dimensions immersing you into a whole other world. As I used to sneak read my mother’s copy as a child, I am just as awestruck by the stories unraveled in such a time where things were much different than they are now. I will be reading and re-reading this 40Th Anniversary Edition and passing it onto my own children.

Decades ago, my best friend read this book and said it was awful, but the way she described it was ENTHRALLING -- soapy, ridiculous, over the top, etc. So I was secretly tempted to read it. The world is on fire, so I think I thought that escaping into a big old fashioned goofy book would make me feel better.

But eek, I regret it. This book is terrible! The adverbs alone... at one point the author used two adverbs in a row, like "she was insanely upset ludicrously." The characters were -- what's less than two dimensional? One dimensional, and that's what this was. Each character was assigned ONE personality trait: driven (the lead character), Irish (really), Godlike, homosexual (eek), cold, fat (also eek) and YES I am aware that Irish, homosexual and fat are not CHARACTER traits, but NO ONE TOLD THE AUTHOR THIS.

There are also no plot twists. Which seems like a tricky thing to pull off in an 829 page book, but there you go! Emma is poor. Emma decides she will do anything to become rich. Emma becomes rich! She conquers everyone, all the time! No setbacks! One villain tries to do something awful to her, but he fails, and then she annihilates him. Ken Follett does a great job at creating horrible villains and making you desperately afraid they're going to succeed (and they often do, for a while); this villain was literally so fat (yes! the villain is the fat one! shocker!) that he was incapable of doing ANYTHING (including, spoiler alert, rape: yes he tries to rape the heroine, but he is SO FAT that he can't do it), so he was never a threat to Our Perfect Heroine who is DRIVEN, did we mention, so her destruction of him felt inevitable.

This book was, INSANELY, one of the top ten bestselling books of all time (as all the press tells you), and I can't IMAGINE why... well, yes, I can. The heroine was a woman who became a business titan, and I suspect that in 1979, when it was published, this ALONE was a shocking plot twist, and enough to propel the books into the hands of millions of women.

I am empathetic for all the women of the 1970s who saw so few professional role models in their lives that they were required to fall for this one. I'm actually kind of serious here. And I will give it an extra star for the author's insight, forty years ago, that women can be business tycoons and deserve their own stories.

But good god. I'm grateful that nowadays we write much better ones. Seriously, terribly grateful (multiple adverbs in honor of the author.)