Book
A Woman of Substance
First published 1979
In 1905 sixteen-year-old Emma Harte leaves service at Fairley Hall after betrayal and an unplanned pregnancy. Refusing the poverty and dependence expected of her, she turns practical intelligence and relentless work into a growing Yorkshire enterprise, expanding from a small shop into an international network of department stores and investments.
Emma’s ascent unfolds through family conflict, two world wars and decades of social change. By 1968 she is a formidable matriarch preparing to secure her legacy against jealous relatives and old enemies, but the empire she built cannot erase the emotional cost of ambition or the enduring memory of the man she loved and could not keep.
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