Plaque to be unveiled for bestselling author

A blue plaque celebrating Leeds-born bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE will be unveiled today.

The plaque is the 207th to be installed by the Leeds Civic Trust and will recognise her international literary success.

Bradford's debut novel, A Woman of Substance, has sold more than 32m copies since it was published in 1979, and is ranked in the top 10 bestselling works of fiction of all time.

"She started off in Leeds and ultimately moved to New York, but she is very much an Armley girl, so that is why we are celebrating her," said Martin Hamilton, director of Leeds Civic Trust.

Bradford wrote 40 international bestselling novels during her lifetime and died aged 91 in 2024.

"All of her books have strong female characters, she supported women, she was able to really put women to the forefront of her novels and of course many of her books were made into TV programmes and films," added Hamilton.

The blue plaque will be unveiled at Armley Library, where Bradford spent "countless hours" growing up.

She famously had two library cards to double her borrowing limit.

Vicki Downed, a trustee of the Barbara Taylor Bradford Trust, said: "It was here that her imagination was given space to grow, her ambition quietly took root, and her belief in the power of a great story first began to form.

"Barbara never forgot her Yorkshire roots and, wherever she was in the world, she often talked about them."

A Woman of Substance led to a mini-series on Channel 4 in 1985 which was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

A new series remake of her debut novel is returning to Channel 4 in March starring Brenda Blethyn OBE and Jessica Reynolds in the title role.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.