A Woman of Substance (mini-series)
Encyclopedia
A Woman of Substance is a British/American television miniseries
, produced in 1984. It is based on the 1979 book of the same name
by the author Barbara Taylor Bradford
.
On their arrival back in London, Emma learns that her two sons (Kit and Robin) are plotting behind her back to force her to retire so they can break up her empire and sell it off. Devastated but determined, Emma changes her will, choosing to leave her business interests to her grandchildren instead.
The story then goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Emma was a teenager and working as a servant at Fairley Hall in rural Yorkshire. Her father, Jack, and two brothers, Winston and Frank, also work for the Fairley family who own several local businesses including a mill and a brickyard. After the death of their mother, Winston joins the navy. Meanwhile, Emma becomes romantically involved with the Fairley's younger son, Edwin but when she becomes pregnant, Edwin is horrified and refuses to marry her. Wanting to begin a new life for herself and her unborn child, Emma moves to Leeds on the advice of her friend, Shane "Blackie" O'Neill, an Irish navvy
who works as a chimney sweep at Fairley Hall. To protect herself and her child from the stigma of an illegitimate birth, Emma tells her landlady and new friends that she is married to a sailor currently away at sea.
While looking for work, Emma meets Abraham Kallinski, a Jew whom she rescues from an anti-Semitic attack by local youths. Abraham introduces Emma to his wife, Janessa, and grown sons, David and Victor. When Emma tells them she is looking for work, Abraham immediately offers her a job in his textiles factory.
As the birth of her baby approaches, Blackie arranges for Emma to meet another friend of his, Laura Spencer. They become good friends and Emma moves into Laura's house, and also starts a new job at Thompson's Mill. Some time later, Emma gives birth to a daughter and names her Edwina. Needing to work to support them, Emma's cousin, Freda, takes Edwina. After a year of working two jobs, Emma makes enough money to rent a shop in Armley in which she sells fabrics, clothing, and luxury food goods. This shop is a success and Emma's business expands to two shops, then three. Not expecting to see the Fairleys, she is horrified when Edwin's vile brother Gerald visits. He found her after seeing she worked at Thompsons' Mill, now owned by his father. He tells her that Edwin will soon be engaged and demands she tell him where the child is. Emma refuses and after a violent confrontation, Emma realizes she needs someone to protect her. Worried Gerald will return, she marries her landlord, Joe Lowther. Soon after their marriage, they have a son named Kit.
Emma's business continues to expand and she goes into business with the Kallinskis. Unfortunately her private life doesn't run as smoothly. Joe is killed in the battle of the Somme and Laura, now married to Blackie, dies giving birth to a son, Bryan. Emma takes him and Bryan lives with Emma and her children until Blackie returns from the war.
In early 1918, Emma meets Australian army officer Paul McGill. They fall in love but he is in the Australian army and returns to the war in France after recovering from a leg injury. After the war ends, he goes home and despite promising to write, never does. Emma, hurt and disappointed when she finds out Paul (who is married) has gone back to his estranged wife, turns to an acquaintance Arthur Ainsley for consolation and she agrees to marry him, though more out of convenience than anything else. She and her new husband later have twins, Robin and Elizabeth, but the marriage is short-lived when Paul returns. Emma is angry but calms down when Paul explains that he tried to write to her but his secretary hid the letters. They start seeing each other again and she divorces her husband after she gives birth to Paul's child, a daughter they name Daisy after Paul's mother.
However, Emma has never forgiven the Fairley family for the way in which she and her own family were treated by them. Now rich and powerful, she buys up all of the Fairley's holdings, including Fairley Hall which she intends to have demolished and the grounds used as a public park.
In February 1939, seeing war on the horizon, Paul goes to Australia to convince his wife to give him a divorce so he can marry Emma. While there, he is seriously injured in a car crash and almost dies. He survives but is told that he will be dead within a year so he redraws his will, leaving almost everything to Emma and Daisy (including his vast shares in the Sitek oil company), and then he commits suicide. Emma is devastated but eventually recovers enough to look after her family and business empires.
Emma's life goes on. Her children marry and have children of their own - Edwina, Kit and Robin have one child each, Elizabeth marries repeatedly and has four and Daisy marries and has two, one of whom is Paula.
Back in 1970, where the story first began, Emma invites her family to her country estate in Yorkshire for her 80th birthday. After dinner, Emma tells them that she has changed her will, effectively cutting her own children out for their deceit and leaving everything to her grandchildren instead. She announces Paula will inherit the Harte's Department Store chain. Emma's children are furious but reluctantly accept £1 million each as "pay-offs" after they each sign an agreement that they will not try to contest her will after she dies. Emma also gives her blessing to Paula's engagement to Jim Fairley, Edwin's grandson, thus ending her life-long hatred of the Fairley family.
and the U.S. OPT Organisation (a subsidiary of MCA Television). Producer Diane Baker (who also co-stars in the mini-series as Laura Spencer) first met Barbara Taylor-Bradford prior to the novel being published whilst Taylor-Bradford was working for a newspaper in New York and was interviewing Baker (who worked predominantly as an actress at that time) for an article about interior design. After the novel was published, Baker contacted Taylor-Bradford to obtain the television rights, remortgaging her house in order to do so.
The series was largely filmed in the North of England
, and locations include Richmond for most of the Armley, and the main shop front of the Emma Harte Emporium.
Barbara Taylor-Bradford's sequel, Hold The Dream, was produced as a eponymous mini-series
in 1986, again starring Deborah Kerr
and Jenny Seagrove
, though Seagrove now played the role of Paula. A second sequel, To Be The Best, was adapted in 1992 and starred Lindsay Wagner
as Paula.
in the UK over three nights from 2nd -4th January 1985. The broadcast of the final part on 4th January drew 13.8 million viewers, which remains the channel's highest ever audience to this day.
The mini-series was shown in syndication in the United States
several weeks prior to transmission in the United Kingdom
.
for Outstanding Limited Series (1985), and Deborah Kerr was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Special (1985).
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, produced in 1984. It is based on the 1979 book of the same name
A Woman of Substance
A Woman of Substance is a novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford, and was published in 1979.This novel is the first of a saga about the fortunes of a retail empire and the machinations of the business elite across three generations....
by the author Barbara Taylor Bradford
Barbara Taylor Bradford
Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE is an English novelist, and one of the world's most beloved storytellers. Her debut novel, A Woman of Substance, was published in 1979 and has sold over 32 million copies worldwide. To date, she has written 27 novels -- all bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic...
.
Plot
In 1970, Emma Harte is a wealthy, formidable businesswoman. Just about to turn 80, she has spent her life making a vast empire, including the world-famous Harte's Department Store in London, as well as extensive holdings in property and oil. Whilst on a business trip to Texas with her grandchild, Paula, Emma informs Paula that she will be her successor.On their arrival back in London, Emma learns that her two sons (Kit and Robin) are plotting behind her back to force her to retire so they can break up her empire and sell it off. Devastated but determined, Emma changes her will, choosing to leave her business interests to her grandchildren instead.
The story then goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Emma was a teenager and working as a servant at Fairley Hall in rural Yorkshire. Her father, Jack, and two brothers, Winston and Frank, also work for the Fairley family who own several local businesses including a mill and a brickyard. After the death of their mother, Winston joins the navy. Meanwhile, Emma becomes romantically involved with the Fairley's younger son, Edwin but when she becomes pregnant, Edwin is horrified and refuses to marry her. Wanting to begin a new life for herself and her unborn child, Emma moves to Leeds on the advice of her friend, Shane "Blackie" O'Neill, an Irish navvy
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
who works as a chimney sweep at Fairley Hall. To protect herself and her child from the stigma of an illegitimate birth, Emma tells her landlady and new friends that she is married to a sailor currently away at sea.
While looking for work, Emma meets Abraham Kallinski, a Jew whom she rescues from an anti-Semitic attack by local youths. Abraham introduces Emma to his wife, Janessa, and grown sons, David and Victor. When Emma tells them she is looking for work, Abraham immediately offers her a job in his textiles factory.
As the birth of her baby approaches, Blackie arranges for Emma to meet another friend of his, Laura Spencer. They become good friends and Emma moves into Laura's house, and also starts a new job at Thompson's Mill. Some time later, Emma gives birth to a daughter and names her Edwina. Needing to work to support them, Emma's cousin, Freda, takes Edwina. After a year of working two jobs, Emma makes enough money to rent a shop in Armley in which she sells fabrics, clothing, and luxury food goods. This shop is a success and Emma's business expands to two shops, then three. Not expecting to see the Fairleys, she is horrified when Edwin's vile brother Gerald visits. He found her after seeing she worked at Thompsons' Mill, now owned by his father. He tells her that Edwin will soon be engaged and demands she tell him where the child is. Emma refuses and after a violent confrontation, Emma realizes she needs someone to protect her. Worried Gerald will return, she marries her landlord, Joe Lowther. Soon after their marriage, they have a son named Kit.
Emma's business continues to expand and she goes into business with the Kallinskis. Unfortunately her private life doesn't run as smoothly. Joe is killed in the battle of the Somme and Laura, now married to Blackie, dies giving birth to a son, Bryan. Emma takes him and Bryan lives with Emma and her children until Blackie returns from the war.
In early 1918, Emma meets Australian army officer Paul McGill. They fall in love but he is in the Australian army and returns to the war in France after recovering from a leg injury. After the war ends, he goes home and despite promising to write, never does. Emma, hurt and disappointed when she finds out Paul (who is married) has gone back to his estranged wife, turns to an acquaintance Arthur Ainsley for consolation and she agrees to marry him, though more out of convenience than anything else. She and her new husband later have twins, Robin and Elizabeth, but the marriage is short-lived when Paul returns. Emma is angry but calms down when Paul explains that he tried to write to her but his secretary hid the letters. They start seeing each other again and she divorces her husband after she gives birth to Paul's child, a daughter they name Daisy after Paul's mother.
However, Emma has never forgiven the Fairley family for the way in which she and her own family were treated by them. Now rich and powerful, she buys up all of the Fairley's holdings, including Fairley Hall which she intends to have demolished and the grounds used as a public park.
In February 1939, seeing war on the horizon, Paul goes to Australia to convince his wife to give him a divorce so he can marry Emma. While there, he is seriously injured in a car crash and almost dies. He survives but is told that he will be dead within a year so he redraws his will, leaving almost everything to Emma and Daisy (including his vast shares in the Sitek oil company), and then he commits suicide. Emma is devastated but eventually recovers enough to look after her family and business empires.
Emma's life goes on. Her children marry and have children of their own - Edwina, Kit and Robin have one child each, Elizabeth marries repeatedly and has four and Daisy marries and has two, one of whom is Paula.
Back in 1970, where the story first began, Emma invites her family to her country estate in Yorkshire for her 80th birthday. After dinner, Emma tells them that she has changed her will, effectively cutting her own children out for their deceit and leaving everything to her grandchildren instead. She announces Paula will inherit the Harte's Department Store chain. Emma's children are furious but reluctantly accept £1 million each as "pay-offs" after they each sign an agreement that they will not try to contest her will after she dies. Emma also gives her blessing to Paula's engagement to Jim Fairley, Edwin's grandson, thus ending her life-long hatred of the Fairley family.
Production
The mini-series was produced by the British company Portman-Artemis, and was co-financed by the UK's Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and the U.S. OPT Organisation (a subsidiary of MCA Television). Producer Diane Baker (who also co-stars in the mini-series as Laura Spencer) first met Barbara Taylor-Bradford prior to the novel being published whilst Taylor-Bradford was working for a newspaper in New York and was interviewing Baker (who worked predominantly as an actress at that time) for an article about interior design. After the novel was published, Baker contacted Taylor-Bradford to obtain the television rights, remortgaging her house in order to do so.
The series was largely filmed in the North of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and locations include Richmond for most of the Armley, and the main shop front of the Emma Harte Emporium.
Barbara Taylor-Bradford's sequel, Hold The Dream, was produced as a eponymous mini-series
Hold the Dream
Hold the Dream is a British two-part miniseries made in 1986, based on the novel of the same name by Barbara Taylor Bradford. It is the second book in the Emma Harte series, following A Woman of Substance...
in 1986, again starring Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
and Jenny Seagrove
Jenny Seagrove
Jennifer Ann Seagrove is an English actress. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and rose to fame playing the lead in a TV dramatisation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman of Substance and the 1983 film Local Hero...
, though Seagrove now played the role of Paula. A second sequel, To Be The Best, was adapted in 1992 and starred Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman , though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.-Early life:Wagner was born in Los...
as Paula.
Transmission
The mini-series was aired by Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the UK over three nights from 2nd -4th January 1985. The broadcast of the final part on 4th January drew 13.8 million viewers, which remains the channel's highest ever audience to this day.
The mini-series was shown in syndication in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
several weeks prior to transmission in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Awards/Nominations
A Woman of Substance was nominated for the Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Limited Series (1985), and Deborah Kerr was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Special (1985).