BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD TAKES BRITAIN BY STORM! A whirlwind two-week tour of Britain by Barbara Taylor Bradford has seen the top-selling author being celebrated and acclaimed by her peers, celebrities, dignitaries and the media.  Here to promote her latest novel, A Sudden Change of Heart - which just came out in paperback - she also celebrated the 20th Anniversary of her first novel, A Woman of Substance, which has been re-packaged by her publishers to commemorate the event. While in the UK, Barbara literally 'blitzed' the media - appearing on numerous nationwide television and radio shows, among them six network quiz shows with daily viewing audiences of four million. ARISE, DAME BARBARA? The Sun newspaper, Britain's biggest-selling national daily with a circulation of five million, said in its leader during Barbara's visit: "A novel Idea.  There has been a special anniversary this week. Britain's greatest living blockbuster novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford celebrated 20 years since she published her first book, " A Woman of Substance."  She is one of the nation's great talents.  Isn't it about time she was made Dame Babs? The Sun thinks so." HERE'S TO THE LADY WHO LUNCHES A highlight of Barbara's visit to Britain was visiting the city of Leeds in Yorkshire, where she was born, to attend a special literary luncheon held in her honor.  In the presence of the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Lenny Parker, and the Lady Mayoress, amid the 1930's splendor of the Queens Hotel, Barbara enthralled the huge audience with stories about her childhood. She went on to say: "It's lovely to be home.  I often think it's not bad for a little girl from Leeds who left school at fifteen and a half. Never did I think when I was a child growing up that the Lord Mayor of Leeds would ask for my autograph!" WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE HANDS BLOCKBUSTER TO THE MUSEUM Barbara Taylor Bradford donated the master tape of her classic mini-series A Woman of Substance to the city of Bradford's National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.  A specially convened symposium, with television presenter, friend , and fellow Yorkshire-born Richard Whiteley, took place in the newly opened museum's Cubby Broccoli Cinema. A piece of television history, the six hour mini-series smashed Channel 4's ratings figures and became an international success.  Master tapes of the author's other mini-series, including Hold the Dream and To Be the Best and produced by her husband Robert, were also donated. THE BARBARA AND BOB SHOW Husband and wife duo Robert and Barbara Taylor Bradford - never before a double-act on stage together - took CENTER stage at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford and had the audience enthralled.  Host Richard Whiteley likened the event to a 'situation comedy' with the celebrated couple swapping anecdotes, correcting one another's recollections, laughing, telling stories about Liam Neeson and Sir Anthony Hopkins, and genially digging at each other.  Barbara told how she'd spent six weeks turning one of her books into a screenplay, "and he didn't even pay me," she laughed. "Oh, didn't I," Robert retorted. "What about all the jewelry?" At one point, nodding toward her husband, Barbara said: "I write to express my thoughts and, because I love it.  I don't write for money, because I married him." WHAT THE DICKENS! With sales in excess of 60 million copies, Barbara Taylor Bradford has probably sold more books than Charles Dickens - but not even "Oliver Twist" or "Pickwick Papers" went into 26 printings in his lifetime.  "A Woman of Substance", with sales of 19 million plus, has. "Not bad for a lass from Leeds," says Barbara. However, she has no reason to be surprised; the North has spawned an array of talented writers: Alan Bennett, J. B. Priestly, Tony Harrison, John Braine, Stan Barstow, Alan Plater, John Godber, Willis Hall and Barbara's former Yorkshire Evening Post colleague, Keith Waterhouse. GUEST OF HONOR Barbara Taylor Bradford was guest of honor at a glittering cocktail party, hosted by her publishers HarperCollins, to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of A Woman of Substance. It was held at the exclusive Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane and guests included former Prime Minister John Major and his wife Dame Norma, the Earl of Buckinghampshire, Jenny Seagrove (who appeared in the mini-series of the acclaimed novel), HRH the Crown Prince of Yugoslavia and Princess Catherine, the Earl and Countess Bathurst, Jennifer D'Abo, Shirley Conran, Bryan Forbes and Nanette Newman, Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill, Tara and Arthur Diedrick, Jo Malone, and former Yorkshire Evening Post friend Keith Waterhouse, whom Barbara had not seen for five years. BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD SIGNS MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR DEAL Barbara Taylor Bradford, while visiting the UK to promote her latest novel, A Sudden Change of Heart and to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of her first novel A Woman of Substance, signed a new four-book contract with her publishers of 20 years, HarperCollins. Meanwhile, at a cocktail party where she was the guest of honor, former HarperCollins Chairman and Chief Executive Eddie Bell presented Barbara with a leather-bound hand-made special edition of A Woman of Substance. The assembled throng of dignitaries and celebrities gasped in delight as the book arrived - brought into the room by highland pipers piping! It was indeed a handsome gift, quarter leather-bound in blue Moroccan goatskin and Montana calfskin with silver blocking and silver gilt edges - deep blue Moiré silk paper and sterling silver embossed plate inset into the cover. BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD VISITS HIGHGROVE Barbara and her husband Robert Bradford were among specially invited guests at a party held at Highgrove, the home of Prince Charles.  On arrival, the guests were treated to a guided tour of the gardens and then sat down to lavish dinner prepared by the renowned chef, Anton Mossinman. A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE STILL BREAKING RECORDS The 1,520 manuscript pages of A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE, which weighed 15½ pounds, were reduced to 1,220 and the printed book was a total of 755 pages. The final work has been re-printed no less than 26 times, the latest edition being totally re-packaged for 1999 by publisher HarperCollins. The novel reached an even wider audience as an equally successful television mini-series in November of 1984. Now, a new edition of the video of the TV mini-series continues to do record breaking business in the United Kingdom, proving that Barbara's greatest hit continues to endure and has lost none of its substance. A Woman of Substance is now available on video in the US from Acorn Publishing and available in paperback from HarperCollins. ALSO THIS YEAR... A SECRET AFFAIR - The movie based on the bestselling Barbara Taylor Bradford novel, starring Janine Turner, aired on the CBS Television Network on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1999. A SUDDEN CHANGE OF HEART, Barbara's latest bestselling novel, has just been released in paperback from Dell. Photo Credits, top to bottom: Liam Neeson in "A Woman of Substance" HRH Crown Prince of Yugoslavia with his wife Princess Catherine, former Prime Minister John Major, and the Bradfords Barbara Taylor Bradford with former Prime Minister John Major and his wife Dame Norma Barbara Taylor Bradford with HarperCollins Chairman / Chief Executive Eddie Bell Barry Bostwick and Jenny Seagrove in "A Woman of Substance"