Emma's Secret
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Product Description
Review
‘A sweeping saga full of passion and intrigue…a gripping read’ Hello!
Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford:
‘The storyteller of substance’ The Times
‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns.’ Guardian
'Queen of the genre.' Sunday Times
Book Description
A Woman of Substance: The Missing Years
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After seeing the other reviews, I embarked on this book with a certain amount of trepidation, having read the previous three in the saga some years ago, and sadly I felt it lived right down to my expectations. It felt over-written, under-edited, and thereby could have been fitted on to half the amount of pages. Excess stressing of the beauty of the characters (well, I know we expect them to all be lovely, but is it necessary to have everyone they meet mentally admiring their perfections?) combined with a rather unlikely scenario of the busy Emma finding time to visit the Houses of Commons on the right day to listen to Churchill's most famous war-time speech made the whole experience rather tedious.
I found it rather incredible that Emma could lay her hands on so much food to support the people in the bombed West End, practically climbing over the rubble to deliver it from baskets... I KNOW this is fiction, but surely in War-time people didn't just have a whole store full of game pies casually at their disposal? My suspended belief had trouble in remaining so. The modern day part was not especially intriguing - even the wait to the end to discover Evan's real family felt like a hard grind.
"To Be The Best" was possibly a sequel too far, but I feel this one really is money for old rope. And heaven help us, there's another on the horizon in the form of "Unexpected Blessings". Is the Unexpected Blessing the fact that Mrs Bradford is hanging up her pen after that one? I have been forced to go back to "A Woman of Substance" to see if it was as good as I'd thought when I first read it at the age of 19. And actually, yes, it's not bad. It moved me in the right places and was an inspiring tale.
On the plus side, someone thoughtfully bought this for my birthday present, so I didn't actually have to spend any money on it - on the down side, I will be forced to read "Unexpected Blessings" out of sheer curiousity and bloody-mindedness. Although I will wait till it's half-price in Smiths or Tescos. Or possibly buy it second-hand from a charity shop...
I found it rather incredible that Emma could lay her hands on so much food to support the people in the bombed West End, practically climbing over the rubble to deliver it from baskets... I KNOW this is fiction, but surely in War-time people didn't just have a whole store full of game pies casually at their disposal? My suspended belief had trouble in remaining so. The modern day part was not especially intriguing - even the wait to the end to discover Evan's real family felt like a hard grind.
"To Be The Best" was possibly a sequel too far, but I feel this one really is money for old rope. And heaven help us, there's another on the horizon in the form of "Unexpected Blessings". Is the Unexpected Blessing the fact that Mrs Bradford is hanging up her pen after that one? I have been forced to go back to "A Woman of Substance" to see if it was as good as I'd thought when I first read it at the age of 19. And actually, yes, it's not bad. It moved me in the right places and was an inspiring tale.
On the plus side, someone thoughtfully bought this for my birthday present, so I didn't actually have to spend any money on it - on the down side, I will be forced to read "Unexpected Blessings" out of sheer curiousity and bloody-mindedness. Although I will wait till it's half-price in Smiths or Tescos. Or possibly buy it second-hand from a charity shop...
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having loved A Woman of Substance and the following books in the saga, I eagerly picked up Emma's Secret. It began quite well, though the endless descriptions of food and what the characters were wearing, as opposed to any action/drama, began to bore after a while. Being a food lover I enjoyed the food descriptions at first - but when you realise they are written in place of a plot it begins to grate. Whilst reading it I thought it was EXACTLY like a bad American mini-series drama - real plot-free rubbish. The book is divided into three sections - it begins in the present day, then goes to the war years and then ends in the present day. I got the impression that BTB was completely bored whilst writing the war years section - she must have written it on autopilot. I was utterly bored reading it. There was no drama, no action, no passion, no interest, nothing. Emma did indeed have a bit of a "secret" and this could have been actually WRITTEN ABOUT and fleshed out - but no. We don't actually get to read exactly what the characters go through or feel re. Emma's Secret - we just find out what it was. Very very boring - don't waste your time on it!!
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a book that did not need to be written. I found the story very flimsy, pointless and to use a word from one of the authors other books about Emma Harte, no 'substance'. I watched a TV interview when Ms Taylor Bradford was promoting this book and she said it was the result of fan letters asking to hear more about Emma. She should have ignored the letters.
There was not enough focus on one character or situation for me to care about any of the characters. And the big build up to a show down between Emma and an old nemises fizzled away to nothing.
Apart from the lack of plot, I found the writting itself really annoying. At times it felt a very small step from books teaching children to read. Here is an example.... Emma said she met Winston Churchill and she was asked when and where. Her answer was... "I met him last Sunday, September the eighth... only four days ago, to be precise." One of these answers would have been fine and the fact this kind of grammer is repeated throughout the book is very frustrating.
If you feel you still really want to read this book, I would wait until it is out in paperback so you won't feel you have wasted your money.
There was not enough focus on one character or situation for me to care about any of the characters. And the big build up to a show down between Emma and an old nemises fizzled away to nothing.
Apart from the lack of plot, I found the writting itself really annoying. At times it felt a very small step from books teaching children to read. Here is an example.... Emma said she met Winston Churchill and she was asked when and where. Her answer was... "I met him last Sunday, September the eighth... only four days ago, to be precise." One of these answers would have been fine and the fact this kind of grammer is repeated throughout the book is very frustrating.
If you feel you still really want to read this book, I would wait until it is out in paperback so you won't feel you have wasted your money.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very disappointing
I bought this book before I realised that it is part of a series. When I discovered this fact, I decided to read them in order so I bought the three that come before this (A Woman... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nerdy Girl
No other word for it. Terrible.
I read A Woman Of Substance when I was 14 years old and loved every page of it. True, it is the only Barbara Taylor Bradford book I ever enjoyed as - even by the publication of... Read more
Published on 21 May 2004 by "munchkin4"
Emma's Secret
Even though it is not A Woman of Substance, Hold the Dream, or To Be The Best, I do not agree with some of the prevous reviews of Emma's Secret. Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2004 by michaela spenger
A totally unnecessary sequel
This is probably the worst book I have ever read. It draws shamelessly on previous books, and also on events which have already taken place to show how incredibly smart Emma Hart... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2004 by Begonia Miguel
Not much of a secret - Emma
I was very disappointed in this book. I have read and enjoyed A Woman of Substance and To Hold The Dream and was therefore keen to read this book and find out what happened to the... Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2004
A Woman of Substance it isn't
When I read that there was going to be a follow-up to "A Woman Of Substance," one of my all time favorite books, I was thrilled. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2004 by M. E. Newell
the best book ever, after a woman of substance.
Very good book where we can read about the incomparable emma again. Couldn't put it down. Everyone should read it. If you haven't read it yet, BUY IT. You won't regret your money.
Published on 3 Aug 2003 by E. Njine
Emma Harte - A welcome return
A brilliant written book which was an absolutely fantastic read, a book I could not put down and I totally recommend it 100%. Read more
Published on 11 July 2003
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