Publisher's Synopsis
The legendary Emma Harte, heroine of A Woman of Substance, returns...The legendary Emma Harte, heroine of A Woman of Substance, returns... At the centre of this sweeping saga of one family's power and frailties stands Paula O'Neill, beloved granddaughter of Emma and the guardian of her vast business empire. Happily married to Shane O'Neill for thirty years, Paula believes that all that Emma left to the family is secure. However, beneath the smooth surface sibling rivalry and discontent are beginning to flare. Into this volatile mix walks Evan Hughes, a young American fashion designer. On her deathbed, Evan's grandmother told her to find Emma Harte. Arriving in London, Evan understands two things: Emma has been dead for thirty years; and that she, Evan, bears an uncanny resemblance to Paula O'Neill. Fiercely protective of the Harte empire, Paula is troubled by Evan's presence. Needing to find out who the girl really is, Paula turns to Emma's recently discovered war-time diaries. The decades fall away. It is London in 1940. The Blitz. Emma Harte comes vividly back to life, accompanied by Blackie O'Neill, David Kallinski and Emma's brothers Winston and Frank. Emma, working hard under war-time conditions, is also holding her family together as bombs drop, sirens wail and her sons go off to war. As she struggles to cope with her grief for Paul McGill, and a budding new relationship, the indomitability, will power and strength that have forged Emma into the woman she is all come to the fore. As the pages unfurl, Paula discovers the secret Emma Harte kept and took to the grave to protect others. It creates dramatic and heartbreaking repercussions in the family and irrevocably changes lives. Emma's Secret is vintage Barbara Taylor Bradford. Emotion, drama, suspense, intrigue and passion fill the pages in a spellbinding novel which only she could write.