I love a good old regs to riches tale, and this one is set in Leeds!

Classic wonderful summer reading. The sequels are all skippable, but this one is fun, fun, fun.

I see the linkage, if you like Gone with the Wind, you'll likely enjoy A Woman of Substance.

Maybe it is because of the era the book was written. Or maybe because of the 'romance novel' genre. But while the main character was strong, driven, and highly successful, she married money every time.

I loved this sweeping tale from 1904 to the mid 1960's. Emma Hart is a great protagonist and surprising likable despite some of the things she does to climb to the top. Sexy, smart and touching. It reminded me in someway of The Thornbirds and that is a compliment. I would recommend this book.

GREAT!! Loved the main character of this book.

Emma Harte rises from a housemaid in Yorkshire to one of the wealthiest people in the world.

This book is a tour de force, a sweeping narrative with a memorable heroine. I really enjoyed reading about Emma’s rise through the ranks of society. The characters are lively and vivid, even the supporting ones.

Of course it’s not perfect. The romances are all underdeveloped, which is a cause for concern because a few of them propel the plot. But Emma is such an indomitable character that sweeps the story along anyway.

I read this book years ago. It's one of the finest fluffy novels I've read. Someone on amazon called it a melodramatic rags-to-riches story, and it is. That commenter, too, gave it four out of five stars. :-)

An absolute epic, i saw the tv series with Liam Neeson when i was a young child, and years later in my teenage years stumbled across this. What an epic story of a young woman born with nothing and her rise to the top, making her the most successful woman in Britain. It spans something like 80 years, lots of drama, deceit, sex. Its brilliant.