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Sudden Change of Heart [Paperback]

Barbara Taylor Bradford (Author)
2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)


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Book Description

July 5, 1999
In the blockbuster storytelling tradition that is Barbara Taylor Bradford's hallmark, here is an extraordinary novel about a remarkable young woman who finds a new life when her old one shatters. Laura Valiant is a successful art historian, running her own company. She and her husband, Doug, a Wall Street lawyer, share an idyllic marriage. But Laura's trust in her husband is shaken when she discovers he has a secret life apart from her -- a life which will rock their love. Clare Benson is Laura's childhood friend. They've been together through thick and thin, good and bad. When Clare asks Laura the biggest favour and greatest honour of all -- to be guardian to her teenage daughter, Natasha -- Laura discovers her personal and professional lives become dramatically intertwined. But in true Valiant style, Laura rises to the challenges ahead and, eventually, succeeds in achieving the happiness and fulfilment she craves. From the streets of Paris and London to the art galleries and art auctions of New York, A Sudden Change of Heart takes the reader on an unforgettable journey where secrets, survival, love and redemption mesmerize the reader from the first page to the last. This is Barbara Taylor Bradford's fifteenth novel and it is told with the emotion and feeling readers have come to expect from one of the world's most beloved authors.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Contemporary
Sensuality: 4

Prolific author Barbara Taylor Bradford, riding high on the success of the television adaptation of her bestselling novel A Woman of Substance, introduces her loyal readers to Laura Valiant and Claire Benson, two exceptional women who have been best friends since childhood. Each has grown up and lead interesting lives: Laura is married to the almost-too-perfect-to-be-believed Doug Casson and a partner in a successful New York art dealership, and Claire, long divorced from Dr. Philippe Lavillard, has custody of their enchanting daughter Natasha and a satisfying career as the publisher of a Parisian decorative arts magazine. While in Paris on a shopping excursion for her dealership, Laura is delighted to be able to spend time with her old friend, and when each woman encounters calamity in their personal lives, they are able to turn to each other for help and support. Although their lives diverged many years before, nothing could ever affect the deep bonds of a friendship forged so long ago--not even the disturbing discovery of Nazi-stolen fine art. For fans of Barbara Taylor Bradford, the sometimes-improbable dialogue and tidy plot will not deflect the enjoyment of a unique bond between two remarkable women. --Alison Trinkle --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Another version of the indefatigable, headstrong heroine that's been Bradford's trademark since she first published A Woman of Substance 20 years ago appears here in a watered-down version as Laura Valiant, a New York art dealer who specializes in impressionist and post-impressionist works. Laura has what she thinks is a storybook marriage, and her closest childhood friend, Claire Benson, now publisher and editor-in-chief of a French interior design and art magazine, offers contrast as a bitter, divorced woman who dotes on her teenage daughter. Bradford's exploration of the relationship between the two women depicts a series of heartbreaks and scandals, most with more surface than substance. Claire's hidden past of childhood abuse, foreshadowed early in the book, makes the other characters appear obtuse for missing obvious clues. Meanwhile, Laura's "perfect" husband turns out to be bisexual, Claire's difficult ex-husband reappears in her daughter's life and Claire ends up confronting advanced breast cancer and battling for her life with Laura's loving support. The book tackles these all-too-familiar issues with a kind of stilted preachiness, and with often repetitive dialogue and a formulaic romance involving Laura and Claire's ex-husband. Contemporary headlines about Holocaust survivors demanding the return of Nazi-looted, privately owned works of art that surfaced in museums and private collections forms an important part of the plot, but Bradford's material on this controversial subject reads more like a newspaper article than an integrated theme. The saving grace in this, her 15th novel, is an echo of the memorable Emma Harte from Bradford's debut publication in Laura's grandmother, Megan Valiant, a strong-willed, charismatic woman who, with her colorful past and candid wisdom, will strike most readers as the real heroine of the saga. National author "High Tea" tour. (Feb.) FYI: This novel marks Bradford's return to Doubleday after several books with HarperCollins.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 333 pages
  • Publisher: Harpercollins Pb; First Edition edition (July 5, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0006510892
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007670536
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,552,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

Barbara Taylor Bradford, OBE is one of the world's best loved storytellers. Her 1979 debut novel, A Woman of Substance, ranks as one of the top-ten bestselling books of all-time, with more than 30 million copies in print. All 25 of her novels to date have been major worldwide bestsellers. Her 26th book, Playing The Game, will be published on October 12th by St. Martin's Press.

Bradford was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire (UK) as the only child of Freda and Winston Taylor. She grew up in the Leeds suburb of Armley and after Town Street Church of England School worked in the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post before going into journalism. By the age of twenty she was the fashion editor of Woman's Own Magazine and an editor and columnist on Fleet Street for the London Evening News.

Bradford's books have sold more than eighty-two (82) million copies worldwide in more than ninety (90) countries and forty (40) languages. Ten (10) of her books have been made into miniseries and television movies, making her one of the best-selling authors over the last 30 years.

In April of 2003, Mrs. Bradford was inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame of America alongside Mark Twain, Langston Hughes and Dr. Seuss. She was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for her contributions to literature. Her original manuscripts are archived at the Brotherton Library at Leeds University, alongside the works of the Bronte sisters. In 2009, Barbara's publishers began a worldwide 30th anniversary celebration of A Woman of Substance. The first annual Woman of Substance Awards took place on September 10th 2009 at the Dorchester Hotel in London. She lives in New York City with her husband, of 43 years, television producer Robert Bradford.

Her official website is: www.barbarataylorbradford.com

 

Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (13)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.3 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Why does she still get published?, May 19, 1999
Barbara Taylor Bradford's Woman of Substance was so rich, so well written and so immediate, that the author's first effort made us believe everything that followed would be its equal. This, unfortunately, has not happened. In A Sudden Change of Heart, Bradford's characters are so well-off and so shallow in their daily lives that we do not believe they have the capacity to suffer in the midst of terminal illnesses or remembered past sadnesses. Bradford has steadily gone downhill. Finding myself skipping pages that were so predictable, I imagined Bradford really struggling to get through A Sudden Change of Heart simply to meet a deadline. No agent or publisher would even look at a manuscript like this if the author were not already established as the icon, Barbara Taylor Bradford.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Made me Cry, December 17, 2002
By 
Claudette Pace (Glendale, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I've read most of BTB's books. When I'm done with them, I donate them or sell them. But to me "A Sudden Change of Heart" was one of her best and I'm keeping it.

Even though I agree with some of the other readers, that the "language" the characters spoke was a bit antiquated and formal, I really enjoyed the book.

I was at a doctor's appointment today, and I started to tear while I was reading what happened to Claire. I had to stop for awhile.

The friendship between Laura and Claire is very much alike to my best friend and me. We've known each other since we're 5 & 6 - and we'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary next year - so this kind of friendship does exist.

Don't be afraid to buy this book. Try it, you may like it!

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars What a disappointment!, January 25, 2000
By A Customer
As a formerly ardent fan of Barbara Taylor Bradford's books I was tremendously disappointed with her latest, A Sudden Change of Heart. I read the rambling, waiting for a plot to develop, but never found it. Several times I thought a story line was developing only to be disappointed. This book was definitely not up to the standard we've come to expect from Ms. Bradford. Too bad. Her early works were delightful.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Whenever she was in Paris on business and had an hour or two to spare, Laura Valiant inevitably headed for the Musee d'Orsay in the seventh arrondissement on the Left Bank. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
art adviser, art catalogues
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Grandma Megan, Norman Grant, Rosa Lavillard, Rhondda Fach, Tahitian Dreams, Los Angeles, Sir Maxim, Philippe Lavillard, Hercule Junot, Mark Tabbart, Westheim Collection, Laura Valiant, Grandpa Owen, Art Acquisitions, Sandra Newsam, Arthur Marriott, East End Avenue, East River, Herman Seltzer Gallery, Maurice Duval, Port Talbot, Second World War, Aunt Irina, Aunt Sylvie
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