Loved this series of books , read A Women of Substance such along time ago so it was good to be taken back to the beginning with Blackie and Emma to revisit their story u told and how much they achieved over the years.
Absolutely brilliant book and now i think it will need to read the whole series again.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the early read

I was looking forward to this book and wanted to love it as i remember loving "A Woman of Substance" unfortunately I was left disappointed and am a firm believer in leaving the past where it is, such a shame as I wanted it to be great.

A really good read. I read a Woman of substance many years ago and loved it so I was really looking forward to this prequel and it doesn't disappoint. Following Blackie's life from when he leaves Ireland as a thirteen year old boy to live with his aunt and uncle in England, to when he first meets up with Emma Harte .His journey is amazing and I loved him even more in this story as it tells of his struggles and his commitment to make a better life for himself by learning his trade from his uncle and building a successful life for himself. A story of poverty, friendship, love and family which holds your interest from the very beginning.

It is a long time since I read A Women of Substance so it was really refreshing to be taken back to be reacquainted with Blackie and Emma and how from so lowly beginnings how much they achieved.
Absolutely brilliant book and I think it will encourage new and old readers to read the saga again.

Blackie is orphaned by the age of 13. He leaves Ireland to travel to an uncle in Leeds in the hope of bettering his chances in life. The new life is a world away from the poverty he experienced in Ireland, and he thrives.

This book has the feel of one that was written to try and fill in the background for her successful novels - and I'm not sure it really succeeds. It feels formulaic and the characters are rather one-dimensional.

I really wanted to like this book, but found it rather unsatisfying. Not a bad book, but not a great one either.

A Man of Honour.

This is the prequel to Woman of Substance and tells the story of Blackie O’Neill from the age of thirteen in Ireland to his decision to move to Leeds to work successfully with his Uncle Patrick and his eventual meeting with Emma Harte on the Yorkshire Moors .... except it isn’t entirely that!

Let’s start with the positives. The character of Blackie stands out, he’s optimistic, likeable, ambitious, kind and a hard working man. The first part is good especially the section in Ireland where there are several likeable characters. There’s a good sense of place especially Leeds, a city I know well, with some good descriptions that make you feel as if you are there. The meeting with Emma is good (at 77%) although we’re on the moors for all of about five minutes!!

However, much as I enjoyed Woman of Substance, that was then, this is now as either my reading preferences have changed or is the book? Probably a combination of the two. It’s marketed as the story of Blackie which to a certain extent it is but we have other storylines that are superfluous and seem to go nowhere such that as of Sir Robert Lassiter. There’s very little drama or plot, it’s largely a descriptive stroll through Yorkshire and London with some food thrown in for good measure and dialogue that’s always great either. Sometimes things perk up and get a bit more interesting then it zooms off somewhere else and you’re left hanging. There are A LOT of characters at times it feels like a cast of 5000 which also leads to repetition.

Overall, I think this would have been great as a novella just featuring Blackie and his eventual meeting with Emma. I’m disappointed as I’d high hopes for this one, it’s not a bad book by any means just not the entertainment I hoped for.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, Harper Fiction for the arc in return for an honest review.

A Man of Honour by Barbara Taylor Bradford

The prequel to the million-copy bestseller, A Woman of Substance, where, high on the Yorkshire moors, the story of Blackie O’Neill and Emma Harte begins…
Orphaned and alone, 13-year-old Blackie O’Neill must leave County Kerry to find work and put food in his mouth. His only chance of survival lies with his mother’s brother, far away in Leeds.
Well I remember reading A Woman of Substance in what feels like a million years ago , and remember it as a wonderful epic story . This one is no different in calling it an epic.
It covers the story of Irish born Blackie , an orphan . He is sent over to England and put in the care of his uncle in Leeds. He then gets a job in Yorkshire where he meets up with maid Emma Harte ( the main character in Woman of Substance )
The author , as in her other books manages to write in such a way that the characters are bought to life and leap off the pages in the book. A fantastic read.

This is the story of Blackie, making his way out of the poverty he was born into, and finally realising his dream, or part of his dreams at least. Also of Emma, who works so hard to do the same. They are both obsessed by financial ambition. A moving tale, taking in several characters, but they are the main characters. An emphasis on food made me hungry, which shows how impressive this author's descriptive powers are. I will be reading more of her books, based upon this book, which is highly recommended.