A Woman of Substance
“A truly heartrending dynastic saga of poverty, passion and power”
About
The life of Emma Harte, from kitchen maid at the beginning of the 20th-century, to respected businesswoman and grandmother in the 1980s. From humble beginnings, Emma Harte starts her business with a small shop, but over the next twenty years, she expands her stores and invests in the growing textile industry in Leeds.
Cast
Jenny Seagrove
as Young Emma Harte
Deborah Kerr
as Older Emma Harte
Barry Bostwick
as Major Paul McGill
Liam Neeson
as Blackie O'Neill
Miranda Richardson
as Paula McGill Amory
Peter Egan
as Adam Fairley
Peter Chelsom
as Edwin Fairley
Barry Morse
as Murgatroyd
John Duttine
as Joe Lowther
Diane Baker
as Laura O'Neill
John Mills
as Henry Rossiter
Mick Ford
as Frank Harte
Christopher Gable
as Arthur Ainsley
Gayle Hunnicutt
as Olivia Wainwright
Christopher Guard
as Gerald Fairley
Dominic Guard
as Winston Harte
Del Henney
as Jack Harte
Nicola Pagett
as Adele Fairley
Joris Stuyck
as David Kallinski
Meg Wynn Owen
as Elizabeth Harte
Episodes
Miniseries
Episode 1
As her children plot the takeover of her retail empire, Emma Harte plans her own counter-moves against them. Emma started life as a maid in the home of Adam Fairley, the wealthy local mill owner. She works hard not only at the Fairley's but also in her own home taking care of her father, two brothers and a bedridden and dying mother.
Episode 2
Now in Leeds, the pregnant Emma Harte learns that Blackie O'Neill has gone to Ireland to care for a sick friend. She finds a place to stay but has tried everywhere to get a job with no success. Her luck changes when she rescues a middle-aged man, Abraham Kallinski, be stoned by two boys.
Episode 3
As Emma Harte's empire grows, she arranges her assets in such a way as no one knows she is the buyer, noting that most men don't like dealing with a woman on business matters. The various layers of ownership come in quite handy as George Fairley drinks and gambles his family businesses away and she gets a opportunity to buy them cheap.
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