The Triumph of Katie Byrne

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Doubleday, 2001 - Actresses - 338 pages
Barbara Taylor Bradford takes her legendary storytelling to an exciting new level in this stunning, suspenseful tale about a young woman whose life is shattered by an unspeakable crime.
Seventeen-year-old Katie Byrne stands shivering in the cold Connecticut woods, her flashlight illuminating a scene out of a nightmare. Carly, one of her two closest friends, lies beaten and unconscious, her face covered in blood. Moments later, the horror escalates when Katie's brother discovers the lifeless body of Denise, the third member of their inseparable trio. Nearby is the old barn where only hours before the three girls joyfully rehearsed Shakespearean speeches for an upcoming school performance. For Katie, who returned to the makeshift theatre to retrieve schoolbooks she had forgotten in her haste to get home early, the tragedy marks the end of a long-shared dream. The girls began acting together as ten-year olds with stars in their eyes, fantasizing about the day they would all move to New York and take Broadway by storm. Now, only Katie can realize the dream.
Ten years later, Katie, a tall, lanky beauty with reddish-gold hair, is a struggling actress in New York. Haunted by the memory of Denise's death and by thoughts of Carly, who still lies in a coma, she longs for the fame and celebrity they imagined together so long before. After an acclaimed performance Katie finally wins a starring role on Broadway and begins a promising love affair. But before she can step into the spotlight, Katie must escape the dark shadows of the past.
In sixteen previous bestselling novels, Barbara Taylor Bradford has enthralled millions of readers with page-turning plots and characters that linger inthe heart and mind long after the book is closed. In The Triumph of Katie Byrne, romance, the theatre, and murder and mystery from the past all collide in a tale that will keep readers spellbound until the very last page.

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About the author (2001)

Barbara Taylor Bradford was born in Upper Armley, Leeds, in Yorkshire on May 10, 1933. At the age of fifteen, she was working as a typist for the Yorkshire Evening Post. After six months, she was promoted to cub reporter in the newsroom. At eighteen, she became the newspaper's Woman's Page Editor and at twenty, she headed for London where she became Fashion Editor of the magazine Woman's Own. She also reported for the London Evening News, Today Magazine and other publications, covering everything from crime to show business. In 1961, she met her future husband Robert Bradford and they were married in 1963. After they married, they moved to the United States and she began writing a syndicated column, Designing Woman. The column was published for twelve years and received several awards. Her debut novel, A Woman of Substance, was published in 1979 and she has since written over 20 novels. Many of her novels have been made into television mini-series including A Woman of Substance, Voice of the Heart, Act of Will, Everything to Gain and A Secret Affair. She also wrote children's books and eight books on decorating. She has received numerous awards for her work including the Matrix Award from New York Women in Communication Inc in 1985, the City of Hope's Spirit of Life Award in 1995, the Five Towns Music and Art Foundation's Award of Achievement for outstanding accomplishments in the field of Literature in 1997 and the British Excellence Award in 1998. She was inducted into the Matrix Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the Writers Hall of Fame of America in 2003. In 2007, she was awarded an OBE (The Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to Literature. She is a member of the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress. She is also involved in several charity projects such as Literacy Partners and the Police Athletic League of New York City. She made the New York Times Best Seller List in 2014 with her title Cavendon Hall.

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