London - Her novels often feature ambitious young women rising to the top.
But Barbara Taylor Bradford says that in the real world, such success only stirs up jealousy and resentment among other females.
“Some women can be a bit devious, especially if you’re successful,” Taylor Bradford said. “They’re jealous and envious, although they’d be afraid to display that with me. I’d punch them in the face.”
A Fleet Street journalist before she became an author, the 80-year-old said: “I was born ambitious, determined, driven, so nothing was going to stop me following my dream. I didn’t see myself as a feminist.”
Taylor Bradford, whose personal wealth is thought to be close to £200-million, added: “I never had any harassment, or feeling up.
“It’s strange today that the slightest compliment can be seen as harassment.
“It’s this generation. I don’t know why.”
She has been married to film producer Bob Bradford for 50 years and revealed that he calls her Napoleon because she is “bossy, dictatorial” and can become “shrill” – while she refers to him as Bismarck because of his German origins.
After decades of marital bliss, she has clearly learnt a thing or two about how to maintain a happy personal life. Her advice is to accept that “men and women are wired differently”.
Taylor Bradford whose works include A Woman Of Substance and a series of books on How To Be The Perfect Wife, told Radio Times: “I used to think it was true what mommy said – a woman makes a marriage work – but now I think the man has to put something into it, too.
“When my 31-year-old goddaughter has problems with her husband I tell her, ‘Keep your mouth shut and do your own thing’.
“Bob apologises for small things – ‘Sorry I broke that plate’ – but never says sorry when we have an argument. Men can be stubborn and can’t multitask.”
Appearance clearly still matters to Taylor Bradford, who confessed that she has used Botox and had eye surgery, but has not had a facelift – and insists the only pills she takes are vitamins.
The author, who lives in a New York penthouse, may enjoy a jet-set lifestyle but she is only too aware of the humble roots of her family.
She has taken part in a new ITV series Secrets From The Workhouse, in which she tells how her grandmother was forced into a workhouse and gave birth to two illegitimate children. A 2004 biography by Piers Dudgeon revealed that Taylor Bradford’s mother Freda was illegitimate – probably the daughter of the Marquess of Ripon, for whom her grandmother, Edith, was a maid – and had been in a workhouse. - Daily Mail