‘A Woman of Substance’s Finale Doesn’t Mean the Fight Is Over
This partnership is not what you think. Master Edwin’s got you right where he wants you.
It’s the finale episode of A Woman of Substance Season 1, and we know Emma Harte has a long way to go. (Barbara Bradfield Taylor’s epic rags-to-riches storyline continued for seven books.) We are in 1978, with Emma Harte preparing to fight a final battle, but this episode opens on the Top of the World on the moors, not in a NYC skyscraper. She looks back and remembers...
This time, instead of arriving at Fairley Hall on foot, she rides in a fancy, chauffeured car. Her children are waiting for her to join them at what may be the grimmest birthday party ever: “Is she going to have us all shot?” Dutifully, Emma’s grandchildren and families sing Happy Birthday, and she comments on what a touching moment this is – adding “Are all the traitors present?”
Back to the World War I era, where Edwin Fairley, battle-worn and fragile, boards a train home. To his surprise, he spots a familiar face, Mac O’Neill, also returning from the front. Edwin has been discharged on medical grounds (PTSD known then as shell-shock). Mac’s wife Laura is pregnant, and he breaks the news to Edwin that Joe Lowther, Emma’s husband, was killed, and he intends to visit her. Edwin, near tears, tells him that Emma has done just fine without him.
Emma is thriving, and the Fairleys are not. When Edwin reaches Fairley Hall, he is surprised by his father’s uncharacteristic and enthusiastic hug. But as they talk in the office, Edwin learns that Adam is deeply in debt and the house is up for sale. Although Adam won the uniform contract, he can’t fulfill it. There’s only one mill that can take on the order – and it belongs to Emma Harte.
