A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness
Series: All Souls Trilogy #1
Series Rating:
Published by Penguin on February 8, 2011
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 594
Format: Kindle
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository
Also in this series: Shadow of Night
A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.
Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.
Magic, witches, vampires, and daemons are real?
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is a mesmerizing story filled with eccentric characters, science, history, and social standings. I adored the story and found it hard to concentrate on other issues. This is the second time that I have read the book, and I enjoyed it, even more, this time.
Diana Bishop
Diana at first seems like this mousy academic with nothing special about her. Then you find out she is a witch. I am intrigued now. As we get to know Diana, we find out how complex she and her past are. She has such courage and yet at times, she seems so fragile.
I also loved the way that she stood up to prejudice and made up her mind. Diana has this hidden strength that most don’t see or they dismiss it along with her.
Sarah and Emily are great. I thought their concern for Diana’s safety and wellbeing was wonderfully maternal. You can genuinely see the love they share and for Diana.
Diana’s love for Matthew is tested, and even though it is new and forbidden, she knows that it is right.
Somewhere in the center of my soul, a rusty chain began to unwind. It freed itself, link by link, from where it had rested unobserved, waiting for him. My hands, which had been balled up and pressed against his chest, unfurled with it. The chain continued to drop, to an unfathomable depth where there was nothing but darkness and Matthew. At last it snapped to its full length, anchoring me to a vampire. Despite the manuscript, despite the fact that my hands contained enough voltage to run a microwave, and despite the photograph, as long as I was connected to him, I was safe.
Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy, Book 1) (p. 196). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Matthew Clairmont
Matthew…how best to describe him. I think the best way is that he is everything that I would think a vampire would be: strong, handsome, powerful, dangerous, possessive, protective and otherworldly. I can only imagine the things that he has seen and done. So, amazing. Then there is the way that he tries to follow the covenants that the creatures all live by.
Matthew also doesn’t allow prejudice to lead his character. He stands up for those that need it and has that code of ethics that not many have in this current time. Matthew is a scientist, trying to find out why the creatures are disappearing, which makes him seem a bit noble.
Matthew’s family is strong, resourceful and filled with grief and sorrow. Yet, they stand together even when they would like to kill each other.
Hamish studied Matthew’s tense shoulders. He wasn’t surprised that his friend craved Diana Bishop. A vampire had to desire another creature more than anyone or anything else in order to mate, and cravings were rooted in desire. Hamish strongly suspected that Matthew—despite his previous fervent declarations that he was incapable of finding anyone who would stir that kind of feeling—was mating.
Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy, Book 1) (p. 101). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The Creatures
There are so many things that I loved and enjoyed about this book. The distinction between the creatures, like that daemons are brilliant and yet could lose themselves in madness. I like the way Hamish uses his brilliance with economics and Nathanial with computers.
The vampires try to keep the peace because they have seen so much through their immortal lives and still some of them are evil playing the long game. But we mustn’t forget that they live off of human blood and they are the ultimate predators.
The witches seem to me to be the most wicked and seek the power that they don’t understand. Well, some of them. While others are smart and abide by the covenants they also believe in what is right.
The creatures must not show themselves to humans, but they don’t hate us.
The strongest distinguishing characteristic of humans is their power of denial.
Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy, Book 1) (p. 142). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
5 Stars for A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating for A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is five stars. I loved the entire story and will probably reread this book. It feels like a find something new each time I do.
If you haven’t read this book or the series, you should, and then you should check out the television series.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book on your site.
Don’t forget to check out our review of Discovery of Witches ~ Season 1 HERE and the Discovery of Witches television series cast list HERE.
About Deborah Harkness
The story of my life? It can be summed up in three words: history, books, and libraries.
My career in fiction began in September 2008, when I started to wonder “if there really are witches and vampires, what do they do for a living?” A Discovery of Witches was the unexpected answer to that question….
Fictional Books
A Discovery of Witches debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, and was also a bestseller in the UK, France, and Germany. In total, more than thirty-seven foreign editions and translations of volumes from the trilogy have been published. The story of Diana and Matthew continues in Shadow of Night (2012) which debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Book of Life (2014) which debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, the Sunday Times bestseller list, and The Globe and Mail bestseller list. In 2018, I published Time’s Convert, a “prequelly sequel” to the trilogy, which debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list (for combined print & e-book fiction).
Professional Life
Before that, I spent more than a quarter of a century as a student and scholar of history, with degrees from Mount Holyoke College, Northwestern University, and the University of California at Davis. For my doctoral degree, I researched the history of magic and science in Europe, especially during the period from 1500 to 1700. The libraries I’ve worked in include Oxford’s Bodleian Library, the All Souls College Library at Oxford, the British Library, London’s Guildhall Library, the Henry E. Huntington Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Newberry Library—in other words, I know my way around a card catalogue or the computerized equivalent. These experiences have given me a deep and abiding love of libraries and a deep respect for librarians.
Currently
Currently, I teach European history and the history of science to undergraduates and graduate students at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Prior to that, I taught medical history at the Northwestern University Medical School, the history of science and medicine at the University of California at Davis, paleography at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Oxford, and early modern European history at Colgate University.
Taken from Deborah Harkness’ Website
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