"A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness

Witches, vampires and demons have been part of popular culture for a such long time now that many people wince just at the idea of having yet another story revolving around them. 

Well, as writers have shown us time and time again, the human imagination is practically limitless as there are always new and exciting ways to tackle a subject, something which Deborah Harkness has undoubtedly done in her book titled A Discovery of Witches, which is part of the All Souls trilogy.

To give you a brief idea of what it’s about, the story is centered around Diana Bishop, a young scholar who also happens to be the descendant of a long line of witches. At some point, while in Oxford’s Bodleian library, she stumbles unto an ancient alchemical formula… needless to say, the formula was enchanted and its rediscovery sparked a chain of events, the first one being the creation of fantastical world inhabited by divine as well as nightmarish creatures.

While at its base the story sounds stereotypical to no end, there are various interesting themes examined in it. For example, Diana has actually vowed to live like a human and not a witch for her life, a perspective which continually conflicts with the actions she must undertake. Bit by bit, she comes to understand that normal life is just an unattainable illusion for her, abandoning her hopes of studying texts and partying instead of fighting demons and witches.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Book cover) 
She also meets a very old and wise vampire by the name of Matthew Clairmont who helps her navigate the magical world and achieve her goals. Apart from offering the regular thrills of a supernatural story, A Discovery of Witches also takes the time to explore the inhabitants of that fantastic world, their origins, going into more complicated things such as genetic mating, sharing powers, and the relationship between good and evil under a number of circumstances, including one in which both are under threat from an external source.



Deborah Harkness (Author)

Deborah Harkness


Personal site

Deborah Harkness is an American author, novelist, scholar, and a self-described wine enthusiast. After publishing two works of historical non-fiction while working as a history professor at the University of Southern Carolina, Harkness then penned her most famous work to date, A Discovery of Witches.



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