A Discovery of Witches: A Novel

Deborah Harkness

Feb 2011 · All Souls Trilogy Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Book one of the New York Times bestselling All Souls series, from the author of The Black Bird Oracle.

“A wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry Potter and Twilight” (People).

Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on AMC+, Sundance Now, and Shudder!

Deborah Harkness’s sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches, has brought her into the spotlight and galvanized fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.

Harkness has created a universe to rival those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a scholar's depth to this riveting tale of magic and suspense. The story continues in book two, Shadow of Night, book three, The Book of Life, and the fourth in the series, Time’s Convert.

Ratings and reviews

This book could have blown my mind, and there were a few instances of goosebumps while reading. But overall the flow of it was too monotonous, the pace for me was too slow. And geez la wheez the amount of over-description was mind-boggling. I literally had to force myself to finish this Novel. And it wasn't until around pg 407 that I became interested, which didn't last long as even the learning of magic and time-travel became boring with too much description. I know people love this book, but I didn't.

This book is just fascinating. upon seeing it in the bookstore, i had thought to buy it many times but just until recently i decided that the book was worth reading. the story is great, not to much stupid love, something that we human could relate to. different from the twilight saga, the witch did not depend on the vampire too much. it just amazing. like a combination of dan brown and stephanie meyer. can't wait to read more.

This book showed a lot of promise. It could have been exciting and engaging, but it fell so short. I got absolutely nothing out of it. There was nothing better understood, the plot BARELY moved when you think about it, and got super sidetracked towards the end. Also new characters weren't adequately introduced. Idk, it just doesn't make me want to read the second one. The beginning was great though. Harkness included elements of daily life forgotten by most artists and Diana started off as a great and relatable character. I just wish she chose a better main conflict.

About the author

Deborah Harkness is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls series, which includes A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, The Book of Life, Time's Convert, and The Black Bird Oracle. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. She lives in Los Angeles.