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Cover of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches

Book 1 of All Souls Trilogy

  • 664 pages · about 11 hours
  • First published 2011
  • 11 editions

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1 About this book

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires.

Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing.

As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels.

Good for readers who want: fantasy, a love story, magic, and a long read.

  • Romance, paranormal
  • Magic
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • Relationships
  • Vampires
  • Witches
  • Alchemy

2 About Deborah Harkness

Born 1965

Deborah Harkness (born 1965) is an American scholar and novelist, best known as a historian and as the author of the All Souls Trilogy, which consists of The New York Times best-selling novel A Discovery of Witches and its sequels Shadow of Night and The Book of Life. Her latest book is The Black Bird Oracle, a sequel to the All Souls Trilogy.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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