A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches Novel ☑️ Recommended

All Souls Trilogy Series Book 1

A Discovery of Witches Summary

Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on Netflix

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

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.

See the world of All Souls come alive in the incredibly lush eponymous TV series, starring Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four, Hacksaw Ridge) and Matthew Goode (Match Point, The Imitation Game).

ISBN-10 ‎ 9780143119685

ISBN-13 ‎ 978-0143119685

Publisher: Penguin Books

Release Date: February 8, 2011

579 pages

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A Discovery of Witches received mostly positive feedback from literary critics. It was praised for its intelligence and the mixture of history with fantasy, although some critics felt the plot was trite and the pacing was slow. Comparison were made between other popular fantasy series, namely Twilight and Harry Potter. The novel began as a "thought experiment" for Harkness, who had previously only published works of historical non-fiction. She drew upon her academic background as a historian and her studies of alchemy, magic and the occult.

A Discovery of Witches was first published in hardcover on February 8, 2011 by Penguin Books, becoming a New York Times Best Seller upon its release. It has since been released in paperback and also as an ebook. The novel has been translated into more than 36 languages around the world. A Discovery of Witches is the first installment in the All Souls trilogy, followed by Shadow of Night (2012). Warner Bros. purchased the rights to create a film adaptation.

Synopsis

While studying in Oxford University's Bodleian Library, American scholar Diana Bishop uncovers a bewitched alchemical manuscript, the long-lost and sought-after Ashmole 782. Diana has long tried to keep magic out of her life; she is descended from a long line of witches, but she is determined to remain untouched by her family's legacy. She banishes the manuscripts to the stacks, but Diana finds it impossible to hold the world of magic at bay any longer. Witches are not the only otherworldly creatures to live alongside humans. Creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires also inhabit this world. The discovery of Ashmole 782 draws the attentions of witches, daemons, and vampires alike. It is believed that the manuscript contains important clues about the past and the future, and creatures want to know how Diana Bishop has been able to get her hands on the elusive volume. Perhaps most drawn to Diana is the 1500-year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont, a geneticist with a passion for Darwin. Finding an ally in the vampire, Diana and Matthew embark on a journey to understand the manuscript's secrets. As their relationship develops, the witch and the vampire engage in a forbidden romance, drawing the attention of the Congregation, a nine-member governing clique overseeing all supernatural beings. As Diana and Matthew make enemies, they fall further in love, threatening to unravel the very fragile peace that has long existed between creatures and humans.

Plot

When Diana Bishop returns to Oxford university her life is flipped upside down. While researching in the library, Diana collects a book that was thought to be lost. Strange going ons begin to happen around Diana bringing her witch heritage back into her life. Matthew Clairmont is a vampire who has spent all his undead years looking for that book. When word travels that the book is in Oxford, he races over expecting to see the book but instead he sees her. As the story progresses a romance starts to bloom between the two but danger is also heading their way because the love is forbidden. They begin to run but will they make it?

Additional information and source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Discovery_of_Witches

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