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A Discovery of Witches
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Read A Discovery of Witches
All Souls Trilogy: Book 1

A Discovery of Witches (2011) (edit title/settings)

by Deborah Harkness (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

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 unknowingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research.... read more

Summary edit see section history

Diana Bishop is the last of a family of distinguished and well-respected witches. However, she seems reluctant or unable to use her magic since her parents were grotesquely murdered under mysterious circumstances whilst on a research trip to Africa, when Diana was seven.

In today’s... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Diana Bishop is the last of a family of distinguished and well-respected witches. However, she seems reluctant or unable to use her magic since her parents were grotesquely murdered under mysterious circumstances whilst on a research trip to Africa, when Diana was seven.

In today’s society, Diana is not the only witch amongst the population. The earth is roaming with 4 kinds of “creatures”: Humans, Witches, Vampires and Daemons. Each specie living contently amongst each other.

Now a qualified historian Dr Diana Bishop is writing a paper on alchemy for a conference and accidently stumbles upon an ancient manuscript called Ashmole 782, which has been lost for almost a century. Since Diana discovers it and begins to access its secrets, she finds herself attracting an increasing number of creatures, including a 1500 year old vampire, Matthew Clairmont.

As Diana and Matthew find their attraction for each other intensifying, the attraction draws the attention of the Congregation: a governing body comprised of three representatives of each specie, which prohibit inter-species fraternization. The Congregation is interested in how Diana obtained the manuscript and what she has learnt from it, whilst trying to uncouple her desirability to Matthew.

Diana, not fully recognizing the importance of the Ashmole 782, returns it to the book stacks finding herself unable to retrieve it again. Although she noticed that three front pages were torn from the book, she thinks nothing of it until she receives an envelope from her deceased mother containing one of the three manuscript pages and a letter explaining her inability to exercise her magic.
With the odds against Matthew and Diana and Diana not having the ability to control her magic, vulnerability forces them to find refuge in a time that is potentially as dangerous and powerful as the now.

Characters edit see section history

  • Dr. Diana Bishop: Young witch and academic specializing in the history of alchemy. The protagonist of the story whose (re-)discovery of her magical talents and forbidden love with Matthew Clairmont propel the story. Last of the Bishop witches, an old, distinguished and respected line of witches. Although tenured at Yale, she is spending a year at Oxford researching alchemy.
  • Matthew Gabriel Philippe Bertrand Sébastien de Clermont: Vampire, Oxford Professor of biochemistry, affiliated with Oxford Neuroscience at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
  • Sarah Bishop: Diana's aunt, her guardian after her parents' deaths. She is the younger sister of Diana's mother. In love with Emily.
  • Emily Mather: aka Em. Sarah's partner, witch, and Rebecca's best friend during school. Somewhat soft spoken, but unique and bold when her talents come into play.
  • Dr. Miriam Shephard: Vampire and Matthew's laboratory assistant. Miriam keeps an eye on Diana in the Bodleian when Matthew is not around.
  • Hamish Osborne: A Scottish daemon, longtime friend of Matthew.
  • Dr. Marcus Whitmore: Matthew's vampire son and laboratory assistant. Also a doctor.
  • Ysabeau de Clairmont: Matthew's "Mother." She made Matthew into a vampire when he was young, after a devastating tragedy. She does not like witches because of what happened to Matthew's father.
  • Baldwin de Clermont: Matthew's vampire "brother", Philippe de Clermont's middle son, and current head of the family.
  • Elias Ashmole: Seventeenth century book collector and alchemist.
  • Peter Knox: Powerful wizard who represents part of the Congregation. The police call upon him in cases of murder due to supernatural causes.
  • Rebecca Bishop: Diana's mother, powerful witch and Harvard trained anthropologist. Was killed in Africa when Diana was 7.
  • Stephen Proctor: Diana's father, Rebecca's husband and a Harvard-trained anthropologist. He was killed in Africa when Diana was 7. He could timewalk and was very powerful.
  • Sean: Works at Oxford's Bodleian Library. Friend of Diana's from her graduate days at Oxford
  • Christopher Roberts: Tenured professor of chemistry at Yale and 'betting buddies' of Diana. She requests his assistance in learning more about Matthew Clairmont's academic history.
  • Amira: A witch who Matthew met in India and talked into returning to Oxford to teach a yoga class comprised of vampires, witches and daemons. She reminds Matthew of the more spiritually pure yoga teaching styles he encountered centuries earlier when he first visited India.
  • Jordan: Hamish's butler. He came with the house and keeps the secrets inside.
  • Gillian Chamberlain: American witch studying in Oxford who warns Diana about witches keeping secrets from each other.
  • Domenico Michele: Venetian vampire and member of the Congregation.
  • Marthe: Older vampire who lives with Ysabeau, is the housekeeper at Sept-Tours. She loves to cook and is very knowledgeable of herbs.
  • Gerbert of Aurillac: The Vampire-Pope and member of the Congregation.
  • Satu Järvinen: Powerful witch and member of the Congregation.
  • Nathaniel Wilson: Daemon and husband of Sophie. Good with computers. Does not get along with Matthew.
  • Sophie Wilson: A young Southern daemon, daughter of witches. Has seen Diana in her dreams. Wife of Nathaniel, pregnant with his child.
  • Juliette Durand: Gerbert's "daughter" and Matthew's former lover.
Show all 25 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “If only he could taste it--taste Diana--he would be satisfied and the painful longing would subside. pg. 101”
    Matthew Clairmont
  • “In this room we understand why such a war might be fought. It's about Diana and the appalling lengths the Congregation will go to in an effort to understand the power she's inherited. It's about the discovery of Ashmole 782 and our fear that the book's secrets might be lost forever if it falls in the witches' hands. And it's about our common belief that no one has the right to tell two creatures that they cannot love each other--no matter what their species.”
    Hamish
  • “No one else will go through this kind of hell because they love someone they're not supposed to love.”
    Diana Bishop
  • “I was planning on starting a new file on my computer with the title 'Phrases That Sound One Way to Witches but Mean Something Else to Vampires.'”
  • “Yes, I see that you are behaving like a prince but that doesn't mean you won't behave like a devil at the first opportunity.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

The novel takes place in contemporary England around the Oxford area, France, and New England.
  • Oxford: The book opens at Oxford where Diana is conducting historical research on alchemy. Oxford is where she also completed graduate work on the history of science.
  • Cadzow Lodge: Home of Hamish Osborne located in Cadzow, Scotland.
  • Bodleian Library: Part of Oxford University where Matthew meets Diana for the first time.
  • Woodstock, England: Site of Old Lodge
  • Old Lodge: 16th century home built by Matthew, which currently houses the witch Amira.
  • Sept-Tours, France: Matthew's ancestral home and current château for Ysabeau.
  • La Pierre: A castle owned by Gerbert of Aurillac located south of Sept-Tours where Diana was tortured and imprisoned by Satu.
  • Madison, NY: Diana's childhood and current home of Sarah and Em.

Organizations edit see section history

  • The Congregation: The Congregation is a pact and organization consisting of 3 witches, 3 daemons, and 3 vampires who ensure that the 3 species do not engage in close relationships or meddle in human politics or religion. Other interactions with humans were allowed as long as the relationships were not problematic.

First Sentence edit see section history

The leather-bound volume was nothing remarkable.

Glossary edit see section history

  • Mabon: autumn equinox of the Wicca
  • palimpsest: a manuscript within a manuscript.
  • chatoiement: a witch's shimmer.
  • sesquicentennial: a one hundred and fiftieth anniversary.
  • ouroboros: ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.
  • chimera: mythological beast that combined the parts of a lioness, a dragon and a goat-a person with cells that possess two or more different genetic profiles.
  • bluestocking: an intelligent, educated woman.
  • grimoire: a textbook on magic.
  • witchwind: a whirlwind produced by a witch who can control the elements of the air, such as Diana.
  • oubliette: a dungeon made so that the only way in or out is through a trapdoor at the top.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 2 in All Souls Trilogy. (standard series)

Followed by Shadow of Night.

This is book 3 of 13 in Amazon.com Best Books of February (2011). (authoritative list)
This book is in 2011 Published Books. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Deborah Harkness (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Viking
Country: United States
Publication Date: February 8, 2011
ISBN: 0670022411
Page Count: 592

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3608.A7436 D57 2011
  • Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Adults

There is some sexual content and torture with a fairly explicit descriptions of the injuries sustained

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Historian
  • The Thirteenth Tale
  • Possession
  • 666 Park Avenue
  • The Witching Hour
  • Lasher
  • Taltos
  • Outlander
  • The Forever Girl

Books Cited by This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Origin of Species
  • Newton's Principia
  • The Sword in the Stone
  • Aurora Consurgens
  • The Consolation of Philosophy
  • Doctor Faustus
  • The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1
  • Biblia Sacra Vulgata
  • The Gutenberg Holy Bible;King James Version. Old & New Testamtent Bible, Illustrated. Table of Contents.

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