Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches - Review

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The beginning of an epic saga of love and war, set in a hidden world of preternatural creatures with supernatural abilities, steeped in history and secrets.

Diana is a historian, studying the history of science, specifically alchemy, researching texts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University. She is also a witch, one determined not to succumb to using her magical abilities or engaging in witchcraft to further her studies or her career, or even to make her life easier. In fact, she is determined to live a human life, much to the chagrin of the witches around her. But her denial of her nature and heritage is threatened when she comes across an ancient manuscript that she realises is enchanted.

Hurriedly, she sends it back, not wishing to study it any further. But it is too late to avoid attracting unwanted attention from multiple people. One of those people is Matthew, a scientist and fellow academic. Matthew is also a vampire. He appears to have developed a great interest in the manuscript and also in Diana herself.

Behind the veneer of ordinary human life hides a world of witches, vampires and daemons – three preternatural creatures which appear human, but are not; their existence hidden behind the myths and folklore that have developed over the millennia. But the attention of all three creatures is now focussed on Diana and the ancient manuscript, which may hold the key to the past and future, and the answers to questions that never cease to be asked.

Unable to deny their instant attraction and burgeoning feelings for each other, Diana and Matthew are drawn closer together and deeper into peril, until there may be no escaping the danger that their relationship and that ancient manuscript immerse them in.

A thoroughly absorbing and thought-provoking novel, ‘A Discovery of Witches’ begins Deborah Harkness’ ‘All Souls’ trilogy by introducing us to the two central characters and pulling us ever deeper into a world that is hidden all around us. The world-building is superb; no one is unfamiliar with witches, vampires or daemons, but here they are not quite as we recognise them in popular culture. The witches are perhaps the most recognisable, the daemons least so.

I became caught up in Diana and Matthew’s relationship – their forbidden desire for each other as they delve into the mysteries, while enemies circle around them. Each of the large cast of characters is drawn in refined detail, vampire Ysabeau one of my favourites. This is a novel driven in equal parts by character, setting and plot; rich in detail about all three. Harkness expertly crafts a journey that draws you in and refuses to release you from its spell.

The ending leaves us ready to dive headlong into the sequel ‘Shadow of Night’ – which promises to explore the late 16th century time period. ‘A Discovery of Witches’ is a tantalising beginning, leaving you yearning to further explore this world of danger and desire, magic and mystery.



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