It Begins with Absence and Desire: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches. - Deborah Harkness 

Bookworm confession time: after nearly three decades of consuming as many books as time will allow I have become a bit jaded. It is increasingly difficult to find a fictional story which ensnares me in its pages like they did once upon a time. After reading many summaries and feeling meh, leaving several books unfinished, getting bored and skipping ahead (gasp!) or turning to non-fiction books, my bibliophile heart found what it has been yearning for. A Discovery of Witches, the first book in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, cast its spell on me.
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A Discovery of Witches was published ten years ago in 2011 but has been given new life with the release of the TV show based on the book series. Starring Matthew Goode as Matthew and Teresa Palmer as Diana, the trailer caught my attention and led me to the book series. As a personal rule, if there is a TV show or movie I want to watch that is based on a book, I read the book first. Although A Discovery of Witches is over 500 pages, it did not take me long to finish and move on to watching the magic of the book come to life on screen.

Matthew and Diana in the Bodleian Library. Photo credit: denofgeek.com

A Discovery of Witches begins with Diana Bishop, an American historian conducting research at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England. She discovers a magical book that has been missing for over 150 years and is forced to acknowledge her ancestry. Diana is a witch in denial, studying alchemy and trying to blend in among humans. The opening of the missing book attracts all sorts of creatures, including witches, vampires and daemons. Among them is Matthew Clairmont, a vampire determined to help Diana keep this mysterious book out of the wrong hands. Their mission takes this unlikely pair far from Oxford while bringing them closer together. Along the way you will meet many intriguing characters, including fierce allies and dangerous foes, as well as slowly peel away the mysteries of their world with each spellbinding page.

Diana finds Ashmole 782, missing for over 150 years. Photo credit: telltaletv.com.

After I finished the first book of the series, I immediately borrowed the DVD for season 1 of the TV show from my local library (libraries are amazing!). The casting was perfect, the wardrobe was exactly as I envisioned it and the locations were breathtaking, far grander than I could have imagined as a reader. The world and its characters were successfully brought to life and overall the show was well done, however, I do have a few warnings.

If you read the book first, be prepared to be confused during several points of the show. Some minor characters, who only had one or two scenes in the book, were given more of a major story line in the TV show. When I explained this to my husband who watched the show with me but did not read the books, he said it was probably done to avoid the “bad guy speech” or villain monologue and cut to the action when these characters do meet up with Diana or Matthew. Now I see this change was necessary when adapting from book to screen and did enjoy it once I got over the initial shock or confusion of it. ​

A Discovery of Witches Season 1 is available on DVD or to stream on Shudder and Sundance Now.

Another change to note; if you do not read Shadow of Night or The Book of Life (books 2 and 3 of the All Souls Trilogy) before watching season 1 of the show, beware there are some details or quotes that were pulled from the later books to be used in the first season of the show. Because we follow Diana in the book, we do not meet people or learn information until she does. In the show we can discover things a bit sooner since we are following several characters’ point of view. 

Whether you decide to read the books or not, I still recommend the TV show. My husband enjoyed it and now eagerly awaits my completion of Shadow of Night, the second book of the All Souls Trilogy, so we can watch the second season of the show. The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness promises an abundance of love, magic and adventure on page and screen. Let this enchanting tale spin you in its web. You won’t regret it!