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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.
Deborah Harkness | |
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 Harkness at the 2018 U.S. National Book Festival | |
| Born | 1965 (age 58–59) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Scholar, novelist |
| Education | Mount Holyoke College (BA) Northwestern University (MA) University of California, Davis (PhD) |
| Genre | Fantasy, historical fiction |
| Notable works | A Discovery of Witches Shadow of Night The Book of Life Time's Convert |
| Website | |
| www | |
| External audio | |
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 "Science and the Supernatural in the 17th Century", Deborah Harkness & Jim Voelkel, Science History Institute |
Born in 1965, Harkness grew up near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of an American-born father and a British-born mother.[1] She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College (B.A., 1986), Northwestern University (M.A., 1990), and the University of California, Davis (Ph.D., 1994).[2] Harkness also studied abroad at Oxford University. She is a well-regarded historian of science and medicine,[3] as well as having taught courses about the history of magic and science.[4]
Harkness is a professor of history and teaches European history and the history of science[5] at the University of Southern California.[6] She has published two works of historical non-fiction, John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy and the End of Nature (1999) and The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution (2007).[6]
In 2011, Harkness published her first work of fiction, A Discovery of Witches. The first novel in the All Souls trilogy, A Discovery of Witches is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of a modern-day witch who inadvertently calls up an ancient enchanted manuscript at Oxford University's Bodleian Library[7] thereby attracting the unwelcome notice of a host of magical creatures who live among humans, including other witches, daemons, and a 1,500-year-old French vampire.[8][6] The novel debuted at number two on The New York Times Best Seller hardcover fiction list,[9] and has been sold in at least 34 countries.[10] The book was called "a sophisticated fairy tale for adults" by the San Antonio Express-News.[11] The second novel in the series, Shadow of Night, was published a year later, becoming a number one success on The New York Times Best Seller list.[12] The third novel in the series is called The Book of Life.[13] The book was published on July 15, 2014, in hardback, e-book, and audiobook in the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland.
On January 9, 2014, the United States front cover and a two-page excerpt were released to the public on USA Today. On May 12, 2014, chapter 1 was released on Harkness' website.[14] Harkness is also the author of the award-winning wine blog, Good Wine Under $20.
Harkness released a companion book in May 2018 entitled The World of All Souls: The Complete Guide to A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy), followed in September 2018 by an All Souls series trilogy prequel/sequel entitled Time's Convert. The book features Marcus Whitmore, Matthew Clairmont's vampire son.[14]
Harkness is an executive producer of BadWolf's television series based on Harkness' novel, A Discovery of Witches. The series premiered in the UK on Sky One on September 14, 2018, and streams on NOW TV and Netflix.[15][16] The international distribution of the series is handled by Sky Vision.[17][18] It was revealed by Sky One on All Souls Day (November 2) 2018 that the TV series would be extended by seasons 2 and 3, corresponding to the A Discovery of Witches sequels Shadow of Night and The Book of Life.[19] Season 2 (10 episodes) was released in early 2021, and season 3 ( 7 episodes) in early 2022.[20]
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Harkness married her longtime partner, Karen Halttunen, they had been together since 1995.[21] She currently lives in Southern California where she is a professor of history.[1][22]
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021.[23]
Novels
All Souls
- A Discovery of Witches (2011)
- Shadow of Night (2012)
- The Book of Life (2014)
- Time's Convert (2018)
- The Black Bird Oracle (2024)
Companions
- The All Souls Real-Time Reading Companion (2015)
- The World of All Souls: A Complete Guide to A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and the Book of Life (2018)
Other books
- John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. 1999. ISBN 9780521622288. OCLC 39748178.
- Harkness, Deborah E. (2007). The Jewel house of art and nature: Elizabethan London and the social foundations of the scientific revolution. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300111965. OCLC 226002129. (see also The Jewel House)[24]
Journal articles
- Harkness, Deborah E. (Spring 2008). "A view from the streets: women and medical work in Elizabethan London". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 82 (1). Johns Hopkins University: 52–85. doi:10.1353/bhm.2008.0001. PMID 18344585. S2CID 5695475.
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- Comic-Con International's Inkpot Award for (2018)[25]
- Honorary Degree, Mount Holyoke College (2014)
Harkness' faculty profile on the University of Southern California's website also lists the following honors and awards:[2]
- Highly Commended, Longman-History Today Awards Book Prize, Spring 2009
- Pfizer Award for Best Book in the History of Science, History of Science Society, Fall 2008
- John Best Snow Prize for Best Book in British Studies, North American Conference on British Studies, Fall 2008
- Prize for Best Book, Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies, Spring 2008
- Huntington Library Research Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, 2006–2007
- Guggenheim Fellowship, John S. Guggenheim Foundation, 2004–2005
- Residency at the National Humanities Center, National Humanities Center, John E. Sawyer Fellow, 2004–2005
- NIH/NSF Career Development Award, National Science Foundation Senior Scholar's Award, 2001–2002
- Derek Price Award for Best Isis Article, History of Science Society, 1998
- American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, 1997–1998
- Huntington Library Research Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, Huntington Library, 1997–1998
- Nelson Prize for Best Article, Renaissance Society of America, 1997
- Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education, 1989–1993
- Fulbright Award, Fulbright Fellowship to the United Kingdom, 1991–1992
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