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Deborah Harkness

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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
Harkness at the 2018 U.S. National Book Festival
Harkness at the 2018 U.S. National Book Festival
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationScholar, novelist
EducationMount Holyoke College (BA)
Northwestern University (MA)
University of California, Davis (PhD)
GenreFantasy, historical fiction
Notable worksA Discovery of Witches
Shadow of Night
The Book of Life
Time's Convert
Website
www.deborahharkness.com
External audio
audio icon "Science and the Supernatural in the 17th Century", Deborah Harkness & Jim Voelkel, Science History Institute

Early life

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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]

Career

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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.

 
Harkness at book signing, August 2014

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]

Personal life

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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]

Bibliography

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Novels

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All Souls

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  1. A Discovery of Witches (2011)
  2. Shadow of Night (2012)
  3. The Book of Life (2014)
  4. Time's Convert (2018)
  5. The Black Bird Oracle (2024)

Companions

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  • 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

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  • 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

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Awards

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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
  • Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Pfizer Award for Best Book in the History of Science, History of Science Society, Fall 2008
  • Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, 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 Recipient, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, 2006–2007
  • Guggenheim Fellowship Recipient, John S. Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, 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
  • Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Derek Price Award for Best Article, History of Science Society, 1998
  • American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship Recipient, ACLS Fellowship, 1997–1998
  • Huntington Library Research Fellowship Recipient, NEH Fellowship, Huntington Library, 1997–1998
  • Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, 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

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Timberg, Scott (April 10, 2011). "Deborah Harkness' 'A Discovery of Witches' started with airport bookstores". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Faculty Profile: Deborah Elizabeth Harkness". Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  3. ^ Hernandez-Vogt, Persephone (February 24, 2011). "Discovery of a writer: alum pens a preternatural tale". The Mount Holyoke News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  4. ^ "Deborah Harkness". USC Dornsife. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Deborah Harkness: The All Souls Trilogy." (February 10, 2014). <http://deborahharkness.com/about-deborah>
  6. ^ a b c Gressitt, Kit-Bacon (February 20, 2011). "SoCal scholar bounds into the supernatural". North County Times. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  7. ^ McGee, Celia (February 2011). "15 Books to Watch for in February 2011". Book Finder. Oprah.com. p. 4. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Meyer, Michal (Fall 2011 – Winter 2012). "Facts and Fictions". Chemical Heritage Magazine. 29 (3): 40–41. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "Best Sellers". The New York Times. February 27, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  10. ^ Pellegrino, Nicky (April 11, 2011). "Deborah Harkness: Once bitten ..." The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  11. ^ Bennett, Steve (February 12, 2011). "A potent spell cast". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  12. ^ "Best Sellers – Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. July 29, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  13. ^ "Deborah Harkness". www.facebook.com. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Deborah Harkness author of The All Souls Trilogy official website". Deborah Harkness. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  15. ^ "Love 'A Discovery of Witches' on Netflix? Read the Books The Show Is Based On". August 30, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  16. ^ "A Discovery of Witches streaming: How to watch A Discovery of Witches online". Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  17. ^ "Sky Corporate". Sky. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  18. ^ "» A Discovery Of Witches". bad-wolf.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  19. ^ @skytv (November 2, 2018). "MAGICAL NEWS: We're absolutely..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "A Discovery of Witches". IMDB.
  21. ^ Haldeman, Peter (January 24, 2019). "All Souls working magic on TV now A talk with author Deborah Harkness". NNY 360. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Puckett-Pope, Lauren (July 12, 2024). "Deborah Harkness, the 'Accidental Novelist,' Has Years' Worth of 'All Souls' Books in the Pipeline". Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  23. ^ "Deborah Harkness Has Never Read Jane Austen. Really". New York Times. August 1, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  24. ^ Kavey, Allison (Summer 2008). "London Calling". Chemical Heritage Magazine. 26 (2): 44. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  25. ^ Inkpot Award
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