A Discovery of Witches By Deborah Harkness

[Lindach]

This is a literary horror story involving witches, vampires and daemons and is reminiscant of Elizabeth Kostova's book 'The Historian' which was published a few years ago.The story begins with the discovery ,by a professor of history, who happens to be a reluctant witch, of a lost manuscript and her meeting with a charismatic and handsome vampire in the Bodlean Library in Oxford University. The vampire, Matthew Clairmont, is also a professor and is conducting secret genetic research on the origin of "creatures' i.e. witches daemons and vampires.The pace of the story is rather slow especially at the beginning which may put off some readers of this genre who prefer more action.The author is herself a history professor which explains the wealth of historical information in the book , her detailed description of the Bodlean Library and her sympathetic charaterisation of the main character- Dr. Diana Bishop.

Diana who is a direct descendant of Bridget Bishop,the first woman to be executed in the Salem Witch Trials,refuses to do magic a result of losing her parents at seven. It turns out her parents were murdered and had advised her to hide her magical powers, presumably so no one in the Congregation(a society which governs the supernatural creatures) can discover the extent of her magic. Diana , while conducting her research for a lecture accidently unlocks a bewitched long-lost alchemical manuscript- Ashmole 782 which the supernatural creatures believe contains the story of their origins and the secret of immortality. Along the way she falls in love with Matthew and finds herself in a race to prevent an interspecies war.

I loved this book despite its slow pace and recommend it to those interested in history, magic, vampires and love! It is the first of a trilogy. I can't wait for the next book to come out in 2012.