Deborah Harkness
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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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 Time's Convert: A Novel, both an origin story of the trilogy's Marcus Whitmore character, set in the American War of Independence and the French Revolution, and a sequel to the All Souls Trilogy.
Early life
[edit]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
[edit]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.
![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Deborah_Harkness%2C_2014.jpg/159px-Deborah_Harkness%2C_2014.jpg)
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 eight episode television series based on Harkness' novel, A Discovery of Witches. The series premiered in the UK on Sky One on September 14, 2018, and is now streaming on NOW TV.[15] The international distribution of the series is handled by Sky Vision.[16][17] 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.[18] Season 2 (10 episodes) was released in early 2021, and season 3 ( 7 episodes) in early 2022.[19]
Personal life
[edit]Harkness currently lives in Southern California where she is a professor of history.[1]
Bibliography
[edit]Novels
[edit]All Souls
[edit]- A Discovery of Witches. New York: Viking. 2011. ISBN 9780670022410. OCLC 635459436.
- Shadow of Night. New York: Viking. 2012. ISBN 9780670023486. OCLC 760974138.
- The Book of Life. New York: Viking. 2014. ISBN 9780525427223. OCLC 1202304348.
- Time's Convert. New York: Viking. 2018. ISBN 9780399564512. OCLC 1111582969.*
*Many of the events in Time's Convert take place in the present-day, however a portion of them take place prior to the events of A Discovery of Witches. In other words, Time's Convert acts as a sequel to the trilogy while also containing a prequel component.
Companions
[edit]- 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)
Books
[edit]- 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)[20]
Journal articles
[edit]- 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.
Awards
[edit]- Comic-Con International's Inkpot Award for (2018)[21]
- 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
[edit]- ^ a b Timberg, Scott (April 10, 2011). "Deborah Harkness' 'A Discovery of Witches' started with airport bookstores". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Deborah Harkness". USC Dornsife. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ "Deborah Harkness: The All Souls Trilogy." (February 10, 2014). <http://deborahharkness.com/about-deborah>
- ^ 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.
- ^ McGee, Celia (February 2011). "15 Books to Watch for in February 2011". Book Finder. Oprah.com. p. 4. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Best Sellers". The New York Times. February 27, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
- ^ Pellegrino, Nicky (April 11, 2011). "Deborah Harkness: Once bitten ..." The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ Bennett, Steve (February 12, 2011). "A potent spell cast". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
- ^ "Best Sellers – Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. July 29, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- ^ "Deborah Harkness". www.facebook.com. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- ^ a b "Deborah Harkness author of The All Souls Trilogy official website". Deborah Harkness. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Sky Corporate". Sky. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
- ^ "» A Discovery Of Witches". bad-wolf.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
- ^ @skytv (November 2, 2018). "MAGICAL NEWS: We're absolutely..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "A Discovery of Witches". IMDB.
- ^ Kavey, Allison (Summer 2008). "London Calling". Chemical Heritage Magazine. 26 (2): 44. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- ^ Inkpot Award
External links
[edit]- 1965 births
- 21st-century American novelists
- American medical historians
- American women novelists
- American historians of science
- Living people
- American women historians
- American women science writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- University of California, Davis alumni
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- Mount Holyoke College alumni
- Inkpot Award winners