72 pages • 2 hours read
Deborah HarknessThe Book of Life
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Authorial Context: Deborah Harkness
Dr. Deborah Harkness is a distinguished American scholar, historian, and novelist who uses her extensive academic background in her storytelling. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and history, a master’s degree in the History of Science and Medicine, and a PhD in History, with her doctoral thesis focused on European magical and scientific history (Harkness, Deborah. “About Deborah Harkness.” Deborah Harkness). Harkness encapsulates her life’s essence by saying, “The story of my life? It can be summed up in three words: history, books, and libraries” (Harkness).
The connection between Harkness’s studies and writing is evident in the All Souls Trilogy, where characters venture through history to unveil the hidden secrets concealed within books and libraries. Harkness’s personal experiences researching at the Bodleian and All Souls libraries at Oxford create rich setting descriptions, and her knowledge of European magical history allows her to construct a comprehensive and believable world of witchcraft and magic.
Diana Bishop’s magic, for example, is crafted from cords and knots, aligning with historical and literary magical practices. References to such “wind knots” can be found in works like Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Robert Burns’s Address to the Devil (Day, Cyrus Lawrence. Quipus and Witches Knots. The University of Kansas Press, 1967). In the early chapters of The Book of Life, Diana employs a “witchwind,” or wind knot, to repel Verin from Matthew, aligning with historical records of European magical practices.
Harkness herself notes her expertise in the late-16th century, which explains the selection of 1591 as the timewalking period for Diana and Matthew (Dunbar, Wells. “Interview: ‘Shadow of Night’ Author Deborah Harkness." KUT 90.5, 23 July 2012). This temporal alignment is reflected in Diana’s magical practices, mirroring those of her historical counterparts during that era. Furthermore, Ashmole 782, the pivotal artifact driving the plot of the All Souls Trilogy, is an actual book that has long been missing from Oxford’s Bodleian Library (Dunbar and Harkness). While Harkness attributes its absence to a shelving error rather than supernatural causes, her profound understanding of libraries lends an authenticity to her work (Dunbar). The All Souls Trilogy has garnered critical acclaim, awards, and even a television adaptation, owing much of its success to Harkness’s commitment to authenticity and depth.
Literary Context: The Book of Life Within the All Souls Trilogy
The All Souls Trilogy is distinctly designed as a cohesive set and must be viewed as such to comprehend the narrative, themes, and character developments within The Book of Life’s storyline. A brief outline of the character roles in A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night lays the foundation for The Book of Life and defines its position within the All Souls Trilogy.
Diana’s character transforms significantly from A Discovery of Witches to The Book of Life. Initially, she is an intelligent, independent professor who avoids magic due to her witch parents’ tragic deaths. Diana meticulously tracks and limits her magic use, but she often unconsciously uses magic, leading to guilt. Diana also senses the presence of other creatures (daemons, vampires, and witches) and avoids them whenever possible. She rejects coven invitations, causing concern among her aunts, Sarah Bishop and Emily Mather. Throughout the series, Diana grows more comfortable with creatures and magic. Most importantly, she discovers her timewalking ability—a skill that enables her to transfer herself and others to the past. An essential challenge Diana faces lies in mastering her sometimes uncontrollable magic.
This journey leads Diana and Matthew to timewalk to 1591 London in Shadow of Night. Here, Diana learns she is a weaver witch who creates rather than casts spells. Due to their power, other witches nearly hunted weavers to extinction. Diana eventually finds a willing tutor and joins a coven. She learns to control her powers, using cords and knots, which later become a part of her, foreshadowing the fate of The Book of Life. Diana summons Corra, her firedrake familiar, and begins to trust her magic and fellow witches.
The Book of Life continues Diana’s journey as she actively seeks help from multiple covens, undeterred by betrayal from the first. She overcomes her fear and uses her magic freely, even instinctively, when Verin threatens Matthew, demonstrating heightened trust and power, as well as critical character development.
Matthew also undergoes character development throughout the trilogy. Initially, his character is rigid, but he gradually reveals and overcomes his weaknesses. In A Discovery of Witches, Matthew’s overprotectiveness and tendency to push Diana into action feels justified given her lack of knowledge about her powers and the constant danger she faces. However, this trait becomes more problematic as the series progresses. In Shadow of Night, his autocratic nature causes conflict with Diana, and although it persists in The Book of Life, he gradually begins to trust himself and Diana’s abilities.
The central plot of the All Souls Trilogy revolves around the quest for Ashmole 782, also known as the Book of Life. This mysterious book, missing since 1859, is rumored to contain the secrets of all creatures and their creation. Diana becomes the target of daemons, vampires, and witches who seek the book. While the book itself makes rare appearances in the series, the quest for it drives the narrative. Diana’s journey takes her back in time in Shadow of Night to gather information about the book and its missing pages. Here, she discovers that the book is constructed entirely from daemons, vampires, witches, and humans, with vellum made from their skin and binding from their hair. The Book of Life reveals its nature as a palimpsest—its pages erased and reused but still containing traces of the original text and a hidden container. Diana eventually finds the missing pages and integrates them into the book, becoming part of its essence. While the initial goal of the search was to uncover the secrets behind the creation of creatures and their waning power, it ultimately aids Diana and Matthew in dismantling the covenant, a law that enforced the separation of creatures from each other.
While the overarching motivation throughout the All Souls Trilogy centers on pursuing the Book of Life, it seldom makes direct appearances within the narrative. Instead, the trilogy’s core revolves around the development of Diana and Matthew, encompassing their burgeoning abilities and evolving relationship. Although The Book of Life does contribute to this growth, a substantial portion of it unfolds in the earlier installments of the trilogy. Without this significant character development, the discovery of the elusive book by Diana and Matthew would have remained unattainable.
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