📖 Hist Fic Revisited ~ Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

On Hist Fic Revisited

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Let's step back to ...1590

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2012

In light of Season 2 of Discovery of Witches starting on Sky 1 last night I thought that I would revisit my original review of Shadow of Night the book on which this second series is based. As with all screen adaptations there have bound to be some changes to the original which is, after all, quite a hefty read. However, after watching the first episode on TV last night I was relieved to find that Matthew de Clairmont's and Diana Bishop's visit to Elizabethan London has been done with a wonderful eye for historical detail and a definite air of authenticity. 

It's always a worry when a favourite book series is brought to life just in case the characters fail to live up to expectations, and season two has some iconic figures who I'm really looking forward to seeing on screen. Gallowglass, one of my favourite characters from Shadow of Night, makes his first appearance soon so I'm really looking forward to watching actor, Steven Cree, bring him to life. The enigmatic Christopher Marlowe, who has such a dark presence in the story, came to life, last night, in Tom Hugh's brooding performance. And of course, it goes without saying that to see Matthew and Diana step into London in 1590 and don their Elizabethan costume is a real treat, I can't wait to see  how the story of my imagination comes to life.

I could so easily have binge watched the whole ten episodes of season two last night but I'm determined to eke out the enjoyment over the next week or so, after all what better to while away lockdown, than to escape to a fantasy world of Witches, Vampires and Daemons in Elizabeth England.

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“Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown”

At the start of Shadow of Night, Matthew de Clairmont and Diana Bishop, time walk back to sixteenth century England in order to discover more about the mysterious manuscript, Ashmole 782, which featured so predominantly in A Discovery of Witches.

Fraught with danger, and malicious intrigue, their search is never going to be uncomplicated, as 1500 year old vampire Matthew, already familiar with Elizabethan England, must stand back and watch Diana take her first tentative steps in learning her skill in witchcraft. In an age where superstition and malevolent conspiracy is rife, Matthew and Diana must first learn to negotiate through a social and political minefield. It is interesting to observe how this formidable combination of witch and vampire coalesce into a fascinating portrayal of an unconventional relationship. 

In this second volume of the All Soul’s Trilogy, Deborah Harkness has used her undoubted skill as a historian to successfully recreate the world of Elizabethan England. She has combined the fascinating and troubled history of the sixteenth century, with a believable and often mesmerising view of the parallel world of vampires, daemons, and witches and interspersing the story with real historical figures is inspired, and gives a real insight into the period, and makes the story believable.

There is always the possibility that book two in a series will be less powerful than the first novel, rest easy, there is no such problem with Shadow of Night. If anything, this book is even better than the first, and whilst there is a tendency to want to read all 592 pages in one sitting, this is definitely one of those books which is better savoured, and enjoyed slowly.

About the Author

Deborah Harkness is the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships.

Twitter @DebHarkness #ADiscoveryofWitchesS2

@DiscoveryofWTV #Witchmas

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Review ~ Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness

From the author of A Discovery of Witches 

a new All Souls novel about what it takes to become a vampire.

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18 September
Published in hardback with 3 different collectable endpapers designs, ebook and audio

My thanks to Caitlin Raynor and Headline for my copy of Times Convert

As a fan of the All Souls Trilogy you can imagine my excitement when a few weeks ago this lovely package was delivered - I actually said wow! To receive one of the few limited proof copies of this latest book in the All Souls series had me jumping with joy 😊

What's it all about...

Set in contemporary Paris and London, and the American colonies during the upheaval and unrest that exploded into the Revolutionary War, a sweeping story that braids together past and present. 

On the battlefields of the American Revolution, Matthew de Clermont meets Marcus MacNeil, a young surgeon, during a moment of political awakening when it seems that the world is on the brink of a brighter future.

When Matthew offers him a chance at immortality and a new life, free from the restraints of his puritanical upbringing, Marcus seizes the opportunity to become a vampire. But his transformation is not an easy one and the ancient traditions and responsibilities of the de Clermont family clash with Marcus's deeply-held beliefs in liberty, equality, and brotherhood. 

Fast forward to contemporary London, where Marcus has fallen for Phoebe Taylor, a young employee at Sotheby's. She decides to become a vampire, too, and though the process at first seems uncomplicated, the couple discovers that the challenges facing a human who wishes to be a vampire are no less formidable in the modern world than they were in the 18th century. The shadows that Marcus believed he'd escaped centuries ago may return to haunt them both - for ever.

The shadows that Marcus believed he'd escaped centuries ago may return to haunt them both - for ever.

What did I think about Time's Convert...

Time's Convert is an absolute gift of a story as not only does it allow us a tantalising glimpse into the de Clermont household as Diana and Matthew get on with their lives, but it also gives us the eagerly anticipated story of how Marcus Whitmore became part of the de Clermont family and of the long and complicated process that becoming a vampire entails, both for Marcus in the eighteenth century, and his girl-friend, Phoebe Taylor, in the twenty-first.

I found Time's Convert to be an insightful story, true, it carries all the trademarks of this author's ability to conjure a world within a world and there is much to identify it alongside previous stories in the series, and yet, there is less frantic action and more introspection, which I found fascinating. I loved how time was managed so that all the multiple story strands were given equal consideration so that none dominated and everything all flowed seamlessly from past to present and present to past. I was as captivated with Diana and Matthew's life at Les Revenants in Limousin, as I was in Phoebe's vampire transformation in Paris, and yet, it was Marcus’s story which absorbed my attention. 

Anyone who has read the All Souls series cannot fail to be intrigued by Marcus, the young vampire, who Matthew welcomed into the de Clermont family, but until now we have never been given more than a few interesting snippets into the background to his story, of the society that shaped him and of the puritanical birth family, in rural Massachusetts, who failed to nurture him. Set against the background of the American Revolutionary War, with all the inherent danger of conflict and disease, both the politics and the people come alive in the imagination. In 1781, Marcus is working as a surgeon's assistant with the Continental Army when he comes into contact with the enigmatic Matthew de Clermont. This momentous meeting will shape both of their lives forever, and observing just how Marcus’s life plays out within the wider scope of the story is what makes this book so fascinating.

Beautifully written, Time’s Convert is another absorbing page turner from an author whose magical writing continues to take us into the haunting world of vampire, witch and demon and is, without any shadow of doubt, a worthy continuation of the All Souls series...

✨ TV series coming to SKY ONE TONIGHT ✨ 

By Kind permission of the publishers

Deborah’s debut novel, and the first in the bestselling All Souls trilogy, A Discovery of Witches has been adapted by Jane Tranter’s Bad Wolf Productions for Sky One starring Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey/The Crown) and Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge) as well as Alex Kingston, Trevor Eve, Lindsay Duncan, Owen Teale and Louise Brealey.

Teresa Palmer plays brilliant academic and historian Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch denying her heritage. The discovery of a manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library throws her into the heart of a dangerous mystery and into the path of enigmatic geneticist Matthew Clairmont played by Matthew Goode, an ancient vampire hiding dark family secrets. As Diana and Matthew embark on a journey to understand the significance of the mysterious manuscript and as their relationship develops and their heritage comes in to play, events threaten to unravel the fragile peace that has long existed between humans, witches, vampires and daemons.

I have been waiting for The Discovery of Witches to be made into a TV series since I first read the book way back in 2011. I can't wait for tonight ...

Twitter @DiscoveryofWTV 

 @DebHarkness #AllSouls

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About the Author

Credit :Vania Stoyanova
Source: Headline

Deborah Harkness is the number one Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life. The trilogy has sold over 3 million copies worldwide plus foreign rights sales in over 38 territories. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Deborah has 33K Twitter followers and 80K likes on Facebook.