Diana Bishop is a witch, an extremely reluctant witch, an extremely reluctant witch with a family that can trace its lineage, and the power it implies, back hundreds of years.  Diana, however, wants to be as far from magic, and the complications it brings, as possible. With that in mind, she has found work as an historian and is currently buried among the manuscripts at the Bodleian, searching for connections between alchemists and the Scientific Revolution. Even with her magic carefully hidden, Diana attracts the attention of the local coven, and the daemons and vampires that walk the streets of Oxford are all aware of her presence. Diana is convinced they are merely interested in her because of her famous lineage, but her carefully circumscribed life begins to fray at the edges when she finds a long lost alchemical text that is more than meets the eye.

Harkness’ witches, daemons, and vampires inhabit a world just a step sideways from the one we are familiar with. In this Oxford, hidden just beneath the surface, lurk the three “other” races, sliding into as close to ordinary lives as possible, but always just that little bit more: more scientific, more artistic, more connected, more dangerous. Diana Bishop, for all of her denial and insistence on a non-magical life, is connected to this world, and her insistence on innocence, and ignorance, may end up putting her life at risk.

This is Harkness’ first novel (she has previously published non-fiction), and the first in a series, it sets up a world with a complex and varied history, and allows Diana’s character to be defined by more than her magical heritage. She may be a witch, and heir to a powerful family, but she is also an historian, a trained researcher, and searching for a path that allows her to be more than her magic, someone other than the daughter of a powerful family. Her search leads her to a long lost manuscript that threatens to overthrow the careful alliances forged between witch, vampire, and daemon, and reveal answers that those in power would prefer locked away.

Diana is independent and self-reliant, but she seeks out information and assistance where she needs it, and finds Professor Matthew Clairmont, scientist, brilliant researcher, and vampire. Matthew’s help is invaluable for Diana, as her determination to lead an uneventful life has left her without the knowledge she needs to protect herself and her family. Of course, Matthew’s long life, and the fact that he has met many of the scientists and alchemists that Diana researches, also add to the attraction. This winding thread of the impact of great minds, and the connections that can be made through research and scholarship, add a nice slant to the story, and make Diana’s excitement at being able to ask questions of someone who was really there contagious. In the end, the book sweeps its readers into a world where science and magic are close relatives and understanding evolution is a key to survival. This book is about knowledge, and power, and the sort of secrets that force themselves out in the open. A Discovery of Witches is just the beginning, and we are in for quite a ride.

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