All Souls Trilogy Reading Order: Deborah Harkness's Complete Guide
June 28, 2026
Deborah Harkness is a historian, and it shows. The All Souls series is set in a world where witches, vampires, and daemons live hidden among humans — but the real subject is the Ashmole 782, a bewitched alchemical manuscript discovered by Oxford scholar Diana Bishop in the Bodleian Library. What follows is part historical fantasy, part romance, and part deeply researched journey through Renaissance Europe and Elizabethan London.
The reading order
The Main Trilogy
A Discovery of Witches (2011) — Diana Bishop discovers Ashmole 782 in the Bodleian. Vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont inserts himself into her research. The Congregation — the governing body of the creature world — takes notice. The best entry point; introduces all the major characters and establishes the world rules clearly.
Shadow of Night (2012) — Diana and Matthew travel back in time to Elizabethan London to find a witch who can train Diana, and to unravel the history of the manuscript. The most historically detailed book in the series — Christopher Marlowe, Elizabeth I, and the real alchemists of the era appear alongside the fiction.
The Book of Life (2014) — The trilogy concludes as Diana and Matthew return to the present and the truth about Ashmole 782 comes into focus. Longer and more ambitious than the first two; wraps up the major threads.
The Extended Universe
Harkness has continued the All Souls world beyond the original trilogy with two companion novels:
Time’s Convert (2020) — Focuses on Marcus Whitmore, Matthew’s vampire son, moving between Revolutionary War America and the present day. Best read after the original trilogy; it expands characters who appear throughout the three main books.
The Black Bird Oracle (2024) — Returns to the All Souls universe with a new investigation into the creature world’s history. A continuation rather than a conclusion — the world is open-ended.
Full All Souls reading order →
The AMC television series
A Discovery of Witches was adapted for television by Sky One / AMC, running for three seasons (2018–2022) and covering all three main novels. The series is a faithful adaptation that benefits from the visual splendour of the Oxford and period settings.
Should you read before watching? Either order works. The books have more depth, particularly in the historical sections and the alchemy detail. The show compresses considerably and changes some character arcs. Many readers who started with the show came to the books for more of the world, particularly the Elizabethan London of Shadow of Night.
What kind of reader is this for?
The All Souls series sits at the intersection of several genres:
- Historical fiction readers who enjoy meticulously researched period settings (particularly the Elizabethan sequences)
- Paranormal romance readers — the relationship between Diana and Matthew is central to all three main books
- Fantasy readers who prefer magic systems grounded in real historical esoteric traditions (alchemy, witchcraft as it was actually practised)
The series is slower-paced and more literary than standard paranormal romance. The vampire and witch world-building is restrained and internally consistent. Harkness takes the history seriously even when the fiction requires departures from it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know about alchemy to enjoy the books? No — Harkness explains what you need within the text. But readers with an existing interest in the history of science find an additional layer.
Can I watch the show instead of reading the books? Yes, but Shadow of Night in particular is considerably richer on the page than the compressed television version.
Is the series finished? The original trilogy is complete. The companion novels suggest Harkness intends to keep writing in this world.
