Bestselling author Deborah Harkness ’86 debuts newest book
The fifth book in the “All Souls” series from No. 1 New York Times bestselling author and Mount Holyoke College alum Deborah Harkness ’86 makes its debut this week.
How do you know what you think you know?
Deborah Harkness ’86 has been trying to answer this very question for more than four decades. It was originally posed by a Mount Holyoke College professor of a course she took as an undergraduate, titled, Magic, Knowledge and the Pursuit of Power in Renaissance Europe.
Harkness, the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of the “All Souls” fantasy series, recently spoke to PEOPLE and ELLE magazines about how she became what she calls an “accidental novelist.” She also discussed her research process behind the fifth book in her popular series “The Black Bird Oracle,” which involved exploring the material aspect of the history of magic.
“It means a lot to me as a reader when I do read historical or fantasy books in particular, that I feel like I'm in a real place, with real things. That's always my goal with my research, to bring that verisimilitude into things,” Harkness told PEOPLE. “A little historical detail goes a very long way. It’s like cilantro: you want to use it as an accent.”
The Black Bird Oracle launches this week.
