Deborah Harkness
Encyclopedia
Deborah Harkness is an American scholar, novelist and wine enthusiast. She is a well-regarded historian of science and medicine, specializing in the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries. Harkness has published two works of history, John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy and the End of Nature (1999) and The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution (2007). Her recent novel A Discovery of Witches, a tale of magic, science and history, has become a bestseller and was named to Amazon's Best Books of February 2011 List. She is also the author of the award-winning wine blog, Good Wine Under $20.
, the daughter of an American
-born father and a British
-born mother. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College
(B.A., 1986), Northwestern University
(M.A., 1990) and the University of California at Davis (Ph.D., 1994).
She lives in Southern California
.
.
In 2011, she published her first work of fiction, A Discovery of Witches, which debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller hardcover fiction list, and has been sold in at least 34 countries.
The first of a trilogy, A Discovery of Witches was called "a sophisticated fairy tale for adults" by the San Antonio Express News. It tells the story of an unwilling, modern-day witch who inadvertently calls up an ancient enchanted manuscript at Oxford University's Bodleian Library
thereby attracting the unwelcome notice of a host of magical creatures who live among humans, including other witches, daemons, and a 1,500 year-old French vampire.
Some elements of this novel sprang directly from Harkness' own life: she has spent many hours engaged in research in the Bodleian Library's Reading Room, and in the course of her own research, Harkness discovered an ancient—and long-lost—book of spells, the Book of Soyga
.
John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature (1999)
Highly Commended, Longman-History Today Awards
Book Prize, Spring 2009
Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Pfizer Award
for Best Book in the History of Science, History of Science Society, Fall 2008
Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, John Best Snow Prize for Best Book in British Studies, North American Conference on British Studies, Fall 2008
Prize for Best Book, Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies, Spring 2008
Huntington Library Research Fellowship Recipient, National Endowment for the Humanities
Fellow, 2006–2007
Guggenheim Fellowship
Recipient, John S. Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, 2004–2005
Residency at the National Humanities Center
, National Humanities Center, John E. Sawyer Fellow, 2004–2005
NIH/NSF Career Development Award, National Science Foundation Senior Scholar's Award, 2001–2002
Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Derek Price Award for Best Article, History of Science Society
, 1998
American Council of Learned Societies
Fellowship Recipient, ACLS Fellowship, 1997–1998
Huntington Library Research Fellowship Recipient, NEH Fellowship, Huntington Library, 1997–1998
Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Nelson Prize for Best Article, Renaissance Society of America, 1997
Jacob K. Javits Fellowship
, U.S. Department of Education, 1989–1993
Fulbright Award, Fulbright Fellowship to the United Kingdom, 1991–1992
Deborah Harkness Faculty Profile, University of Southern California
Biography
Born in 1965, Harkness grew up near Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the daughter of an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-born father and a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born mother. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
(B.A., 1986), Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(M.A., 1990) and the University of California at Davis (Ph.D., 1994).
She lives in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
Work
Deborah Harkness is a professor of history at the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
In 2011, she published her first work of fiction, A Discovery of Witches, which debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller hardcover fiction list, and has been sold in at least 34 countries.
The first of a trilogy, A Discovery of Witches was called "a sophisticated fairy tale for adults" by the San Antonio Express News. It tells the story of an unwilling, modern-day witch who inadvertently calls up an ancient enchanted manuscript at Oxford University's Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
thereby attracting the unwelcome notice of a host of magical creatures who live among humans, including other witches, daemons, and a 1,500 year-old French vampire.
Some elements of this novel sprang directly from Harkness' own life: she has spent many hours engaged in research in the Bodleian Library's Reading Room, and in the course of her own research, Harkness discovered an ancient—and long-lost—book of spells, the Book of Soyga
Book of Soyga
The Book of Soyga, also titled Aldaraia, is a 16th century Latin treatise on magic, one copy of which is known to have been possessed by the Elizabethan scholar John Dee....
.
Books
The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution (2007)John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature (1999)
Awards
Harkness' faculty profile on the University of Southern California's website lists the following honors and awards:Highly Commended, Longman-History Today Awards
Longman-History Today Awards
The Longman-History Today Awards is the name of an annual awards ceremony, run by Longman and History Today magazine, in which prizes are presented in various categories "to promote the study, publication and accessibility of history to a wide audience." The Awards, given in memory of one of the...
Book Prize, Spring 2009
Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Pfizer Award
Pfizer Award
The Pfizer Award is awarded annually by the History of Science Society "in recognition of an outstanding book dealing with the history of science"- Pfizer Awardees :...
for Best Book in the History of Science, History of Science Society, Fall 2008
Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, John Best Snow Prize for Best Book in British Studies, North American Conference on British Studies, Fall 2008
Prize for Best Book, Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies, Spring 2008
Huntington Library Research Fellowship Recipient, National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
Fellow, 2006–2007
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
Recipient, John S. Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, 2004–2005
Residency at the National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center
The National Humanities Center is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities. It is the only major independent institute for advanced study in all fields of the humanities in the United States. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any...
, National Humanities Center, John E. Sawyer Fellow, 2004–2005
NIH/NSF Career Development Award, National Science Foundation Senior Scholar's Award, 2001–2002
Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Derek Price Award for Best Article, History of Science Society
History of Science Society
The History of Science Society is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science.It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publication of Isis, a journal of the history of science Sarton had started in 1912....
, 1998
American Council of Learned Societies
American Council of Learned Societies
The American Council of Learned Societies , founded in 1919, is a private nonprofit federation of seventy scholarly organizations.ACLS is best known as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awards. ACLS Fellowships are designed to permit scholars holding the Ph.D...
Fellowship Recipient, ACLS Fellowship, 1997–1998
Huntington Library Research Fellowship Recipient, NEH Fellowship, Huntington Library, 1997–1998
Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Nelson Prize for Best Article, Renaissance Society of America, 1997
Jacob K. Javits Fellowship
Jacob K. Javits Fellowship
The Jacob K. Javits Fellowship program formerly provided fellowships to students of superior academic ability—selected on the basis of demonstrated achievement, financial need, and exceptional promise—to undertake study at the doctoral and Master of Fine Arts level in selected fields of arts,...
, U.S. Department of Education, 1989–1993
Fulbright Award, Fulbright Fellowship to the United Kingdom, 1991–1992
External links
Official Deborah Harkness websiteDeborah Harkness Faculty Profile, University of Southern California
- Good Wine Under $20 blog