Today's Read Contributor Bestselling novelist and historian Deborah Harkness has long captivated readers with her unique ability to intertwine rigorous scholarship with sweeping fantasy. Known most prominently for her All Souls trilogy, which combines magic, history, and romance, Harkness recently sat down for an exclusive interview to discuss how her academic career continues to inform her fiction, including her latest novel, Time’s Echo.
Harkness, who built her reputation as a historian of science before transitioning to full-time fiction writing, emphasized that research remains at the heart of her creative process. “I want my settings and lore to feel lived-in and credible,” she explained, noting that her work often begins in the archives before it takes shape on the page. For Time’s Echo, she pored over manuscripts and historical documents to ensure that the book’s temporal settings and scientific references were both imaginative and grounded in factual texture. This attention to detail, she says, allows readers to suspend disbelief more readily, trusting the authenticity of her invented worlds.
The novelist described her writing process as a balancing act between scholarship and creativity. She often starts with historical research, then layers in speculative elements that transform the familiar into the magical. By doing so, Harkness not only bridges the gap between academic knowledge and storytelling but also redefines how fantasy can be anchored in reality. For readers, this means that when her characters interact with alchemical texts or explore Renaissance settings, the scenes feel both otherworldly and historically plausible.
When asked about her approach to character development, Harkness stressed the importance of depth and humanity. Even in a world populated by witches, vampires, and daemons, she insists that characters must be relatable. “The supernatural is a lens, not a replacement for humanity,” she noted. Characters in her books often grapple with questions of identity, legacy, and love—themes that resonate across centuries and genres. It is this human core, she believes, that allows fantasy to transcend genre boundaries and reach broader audiences.
Harkness also reflected on her role as a mentor in the writing community. Having faced her own share of rejections early in her career, she encouraged emerging writers to view setbacks as an integral part of the creative journey. “Every ‘no’ is a step toward the right ‘yes,’” she said, adding that perseverance and resilience are just as critical to success as craft. She often advises aspiring authors to embrace research and curiosity, reminding them that the most compelling stories arise from asking bold questions about both the past and the present.
Her insights reveal an author deeply aware of the symbiotic relationship between fact and fiction. For Harkness, blending academic rigor with imaginative storytelling is not merely a stylistic choice but a way of honoring her dual identities as historian and novelist. The success of the All Souls trilogy, which spawned a television adaptation and a devoted global fan base, demonstrates the power of this approach. With Time’s Echo, she continues to explore how historical narratives can be reframed through speculative storytelling, offering readers both escapism and intellectual engagement.
Beyond her own writing, Harkness has contributed to the broader cultural conversation about the role of the humanities in shaping contemporary narratives. By drawing on her scholarly expertise in early modern science and culture, she challenges readers to consider how history informs not only our understanding of the past but also our imaginative futures. “Stories help us process knowledge,” she reflected. “They make the abstract tangible and the distant immediate.”
For fans, the interview offered an intimate portrait of a writer who sees no contradiction between fantasy and scholarship. Instead, Harkness views them as complementary forces that enrich one another, each lending depth and resonance to the other. Her career stands as a testament to the idea that rigorous intellectual inquiry and imaginative storytelling can coexist, producing work that is both richly researched and endlessly inventive.
As Harkness continues to chart new territory in her fiction, she remains committed to this vision of literature as a bridge between worlds—scholarly and fantastical, historical and magical. For readers and writers alike, her example underscores the value of curiosity, persistence, and the courage to weave together seemingly disparate threads into stories that endure.
