A Discovery of Witches: Chapters 1-6 Discussion | 1

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Hello and welcome to Such a Fun Read, a podcast where we come together to read a book and

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chat about it like a book club.

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I am your host and resident reader Sheree and I am really excited for these next few

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episodes.

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We are going to be diving in and discussing one of my favorite books, A Discovery of Witches

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by Deborah Harkness, and we will be discussing it chapter by chapter.

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We'll be getting into the characters, the story, the lore, and unraveling how this series

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all begins.

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Now this podcast is not spoiler free, but we will not be discussing anything that happens

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in the feature books in the series.

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We will only be discussing what we've read so far.

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And in this episode, we are going to be discussing chapters one through six.

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So whether you are a diehard fan of the series or discovering it for the very first time,

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there is definitely something here for all of us to enjoy together.

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It begins with absence and desire.

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It begins with blood and fear.

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It begins with a discovery of witches.

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Now before we get into these chapters, I do want to discuss my history with this book,

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how it became a favorite, why we are reading it together, and what to expect from these

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episodes.

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I do remember there being an article about this book in the series back in the day.

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I think it was called something along the lines of Harry Potter for adults, you know,

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back when everything needed to be tied to Harry Potter in order to sell.

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I think this was when the Book of Life was coming out.

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Anyway, that article must have worked for me because at some point I ended up buying

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the book.

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Then I finally read it in 2016 and to be honest, I did not like it, but I ended up keeping

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the book and I always looked over at it on my bookshelf.

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It was like it was asking me to read it again to give it another chance.

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Then a couple years later in 2018, I did decide to give it another chance and I read it again.

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I think being a mood reader definitely had a lot to do with this because when I read

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it the second time, I felt like I was reading a totally different book.

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It was like I was reading things I didn't read before.

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There were scenes I didn't remember from the first time around and I was definitely enjoying

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the hell out of those scenes.

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I finished a book and I really had no clue as to why I didn't like it the first time

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around and I ended up reading the other two books in the trilogy that same year.

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I also pre-ordered Time's Convert and read that when that came out.

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I made sure to own the heart covers and the paperbacks of each book and I also bought

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the TV show tie-in covers as well because apparently I just need to have them too.

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The World of All Souls, The Complete Guide of a Discovery Witch's Shadow of Nights and

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the Book of Life is a book I also own and I have pulled it off my shelf and looked through

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it many times throughout the years.

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So what I'll say about this is sometimes giving a book another shot just might work out.

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At least it did for me in this case.

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It doesn't always work out but I'm very happy that it did with this series.

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I found a couple that I love.

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Characters I would befriend in a heartbeat.

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Also characters I want to stab and characters I will just never get over.

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I also of course watched a TV show when that came out and loved it.

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And I have continued to tell myself over and over again throughout the years that I was

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going to reread this book, reread this series and get back into this world and it just never

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happens.

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I always end up thinking that I just need to read something new.

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But last year I reread the first three books in The Red Rising Saga, another one of my

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favorite series.

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So I ended up rereading them because I was in a book slump and I have to say I really,

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really had fun doing it.

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So I figured why not go ahead this year and do a reread of my other favorite series and

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why not go ahead and do it on the podcast.

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Maybe I'll be able to find some other people who will want to reread it with me.

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So that is why we are here to reread this book together or if you are reading it for

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the very first time, welcome to the world of all souls.

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Now what to expect from these episodes.

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So in each episode I will be covering a certain amount of chapters in the book.

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Again you do not have to have the book completed to listen to the episodes, but I would recommend

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reading the chapters being covered for the episode you are listening to because those

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chapters will be spoiled.

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First we will talk about what just happened.

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What we just read.

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We will go chapter by chapter and this part will be known as the manuscript section.

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Then we will talk about the things that stood out in each chapter.

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Things that we might think will be important later on and we will also talk a little bit

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about lore here as well.

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And this section will be known as the congregation.

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And then we will have a 3-2-1 section.

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Here we will go over 3 characters I want to talk about.

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Two things I am looking forward to.

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What moments have intrigued me about what could happen in the future.

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And one favorite quote.

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I will pick a favorite quote from these chapters.

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Also I would love to hear from you all as well.

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To share your thoughts on the chapters.

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Theories about characters, about the plot or predictions from what just might happen

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next.

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And there are multiple ways you can reach me.

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You can send me an email to suchafunread.gmail.com.

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And you can also give a follow on Instagram and TikTok at suchafunread.

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Also something that would truly help this podcast grow.

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If you are enjoying these discussions about a discovery of witches.

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Please head on over to Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app and rate and review suchafunread.

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It helps spread the word and allows for more fans of the book that we are reading to join

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our discussions in our community.

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And with that all being said, let's go ahead and get into the manuscript section.

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And talk about what happened in these chapters.

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And I also pose a question for you.

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How long do you think Diana can suppress her magic?

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Now chapter one.

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It looks like we have a reluctant witch.

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We start in Oxford's Bodleian Library and we meet our main character, Diana Bishop.

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She is a tenured historian professor who is pursuing her doctorate.

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Diana is getting manuscripts that she has requested from the call desk.

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One of them being Ashmole 782.

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And there is something different about this manuscript.

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There's something magical about it.

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And Diana is not having any of it.

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She wants nothing to do with magic, nothing to do with being a witch.

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She looks over the manuscript and then returns it as quickly as possible.

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We also get some backstory about Diana's upbringing.

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Her parents were powerful witches.

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Her mother was Rebecca Bishop and father Stephen Proctor.

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They died when she was seven.

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They went to Africa and they didn't come back alive.

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Diana was raised by her aunt Sarah Bishop.

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Also her aunt's partner, Em, but she's not missed yet.

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We'll get to her in a chapter or so.

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Now Diana is very smart.

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She attended college at the age of 16 and graduated when she was 20.

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But while she was in college, her magic was rather apparent.

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She was in theater and any performance she had, her magic seeped into it.

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That is when she left the theater and after a summer abroad program in England, she became

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a history major.

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We also see Diana be reluctant to participate in any activities surrounding being a witch

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when she turns down Julian Chamberlain to spend time with other witches in town.

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Chapter two, it seems like a curious vampire enters.

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We are on to a new day.

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The 21st day of September is the eve of the autumn equinox.

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Diana has been in the library all day since 9 a.m.

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We learned that Diana didn't do anything with her studies in alchemy after dealing with

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Ashmole 782, she did other things more normal in her opinion, like paying bills and chores

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and trying new recipes, mostly just getting away from her magic and trying to pretend

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like what happened the day before didn't happen.

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Diana again declined hanging out with Julian and the other witches, but she uses her magic

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reluctantly, of course.

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She's trying to get a book off the shelf and there are no stepstools around.

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This is only her fifth time using her magic this year, so she figures it should be fine,

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right?

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But here's the thing, she was seen by a vampire, none other than Matthew Claremont himself.

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Then Diana almost falls at the bottom of the stairs, but Matthew is there to catch her.

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He introduced himself and says that he is a fan of her work.

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He also invites her out to dinner.

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She declines his dinner invitation, of course, and also his scent reminded her of Ashmole

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782 and that really unnerved her.

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So she ends up leaving the library earlier than she usually would and heads back to her

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rooms.

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I believe she falls asleep on the couch and then after waking up in the middle of the

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night, she ends up calling Sarah and M back home.

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Diana tells him about Matthew and Sarah isn't happy.

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She doesn't believe that witches, vampires, and demons will get to those, should mix.

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And M gets a bit weird toward the end of the call.

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Diana thinks there's something about Matthew Claremont that M isn't telling her yet.

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Chapter 3, A Midnight Visitor.

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So this chapter is from Matthew's point of view.

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It is the same night as chapter 2 and he's watching Diana.

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He then sneaks into her rooms while she's sleeping through her kitchen window, which

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she had opened when she got home.

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He's looking for Ashmole 782.

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He thinks something isn't right with Diana.

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She doesn't give off the same scent as the other witches.

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He thinks she is hiding something.

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Um, you are in her room, sir.

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Are you going to tell her that you were in her rooms?

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Are you going to hide that?

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So does it matter if she is hiding something?

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Anyway, then he ends up seeing lights coming from Diana's body, which distracts him for

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a moment before looking through Diana's desk for the manuscript.

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He did find himself watching her for several hours while she slept.

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He also wondered if he should just go ahead and taste the witch's blood to find out where

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the manuscript was.

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Instead, he decided the manuscript must still be in the library and left the way he came

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in.

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Chapter 4, Creatures of the Library.

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Now I should probably point out that there are no chapter titles in these books.

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I'm just adding a little title to each chapter myself.

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Just, just didn't want to confuse anyone.

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Chapter 4, Creatures of the Library.

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We are back to Diana's perspective and on to the next day.

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She's back in the library.

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She doesn't get her usual seat though.

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That is a four.

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Matthew Claremont is sitting across from it and she ends up taking a different one.

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Diana does make a lot of noise going to the seat that she decided on, which was still

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near Matthew, just not across from it.

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She definitely wanted to disturb him.

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Diana wonders why he isn't in the northern part of the library and Matthew wonders if

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she believes everything she reads about vampires.

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She wonders why he seems to be around all of a sudden, thinking it not to be a coincidence.

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He of course says that it is.

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We know it isn't, but you know.

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I mean, you don't sneak into someone's rooms if it's just going to be a coincidence.

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At some point during the morning, Diana does notice there are more creatures in the library

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than usual.

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There was a moment where Diana noticed another witch in the library and felt threatened by

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him.

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When he moved toward her, she heard a voice in her head and wondered if it was him.

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She wanted him to get the hell out of her head and said so.

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Claremont came over quickly and began to shield her.

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He also asked her if she was alright.

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The witch ended up leaving, saying that he mistook the seats across from Diana to be

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available.

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Diana said that she was fine and she wanted Matthew to move away from her because others

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were noticing.

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That day Diana left the library around three, which is also earlier than she usually does.

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She couldn't concentrate anymore.

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And also, all of the creatures watched as she left.

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After going home and changing, she decided to go for a run over to the boathouse.

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We learned that a doctor had mentioned when she was younger that her body seemed to think

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it was in a constant state of danger.

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Physical activity helps keep her panic at bay.

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She decided to go rowing to calm herself down.

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And afterwards, she has another encounter with Matthew Claremont.

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She confronts him wondering what he is doing.

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Why him and his friends were out there.

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He says that those other creatures are not his friends.

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They are not interested in him.

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They are interested in her.

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Those creatures have been following her because they believe that she found something that

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had been lost years ago.

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Ashmole 782.

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Diana says that she doesn't have the manuscript and that she returned it on Friday.

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Matthew warns her about how serious the creatures are and how she should be on guard once they

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learn how different she is.

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Chapter 5.

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A search for answers.

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Diana decides it takes some time to look up information on Matthew on the internet.

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But there wasn't much information about him.

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She wants to try to figure out who he is and also try to figure out what his interests

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might be in Ashmole 782.

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She does end up finding a lot of his scholarly literature.

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There seems to be too much.

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She wonders how old is he?

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She ends up calling her friend Christopher Roberts.

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He is a fellow faculty member at Yale and a molecular biologist.

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She calls him to see if he has any info on Matthew Claremont since they are both scientists.

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Chris has heard of Matthew Claremont and he mentions how big of a deal he is.

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Also just a note, Chris does not know that Diana is a witch.

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And at the end of their discussion, Chris does say that if Matthew breaks her heart,

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he will kick his ass.

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And finally, Chapter 6.

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A new day at the Bobland.

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So it's the next morning and Diana has gone for a run.

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When she returns, the porter tells her that he's sorry he turned her friend away the night

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before.

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An Australian woman had tried to visit Diana, but she wasn't answering her phone.

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Diana had turned the ringer off because her aunt Sarah wasn't really good with the time

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change.

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She returns back to the library.

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Matthew Claremont is there again.

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And this is when Diana kind of starts to refer to him as just Claremont.

250
00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,920
This is also when we meet Miriam, Dr. Miriam Shepherd.

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She is there with Claremont.

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Matthew does note that he won't be sitting near Diana on that day.

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And Diana gets a sit in her normal seat.

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There aren't as many creatures around the library on that day either.

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At least not as many as there were the day before.

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Then it's lunchtime and Diana goes off to lunch.

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So Claremont gets a reluctant Miriam to follow Diana.

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Here while Diana is out at lunch, she meets Agatha Wilson.

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She is a demon.

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And Agatha just starts talking to Diana about Ashmole 782.

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She talks about how they weren't sure that they would see the book again, and especially

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after what the witches did with it.

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She also then hands Diana a newspaper, the headline reading, Vampire on the Loose in

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London.

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Two bodies were found in an alley.

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No blood evidence was found at the scene.

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Vampire Murders is what the local residents are calling it.

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Peter Knox's name is mentioned.

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We learn that he is an author on bestselling books on modern occultism.

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00:17:54,120 --> 00:18:00,760
And he's been consulted by agencies around the world on cases of satanic and serial killings.

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I'd say put a pen in that name.

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Now he is someone that we have not met yet, at least by name.

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Agatha wonders about Ashmole 782.

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00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:14,960
And Diana says that she returned a book once she was done with it.

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Agatha wonders if the witches told Diana to send the book back.

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00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:24,400
Agatha says that the witches don't get to decide what happens to the book.

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It belongs to all of them.

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Agatha also gives Diana information about the book.

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Agatha tells Diana that the book tells them why they're here.

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The beginning, middle, and the end.

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00:18:37,900 --> 00:18:44,120
She also wants to make sure that Diana knows that demons are part of the story too.

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She also says a few times that Matthew is Diana's vampire and Diana doesn't like that

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00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:52,160
so much.

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00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:58,540
Then after their conversation, Diana starts to wonder why Agatha nor Matthew have called

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00:18:58,540 --> 00:19:01,060
for the manuscript at the library.

286
00:19:01,060 --> 00:19:06,240
So when Diana returns to the library, she decides that she is going to be friendly towards

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00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,120
Matthew from here on out.

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00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:13,440
She ends up thanking him for his protection the last few days.

289
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,960
She feels like she can get information from him.

290
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:24,360
If he needs her in regards to Ashmole 782, then she wants for him to tell her why it

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00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:26,400
is so important.

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00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:32,120
Now let's go to the congregation and talk about some of these key events that happened

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00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:34,120
in these chapters.

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00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:41,000
First, we'll start with Ashmole 782.

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00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:46,160
So very early on, we get Diana encountering Ashmole 782.

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This is a manuscript that changes everything for Diana.

297
00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:54,860
She has been having this normal life that she has wanted, not having to deal with her

298
00:19:54,860 --> 00:19:58,200
magical abilities or dealing with other creatures.

299
00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:05,960
We see this when Diana declines Jillian Chamberlain's offers over and over again and when her aunts,

300
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:12,180
Sarah and Emily, try to get her to participate in the events surrounding the equinox.

301
00:20:12,180 --> 00:20:17,320
But the moment when Diana touches this manuscript, her life is not the same.

302
00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:21,520
This manuscript brings Matthew Claremont into her life.

303
00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:27,760
He's a vampire and he becomes interested in her, which makes her interested in him and

304
00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,600
why he is so curious about this manuscript.

305
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,360
This also brings a lot of other creatures to the library.

306
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:40,560
We see more witches and more vampires and more demons that wouldn't normally be in

307
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:46,720
the Bodleian Library, but they start to show up and they seem to be waiting for her.

308
00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:52,400
We end up meeting a demon, Agatha Wilson, and she gives us more details on what Ashmole

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00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,440
782 might be.

310
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:58,040
She says, the book explains why we're here.

311
00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,720
It tells our story beginning, middle, even the end.

312
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:09,560
So what is going on with this manuscript and why do all of these creatures want it and

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00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:14,840
what exactly do these creatures want from Diana?

314
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:19,980
Another key event is when Matthew starts to protect Diana.

315
00:21:19,980 --> 00:21:25,320
So there is a weird moment for Diana while she's in the library.

316
00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:32,320
One of the days after she encounters Ashmole 782, she is in the library and a witch is

317
00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,100
looking at her.

318
00:21:34,100 --> 00:21:40,080
As he approached her, she couldn't shake the feeling of his presence invading her mind.

319
00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:43,040
She conveyed for him to get out of her head.

320
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,880
But one thing about that moment surprised Diana.

321
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:48,400
Here's a quote from the book.

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00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,640
Claremont moved so quickly, I didn't see him around the desk.

323
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:56,680
In an instant, he was standing with one hand on the back of my chair and the other on the

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00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,440
surface in front of me.

325
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:04,080
His broad shoulders were curved around me like the wings of a falcon shielding his prey.

326
00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:11,060
Why would a vampire care about protecting a witch, especially from another witch?

327
00:22:11,060 --> 00:22:16,480
There are other moments outside of this when he is looking out for her as well.

328
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:21,280
When she is rowing, when he's back in the library with Miriam, when he sends Miriam

329
00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:25,560
to lunch when Diana decides to go out to lunch.

330
00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:30,000
But with him sneaking into her rooms in the middle of the night, yeah, we didn't forget

331
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,000
about that.

332
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,420
Is he protecting her because he wants to keep her safe?

333
00:22:34,420 --> 00:22:41,840
Or is it because he wants to make sure nothing happens to her before he gets what he wants?

334
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:46,920
The next key event to talk about is Diana and magic.

335
00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:52,720
So a question I brought up earlier is how long do you think Diana can suppress her magic?

336
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:56,000
And apparently the answer is not that long.

337
00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,400
She apparently uses her magic every once in a while.

338
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:05,760
She does keep accounts of how often she uses it throughout the year.

339
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:11,680
There is a moment in this book when Diana uses her magic to get a book from a shelf.

340
00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:17,960
And that is the fifth time she's used magic all year, including her encounter with Ashton

341
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:18,960
782.

342
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,520
But I thought this was interesting.

343
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:28,320
For someone who is so opposed to being a witch and using her magic, she seems to still use

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00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:31,520
it when it is convenient for her.

345
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,100
Well outside of Ashton 782.

346
00:23:34,100 --> 00:23:37,320
The other time she uses it is convenient for her.

347
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:41,120
When Ashton 782 came around, I don't think that was convenient.

348
00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:46,720
I think it just happened and it was something that she just couldn't control.

349
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:52,280
Another thing to talk about is what we learned about the creatures in this story.

350
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:59,960
So this story takes us through a world where witches, vampires, and demons coexist.

351
00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:02,200
Well maybe not coexist.

352
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,080
Maybe that's too much of a strong word.

353
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:08,380
I guess it's more like they tolerate each other with suspicion.

354
00:24:08,380 --> 00:24:12,440
We see prejudice against demons and vampires.

355
00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,280
We see that quite a bit with Sarah Bishop.

356
00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:19,240
She says this when speaking to Diana.

357
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,800
Witches, vampires, and demons aren't supposed to mix.

358
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:25,400
You know that.

359
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:28,620
Humans are more likely to notice us when we do.

360
00:24:28,620 --> 00:24:32,080
No demon or vampire is worth the risk.

361
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:36,000
What Sarah says seems to might have some truth to it.

362
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:37,680
At least the human part.

363
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:44,040
The time when Matthew comes over to protect Diana when the witch is near in the library,

364
00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,640
a human seems to look a bit too close.

365
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:53,260
But that could also just be something that is said so that the creatures stay away from

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00:24:53,260 --> 00:24:54,480
each other.

367
00:24:54,480 --> 00:25:00,000
The human just could have been nosy and interested in what was going on.

368
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:05,260
And we only see a perception of who these creatures are from Diana's perspective.

369
00:25:05,260 --> 00:25:08,920
What she knows about demons, Sarah told her.

370
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:13,680
Sarah said demons constituted a criminal underclass.

371
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:21,040
Their super abundance of cleverness and creativity led them to lie, steal, cheat, and even kill

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00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,780
because they felt they could get away with it.

373
00:25:23,780 --> 00:25:29,800
And she also said conversations with demons were impossible because they began in the

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00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:30,800
middle.

375
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:37,320
I do get another side when Agatha, a fellow demon, speaks about demons.

376
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,840
She has a very different perspective than Sarah.

377
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:47,660
Agatha says that demons were hated by humans because they were different.

378
00:25:47,660 --> 00:25:51,720
Humans abandoned their children if they turned out to be demons.

379
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:57,800
And demons were accused of possessing souls and making humans insane.

380
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:04,840
And Agatha thinks that they are victims of human fear and envy even more than witches.

381
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:09,560
Sarah also doesn't have a lot of nice things to say about vampires.

382
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,600
She pretty much just tells Diana to stay away from them.

383
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:15,840
Sarah pretty much doesn't really like other creatures.

384
00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:20,600
That is what I'm gathering about her from these few chapters.

385
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:26,280
With these vampires, we do learn in this story that they do not burn at the touch of sunlight

386
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,680
and they do not have fangs.

387
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,680
Now really quickly, I just wanted to mention this.

388
00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:40,640
I always find it funny when I hear people get pissed at certain stories that don't adhere

389
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:44,800
to the whole vampires burn in the sunlight thing.

390
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:49,800
It's like these people act like vampires aren't fictional characters where their origin can

391
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:51,280
be manipulated.

392
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:56,640
A lot of people point to Dracula and how the rules of Dracula should be followed.

393
00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:04,000
But in Dracula, sun weakens a vampire, but it doesn't burn them.

394
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,440
Dracula can still walk in sunlight.

395
00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:13,680
Nosferatu, the unauthorized German adaptation of Dracula, that was apparently the first

396
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:19,560
piece of media that depicted a vampire of burning in sunlight.

397
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:25,400
So with that, I say let's just let the vampires in the story be the vampires in this story.

398
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:33,020
Another thing to bring up is Diana knows how it feels when she's around these other creatures.

399
00:27:33,020 --> 00:27:37,780
So when a witch studies another, the touch of their eyes tingle.

400
00:27:37,780 --> 00:27:44,680
When a demon takes a look at you, there is a slight unnerving pressure of a kiss.

401
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:51,960
And when a vampire stares, it feels cold, focused, and dangerous.

402
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:58,520
Now let's get to our three to one section.

403
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:04,240
For the three characters I want to talk about, I actually want to talk about the bishop women.

404
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:09,120
Since we are starting off with the equinox and Mabon, why not talk about some of the

405
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:10,120
witches?

406
00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:13,440
And we'll only talk about what we know of them so far.

407
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,060
So we'll start with Diana Bishop.

408
00:28:15,060 --> 00:28:16,420
She is our main character.

409
00:28:16,420 --> 00:28:20,560
She is a tenured history professor at Yale University.

410
00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:24,580
She is currently working on getting her doctorate at Oxford.

411
00:28:24,580 --> 00:28:29,220
She is reluctant to use magic unless apparently she just wants to.

412
00:28:29,220 --> 00:28:33,720
That whole thing that happened with her magic in theater while she was in college spooked

413
00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:34,720
her.

414
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,780
We see her being reluctant to spend time with other witches.

415
00:28:37,780 --> 00:28:43,480
We see this in numerous times that she has declined spending time with Julian Chamberlain.

416
00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:49,400
And another thing, she is the last direct descendant of Bridget Bishop.

417
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:53,140
And that is the bishop from the Salem witch trials.

418
00:28:53,140 --> 00:28:58,480
So her renouncing her family's heritage is kind of a big deal.

419
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,200
Let's talk a little bit about Sarah Bishop.

420
00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:05,600
She is Diana Bishop's aunt, sister to Rebecca.

421
00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:09,960
She is also a witch and a member of the Madison Coven.

422
00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:12,400
Her partner is Emily Mather.

423
00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:17,500
And we see that she definitely does not hold her tongue with Diana, especially about her

424
00:29:17,500 --> 00:29:19,640
reluctancy to use her magic.

425
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:24,540
But we also see that she seems to have a prejudice against the other creatures with the way that

426
00:29:24,540 --> 00:29:27,720
she speaks about the demons and the vampires.

427
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:29,200
Then we have Rebecca Bishop.

428
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,860
We don't know a lot about her.

429
00:29:31,860 --> 00:29:33,720
We know she's Diana's mother.

430
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:40,440
We know that she was a professor at Harvard University and she seemed to be a very powerful

431
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:41,440
witch.

432
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:47,620
There was a scene where she set drapes on fire and Diana was in the room and that kind

433
00:29:47,620 --> 00:29:49,720
of spooked Rebecca.

434
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:52,080
And then she died when Diana was seven.

435
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,760
She was in Africa with her husband and did not return alive.

436
00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:03,480
And with what we've learned about these women so far, it's clear that their family history

437
00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:11,160
and magical lineage definitely carry a significant weight in shaping Diana's identity and her

438
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:12,160
decisions.

439
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:17,920
Diana seems to grapple with the legacy of her ancestors and she definitely has not dealt

440
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,200
with what happened to her parents.

441
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:27,520
Their mysterious death in Africa definitely left behind a lot of unanswered questions.

442
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:33,800
And she's done her best to get away from magic, even though she does use it when she wants.

443
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:35,240
Let's not forget that.

444
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:42,160
But her wanting to separate herself from magic and her experience with Ashmole 782 and all

445
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:48,960
the creatures showing up after that said experience, this is not something that she is going to

446
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,200
be able to escape.

447
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,800
There is definitely more to learn about the Bishop line and we should know that with the

448
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:59,980
way the author use a Bishop witch from Salem as part of this bloodline.

449
00:30:59,980 --> 00:31:05,880
There will definitely be more twists and revelations to come and I really can't wait to talk about

450
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:06,880
them.

451
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,660
Let's move on to two things I'm looking forward to.

452
00:31:10,660 --> 00:31:15,480
What moments have intrigued me about what could happen in the future?

453
00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:20,480
So first, let's talk about the newspaper article about the killings.

454
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:28,400
So remember when Agatha gave Diana the article, the headline was vampire on the loose in London.

455
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:34,440
It's interesting that Agatha would give Diana this article, maybe because she's been watching

456
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:35,440
Diana.

457
00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,160
A lot of the other creatures have as well.

458
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:42,360
And Diana has been speaking to Matthew.

459
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:49,540
She hasn't seeked him out, of course, but if Agatha has seen her talking to a vampire,

460
00:31:49,540 --> 00:31:55,040
she might think that Diana will give Ashmole 782 to him.

461
00:31:55,040 --> 00:32:01,480
And giving Diana this article, that can help put doubt in Diana's mind about trusting a

462
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:03,120
vampire.

463
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:08,260
Even though the humans don't really know about real vampires or that a vampire is actually

464
00:32:08,260 --> 00:32:10,440
doing these killings.

465
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:15,400
They just gave the article that name, but Agatha might think this will help her cause.

466
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:23,280
So Peter Knox is mentioned in this article and that's not someone who has been named

467
00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:25,500
in these chapters before.

468
00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:27,300
So he might show up.

469
00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:32,780
The next thing I'm looking forward to is learning more about Matthew Claremont.

470
00:32:32,780 --> 00:32:35,860
Of course, yes, the vampire.

471
00:32:35,860 --> 00:32:41,080
When Diana was trying to find information about him, she didn't get much.

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00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:48,000
And I can't wait to learn more about him and how old he is, where he's from, more about

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his family and seeing more of the other vampires around him like Miriam.

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00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:58,360
Miriam is definitely one of my favorite characters, so I can't wait to get more from her and also

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learn more about what he wants from Ashmole 782 as well as what he wants from Diana.

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00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:07,760
Now we'll move on to favorite quotes.

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I'll be picking a favorite quote from these chapters and the quote I'm picking is one

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00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,860
said by Matthew Claremont.

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00:33:16,860 --> 00:33:19,200
So this is from chapter four.

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00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:25,480
When Matthew is back in the Babylonian and Diana is annoyed with his presence, she is

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00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:31,800
wondering why he is in the southern end of the library and not the northern end.

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She thought he might be more comfortable.

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And he says, you don't believe everything you read, do you?

484
00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:41,780
I love that quote.

485
00:33:41,780 --> 00:33:46,580
That is definitely one of my favorite quotes in this book.

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00:33:46,580 --> 00:33:52,400
It's telling us that these vampires are not like the other vampires you might have read

487
00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:55,520
about or seen on screen.

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00:33:55,520 --> 00:34:00,060
And I think this also might make Diana even more curious.

489
00:34:00,060 --> 00:34:02,360
She is an historian after all.

490
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:07,520
It could make her even more curious about vampires, which means she would be more curious

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00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:09,320
about Matthew.

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00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:14,000
And there is definitely a mystery that needs to be solved with Matthew Claremont.

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00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:21,040
All right, folks, that brings us to the end of our first episode into the world of all

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00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:22,560
souls.

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00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:26,580
We tackled chapters one through six of a discovery of witches.

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00:34:26,580 --> 00:34:32,360
And I have to say things are already getting interesting between Diana and Matthew.

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00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:37,740
I definitely love to know what your first impressions were of the story or of the characters

498
00:34:37,740 --> 00:34:41,840
as well as who or what you're most intrigued by so far.

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00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:46,400
You can leave me a comment down below if you are watching this on YouTube or send an email

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00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,560
to suchafunread at gmail.com.

501
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:53,400
I'd also love to spotlight your thoughts in future episodes.

502
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:58,040
And if you're enjoying this deep dive into the world of all souls, please share with

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00:34:58,040 --> 00:34:59,200
your friends.

504
00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:04,520
If you know someone that loves this series or could love this series, go ahead and share

505
00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,680
this episode with them and we can love this series together.

506
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:14,240
Also please consider reading and reviewing suchafunread on Apple podcast or your favorite

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00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:15,600
podcast app.

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00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:20,160
As I mentioned earlier, every reading helps spread the word of the show and allows more

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00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:24,920
fans of this book to join in on the discussion and our community.

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00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:28,200
Next time we'll be discussing chapters seven through 11.

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So get ready for more magical discoveries and character revelations.

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Until then, happy reading!