The Black Bird Oracle: A Novel
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4.5 (15,663 ratings)

The Black Bird Oracle: A Novel

by Deborah Harkness

About this book

Diana Bishop journeys to the darkest places within herself—and her family history—in the highly anticipated fifth novel of the beloved 1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series.

“The Black Bird Oracle deftly explores the nexus of memory, history, and parenthood—the magic, pain, and promises mothers pass onto their children.”—Jodi Picoult

Deborah Harkness first introduced the world to Diana Bishop, an Oxford scholar and witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew de Clermont in A Discovery of Witches. Drawn to each other despite long-standing taboos, these two otherworldly beings found themselves at the center of a battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Since then, they have fallen in love, traveled to Elizabethan England, dissolved the Covenant between the three species, and awoken the dark powers within Diana’s family line.

Now, Diana and Matthew receive a formal demand from the Congregation: They must test the magic of their seven-year-old twins, Pip and Rebecca. Concerned with their safety and desperate to avoid the same fate that led her parents to spellbind her, Diana decides to forge a different path for her family’s future and answers a message from a great-aunt she never knew existed, Gwyneth Proctor, whose invitation simply reads: It’s time you came home, Diana.

On the hallowed ground of Ravenswood, the Proctor family home, and under the tutelage of Gwyneth, a talented witch grounded in higher magic, a new era begins for Diana: a confrontation with her family’s dark past and a reckoning for her own desire for even greater power—if she can let go, finally, of her fear of wielding it.

In this stunning new novel, grand in scope, Deborah Harkness deepens the beloved world of All Souls with powerful new magic and long-hidden secrets, and the path Diana finds at Ravenswood leads to the most consequential moments yet in this cherished series.

This audiobook edition comes with a downloadable PDF including a family tree.

Publication Date
May 25, 2026
ASIN
B0CPYQ8G44

Reader Reviews

Growing Pians for Diana and Matthew

August 31, 2024

One of the pitfalls of book series is that the main characters grow stale. I think Deborah Harkness wanted to avoid this, and so instead of merely setting Diana and Matthew on another adventure, she gave them the choice to continue on as before, or actually evolve to the next level. And she gives them that choice right on the pages of the story, so that we can watch them wrestle with the decision. Actually, the decision is Diana’s, which is one of the main questions the book explores: does a...

Was like opening the door to a magical secret garden

August 1, 2024

Harkness has achieved the unlikely in this fifth book in the discovery of witches series: a book as good as the first one that opens up a whole new world of character development. Many series start to pall after the third or fourth installment, but this was a tour de force that leaves us begging for more. The story was visceral, magical and evocative. I know I will reread and eagerly await the next installment. Brava Professor Harkness. I haven't felt like this since Harry went to Hogwarts. The...

Left me wanting more :-/

May 13, 2025

I had very mixed impressions of this book, the latest in the All Souls stories. I have loved the story of Diana & Matthew, the creatures & the world they inhabit since I read the 1st book. I had toast & think why this one left me feeling unsatisfied. What I have always loved about the series: 1. Deborah Harkness' beautiful, evocative prose. 2.Diana & Matthew's relationship. I've loved the mature, grounded relationship they've experienced, one of the striking features being their mutual respect....

Wonderful read!

April 3, 2026

Love this book! Continuing story of Discovery of witches. )

Great storyline, well written

February 13, 2026

Really love this series. Had to know the rest of the story after watching the movies. Now I've got them all and will re-read them because they hold your interest and you find other tidbits on the second read. ) One person found this helpful

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