A Discovery of Witches

Matthew Gabriel Philippe Bertrand Sébastien de Clermont, or Matthew Clairmont, is 1500 years old, a model of “physical perfection” (18), a brilliant scholar, scientist, wine connoisseur, grand master of the Knights of Lazarus, and vampire. Diana describes him with a quote from English poet and playwright, Ben Johnson: Matthew is “not of an age, but for all time” (149).

As a vampire, Matthew possesses preternatural abilities rather than supernatural abilities. He is a predator with an exceptional sense of smell. His heart doesn’t beat frequently, his body temperature is low, and he doesn’t need to eat or sleep much.

Matthew is self-aware and self-controlled. He is compassionate, “feels deeply” (301), and has a “finely developed sense of right and wrong” (198, 201). He strives to be a moral individual despite vampiric temptations. He warns Diana that vampires with a conscience “spend most of their time trying not to imagine how people would taste” (177). Matthew is more tolerant of other species than other members of his family. As a geneticist, Matthew is obsessed with origins, extinction, and the question of why vampires exist—“the only question worth asking” (255). Matthew’s initial objective is Ashmole 782, but his love for Diana quickly takes precedence.

Matthew has several flaws that threaten his relationship with Diana: he is secretive, quick to anger, and tends to be controlling and possessive. Matthew fears his short temper and his potential loss of self-control. He wears the Lazarus coffin as a reminder of an incident when his anger dominated his rationality.

The elegant and expensive-looking Geneviève Mélisande Hélène Ysabeau Aude de Clermont is Matthew’s vampire mother. The name Ysabeau, which means “God’s promise” is the name her husband Philippe preferred. Ysabeau is the most observant of the de Clermont family, a skill that combined with her long memory, made Philippe call her his “general” and his “secret weapon” (384). Ysabeau didn’t want to become a vampire. In becoming one, she lost her ability to bear children and to pass on her abilities as a seer to future generations.

Ysabeau hates witches because they helped deliver Philippe to the Nazis, where he was tortured and killed. Ysabeau dislikes Diana because she is a witch, but also because Ysabeau believes Diana endangers Matthew. Ysabeau is fiercely protective of Matthew, her favorite son, whose near-death accident in life she sees as “the gods were giving me a chance to make him my child” (299). As Ysabeau witnesses Diana’s courage and love for Matthew, she becomes more welcoming, though she still disapproves of Diana’s weakness and refusal to use her powers, which endangers them all.

Only when Matthew and Diana marry with a kiss does Ysabeau truly accept Diana. Ysabeau values family above all, regardless of species. She welcomes Diana as a daughter and takes on a maternal role towards her. 

Matthew’s vampire son, Marcus, is a skilled healer and scientist. He met Matthew during the American Revolutionary War. When Marcus became sick with fever in 1781, Matthew turned him into a vampire, and taught him vampire ethics (201). Now, Marcus works in Matthew’s lab with Miriam, researching the DNA and family lines of the three different creature species.

Marcus is initially angry with Matthew for getting involved with a witch and upsetting Ysabeau, but later accepts Diana cheerfully. Marcus becomes close friends with the daemon Nathaniel. Both feel restricted by Matthew’s his attitude that they are “children,” but pledge to support the conventicle. Marcus becomes the leader of the Knights of Lazarus and feels overwhelmed by the big responsibility. He worries more about following in Matthew’s footsteps than the actual coming war (561).

As fiery as her red hair, Sarah, the younger sister of Diana’s mother, is opinionated and protective of Diana. She took Diana in after the deaths of Rebecca and Stephen. Sarah is straightforward and outspoken in her dislike of vampires and daemons, species below witches on her “hierarchy of creatures” (24). Sarah repeatedly cautions Diana to follow the “rules” and stay away from Matthew (24). Sarah has a hard time accepting Matthew when she realizes he killed Gillian, and when she sees how different Diana has become.

Sarah is a pillar in the Madison, New York, coven. She warms to Marcus and her opinion of Matthew thaws as they work together. A skilled witch, Sarah’s talent lies in casting spells, brewing potions, and making charms. Sarah is disappointed that she doesn’t have the skill to teach Diana how to use her raw talent. Despite her reservations about the vampires and daemons, she stands with Diana: “no Bishop ever turns her back on another Bishop” (315).

A powerful wizard, Peter Knox is a member of the Congregation and a major antagonist in the plot. He tries but fails to get into Diana’s head in the Bodleian. Knox embodies deeply ingrained prejudice. Upset that Diana confides in Matthew, Knox refuses to use Matthew’s name or title as a way of showing his superiority. Knox wants Ashmole 782 at all costs: He believes it holds the key to the witches’ power, “past and present” (127), as well as power over the other creatures. Knox doesn’t want the manuscript to fall into the hands of vampires or daemons because the book belongs to the witches, the superior species. Knox tells Matthew that Diana “belongs to us” (188) and they will use her to recover Ashmole 782. Diana’s father, Stephen, hated Peter Knox and did not trust him.

One of Matthew’s dearest friends, Hamish is a daemon and fellow All Souls scholar. Despite the difference in species, Hamish and Matthew “share a similar sense of humor and the same passion for ideas” (90). Unusually emotionally stable for a daemon, he uses his supernatural gifts as a financial analyst and economist. He is gay and currently has a human lover he calls Sweet William. Hamish is hurt when he learns that Matthew didn’t confide in him about the two women he killed and urges Matthew to stop keeping secrets. Hamish is also the ninth knight and seneschal of the Knights of Lazarus who takes care of Matthew’s legal concerns. Hamish warns Diana that Matthew will have a different personality in the past.

Miriam works with Marcus in Matthew’s genetics lab (53). She initially disapproves of Diana for putting Matthew in an “impossible situation” (116). Miriam is prim, practical, and fierce, angrily believing Diana and Matthew’s relationship endangers everyone, and “will change everything” (476). Miriam warns Diana that she doesn’t know the real Matthew, cautioning that he “hasn’t changed at all” from the person he was during Crusades (477). Miriam’s husband, Bertrand, took the blame for Matthew’s murder of Eleanor St. Leger to protect Matthew and the Knights, and Miriam still feels that loss.

Emily “Em” Mather is Sarah Bishop’s life partner. Gentle and soft-spoken, she is the opposite of feisty Sarah. Em comes from a “long line of witches” (23) and has a powerful sixth sense and visions of the future that are “seldom wrong” (517). Em was good friends with Rebecca Bishop in high school. Rebecca entrusted Em with the secret of Diana’s spellbinding. Em is empathetic and worries that Diana is still trying to hide things from herself.