The Worst Witch (1998 TV series)
The Worst Witch is a British-Canadian ITV television series about a group of young witches at a school for magic. The series stars Georgina Sherrington and Felicity Jones, and is based on "The Worst Witch" books by Jill Murphy (published from 1974 onwards). It aired for a total of 40 episodes spread over three series between 1998 and 2001, before being followed by "Weirdsister College." Most episodes revolved around the school, following the adventures of Mildred and her friends. The series was later followed by "The New Worst Witch", which ran for two series and chronicled the experiences of Mildred's younger cousin Hettie as she attended the school.
A Discovery of Witches
"A Discovery of Witches" was first published in hardcover on February 8, 2011, by Penguin Books, becoming a "New York Times" Best Seller upon its release. It has since been released in paperback and also as an ebook. The novel has been translated into more than 36 languages. The book received mostly positive feedback from literary critics. It was praised for its intelligence and the mixture of history and fantasy, although some critics felt the plot was trite and the pacing was slow. Comparisons were made between other popular fantasy series, namely "Twilight" and "Harry Potter". The novel began as a "thought experiment" for Harkness, who had previously only published works of historical non-fiction. She drew upon her academic background as a historian and her studies of alchemy, magic, and the occult.