Dark academia lurks on the underside of academia — with a focus on the illicit, the murderous and the obsessive. When students become wildly fixated on their studies, they careen into forbidden territory, uncovering secrets that become the subject of the novel.
This subgenre’s appeal is not unlike the pull toward horror or psychological thrillers. We have a morbid curiosity about characters struggling with morality and dark subjects. The question at the center of many of these books is not who or what, but why. Why would a group of students kill their best friend? Why would someone cover up a dark past?
I’ll be recommending some dark academia books to read this fall. But first, it’s important to have some context on what shapes dark academia — its history, its aesthetics and its flaws.
PRAISE AND CRITICISM OF THE SUBGENRE
Dark academia climbed to popularity as a book genre and a fashion and lifestyle aesthetic on TikTok during the pandemic, after its start around 2013 on Tumblr.
The genre has become most notable for being queer-inclusive. Dark academia titles like Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains feature LGBTQ leads. The popular dark academia fashion trend is gender inclusive, focusing on earth-tone, “professorial” clothing like sweaters, tweed pants, turtlenecks and blazers.
Most dark academia novels have foundations in the classics, Greek or Roman history, and European literature. This has led to the criticism of Western and Euro-centric ideals as the basis of the genre, leaving a lack of diversity in character, setting and subject matter. This is assisted by the fact that many characters in these novels are part of the mid to upper class and attend prestigious schools, giving dark academia the reputation of being elitist and exclusive.
However, criticism of the genre has led to a movement toward self-awareness and change. I hope the next few years bring a diverse and flourishing dark academia presence to the book industry. As a subgenre that can exist within genres like fantasy, thriller, horror, sci-fi and historical fiction, there are a number of ways to reframe dark academia for a more inclusive future.
In the meantime, the most dark academia thing you can do is to continue reading the genre and discussing it!
10 DARK ACADEMIA RECOMMENDATIONS
Here is a list of some of the most popular dark academia books, curated by OverDrive. From some titles that helped establish the genre to some new and diverse contributions, this list has your next obsession.
This list of dark academia reads was curated by OverDrive.
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The Secret History by Donna Tartt
(Knopf)
The Secret History has been seen as the blueprint for dark academia. The 1992 novel features six tight-knit students studying the classics under a quirky professor at a New England university. Their studies in Greek lead them to neglect morality in favor of a deadly obsession. Dreams of chasing down an alternate way of existence through the ancient ritual of Bacchanalia take them beyond what should be humanly possible.
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
This novel meditates on the nuances, morality and power dynamics of sexual desire. Vladimir is narrated by a 58-year-old woman in an open marriage, whose husband’s dalliances with his students get him into trouble. The unnamed narrator, also a professor, experiences an insatiable desire toward a young writer, after whom the book is titled, though the novel is more a character study of her than of Vladimir. It elegantly and profoundly captures her musings on age, gender and sexuality, at times echoing the work of Nabokov.
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
(Celadon)
This psychological thriller places a story within a story, following a professor of an MFA program, who is years past any chance of fame and success. He becomes so entranced by the plot of a student’s book that when he hears of the student’s death, he sees no harm in claiming this idea as his own and soaring to fame. When an anonymous message claims to know the truth, the professor will go to any length to cover his lies, learn the identity of his attacker and reveal the secrets of his deceased student.
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManitz
Five students walk into detention, but only four walk out of this closed-room mystery, where people will do anything to keep the truth hidden. Now a Peacock television series, One of Us is Lying is the story of four suspects claiming innocence and a murder victim that had been harboring a plan to expose all of their secrets. This murderous Breakfast Club cast stars in a classic whodunnit YA mystery, where the central question is this: who is lying?
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
by (William Morrow)
The Cartographers is magical realism at its finest, as an old map dredges up dark family secrets that were begging to stay buried. A young woman with a passion for cartography finds hidden in her dead father’s desk at the New York Public Library, the very map that destroyed their relationship. When she learns that the map may be the last of its kind, she is swept up in an obsessive hunt to uncover its truth and ensure its safety.
Bunny by Mona Awad
A group of rich women, who call each other “bunny” have secret meetings outside of their MFA program, where they work together to form their monstrous creations… and this book’s narrator wants in. Fantasy blurs with reality as readers and characters alike are pulled into this all-girl cult with a hunger for their creations. A darkly comedic and seductive novel about young women emerging from adolescence, Bunny pulls an innocent student into an uncanny world she never imagined.
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Initiation for a secret society of magical academics turns deadly in this fantasy novel. Every decade, new candidates must fight for a place among the highest ranked magicians, for the chance to care for lost ancient knowledge. Along with nods to the loss of the historical Library of Alexandria, Atlas Six is brimming with grand worldbuilding, questions of morality and philosophical discussions.
The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto
This young adult thriller takes a normal girl at boarding school on a scholarship and turns her world upside down. Harassed by her classmates, faced with racism and threatened with being thrown out of school, she decides it’s better to keep quiet when she sees a student being forcibly removed from campus. Things creep from strange to bloody and dangerous for The New Girl, with a trail of dead bodies and a killer on the loose.
Leda and the Swan by Anna Caritj
After a wild night of partying, a college student wakes up with no memory of the previous night, and a missing friend. She begins to wonder, what really happened to her friend? And is the guy she doesn’t remember going home with involved in all this? With more depth than a typical mystery or thriller, Leda and the Swan is an investigation into memory, rape culture, grief and growing up too soon.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
(Vintage)
Never Let Me Go is a Nobel prize-winning dystopian novel, set in a British boarding school. No contact is allowed with the outside world, but these three students are reminded of their importance by administrators. Years later, the trio is horrified to learn of the disturbing reality of their purpose. Exploring the treatment of vulnerable people, the way humans use one another, and the morality of life and death, this story of an imagined future is darkly unforgettable.
