On Instagram and YouTube, every day I have been uploading something related to writing, reading and the aesthetic of dark academia fantasy because that’s the genre I’m writing in this Novel November! But I thought I’d share what exactly this means and why I am now technically writing my third dark academia fantasy novel (it’s dual pov and one is set on a campus for some dark goings-on!).
What is dark academia in literature?
There are many definitions for this aesthetic and now the literary genre. I am going to give my definition and the definition I’ve found that best suits what I think it is and enjoy about the genre/style.
My nutshell definition: dark academia books feature an academic/campus setting (often elite or exclusive), dark themes, obsession, criticism of something (often academia itself), a toxic friendship group, secrets, maybe a murder.
Another definition / the origins of the genre: “Originating in works such as Peter Weir’s 1989 film Dead Poets Society and Donna Tartt’s 1992 novel The Secret History, the genre still lacks a hard and fast definition. However, it can be classified as a more melancholic offshoot of the campus novel, with elements of mystery and thriller narratives and even the Gothic…
“Typically, an academic institution, e.g. a prestigious university, serves as the setting for one or several crimes or tragedies, the perpetrators, motives and consequences of which are usually revealed as the plot unfolds. These events will often be a result of the characters’ studies, academic research or university rituals. Many dark academia novels thus imply a connection between crime and an individual’s misled academic ambition.”
The aesthetic is this:
- Ink stained hands
- Blazers and loafers
- Smoking cigarettes
- Messy writing in the margins of broken spine books
- Classic literature, mythic, philosophy, history, theatre
- A society, toxic group, or misfits
- Black coffee and red wine
- Quoting Plath, Poe, and Dystoyevsky
- Elitism, Oxford-esque, privilege
- Madness
Dark academia book recommendations
List of dark academia books that I’ve read:
- Babel by R F Kuang
- Katabasis by R F Kuang
- Bunny by Mona Awod
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
- The Atlas Six by Olivia Blake
- In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead
- Vita Nostra by Dyachenko
- Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
- The Will of the Many by James Islington
- If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (DNF)
- The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
- These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever
List of dark academia books that I own but haven’t read yet:
- Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake (currently reading)
- An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
- The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
- Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown
- Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwarts
- Starling House by Alix E Harrow
- The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky
- Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas
- Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike-Iyimide
- An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson
- A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
- A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallero
- The Lessons by Naomi Alderman
- The Truants by Kate Weinberg
- I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
- Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
List of dark academia books on the top of my to-buy list:
- We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awod (sequel to Bunny)
- Welcome to Dorley Hall by Alyson Greaves
- The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- These Dreaming Spires and In These Hallowed Halls (dark academia anthologies)
- Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang
Why I’m drawn to it at this point in my writing career
I think I love the genre because I’ve always wanted to write novels set in a school. I used to keep coming up with middle grade / children’s fantasy novels set in a school. Clearly a HP fan! But those books didn’t go anywhere really. I finished the drafts but they lacked something. I was always drawn to the darker elements of stories.
I found dark academia when watching The Book Leo’s YouTube channel where she dissects the genre and I think I was drawn to it from there. I read Bunny and loved it, but didn’t know I was reading what would later be branded as a dark academia novel. From Leonie’s recommendation, I then read the OG Dark Academia novel which is The Secret History. As much as I enjoyed it, I think I would have gotten more out of the novel if I read it now compared to 5 years ago where some of the references were lost on me.
From there, it kind of snowballed! I collected more and more dark academia books over the last 2 years maybe. I started this year reading the dark academia novel that interested me most but intimidated me: Babel. And my god, I loved it. I thought, “this is what I want to achieve one day”. A clever, educational, informative, critical fantasy work. But then I realised that wasn’t me.
I was more fantasy than academic.
And so, through reading that and then the others that followed, I found a sort of middle ground where my work belonged. I love dark academia because it offers a unique way of writing that feels natural to me. Only in reading these books was I able to give myself permission to indulge in a character, a world, and a theme like I do now.
So, why is this now my genre and likely to be my traditional publishing debut?
Firstly, I get to be academic! I love creating characters who are intellectuals. Who compare and compete intellectually. Who pride themselves on their knowledge and have fragile egos because of it. In my second dark academia novel, I also made use of footnotes! I can’t even describe how much joy this brought me! It adds a whole other layer and depth to the world building to be able to use footnotes. My characters wrote essays and quoted people that I made up! But I got to make it sound like they were real and I hope my future readers will believe it all to be real when they’re reading it.
Secondly, it’s naturally reflective in tone. I’m a reflective writer by default. I like metaphors and playing with language and taking my time in a character’s head. This lends well to the dark academia genre. It’s a character-focused genre that spends time on a character’s mental development over any large plot points. It’s about morality and choices and emotional wounds and depth of thought. That’s what I love!
Thirdly, I love higher education. I always wanted to go to university and found it very hard when that didn’t end up being the path for me. I completed my degree online in the end and I now work for a university which offers blended learning (online and campus) too. I think this is all to say that higher education has always been a big part of my life, my identity and my interests. Education is beautiful and fascinating and important. I love that I get to explore the opportunities and pitfalls of education and access to education in my novels. The impact that it has on a person, especially someone who feels they need it so desperately.
Lastly, I get to talk about deeper social issues and darker themes. The dark in dark academia stems from the dark themes in the novels. This could be murder or obsession, twisted secrets or unstable minds. This blur in morality allows writers to play with the taboo and explore hard topics from unique perspectives. It allows room for nuance and discussion and play with difficult issues, without being preachy, stating “this is bad” outright, or glorifying it. It’s a perfect balance for hard topics, in my opinion, and often results in unanswered questions. It’s an exploration, not a destination. A psychological ride!
If you’re interested, I am documenting my journey this Novel November as I write another dark academia (ish) fantasy, and edit my two other drafts. Follow me on Instagram and my Yoga For Writers YouTube to see more dark academia, books and writing content!
Sincerely,
S. xx
S. R. Crawford 