If you love reading gothic novels set in a boarding school or elite university, you’re probably already familiar with the term “dark academia”.
With billions of views, the #darkacademia hashtag – a veritable mood board of books, dark-hued preppy fashion, and oak-panelled libraries – has taken TikTok by storm. As a literary genre, it’s heavy on nostalgia with sombre overtones, romanticising life within educational institutions while depicting shady goings-on behind closed doors, and interrogating themes like greed, privilege, ambition, and hedonism. Think Brideshead Revisited, or the first 30 minutes of Saltburn.
Below, we’ve rounded up the best dark academia books – from beloved classics to exciting new releases – to help you decide what to read next.
12 must-read dark academia books
1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992)
Countless dark academia authors have been inspired by the modern classic The Secret History. Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path, beyond human constructs of morality.
2. Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian (2021)
Chloe seems like a typical university student, but beneath her friendly exterior lies a psychopath who fantasises about killing her childhood friend. She is also one of seven students at her college to be selected for a secret study about people who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions. But when one of the students in the study is murdered, Chloe goes from hunter to prey. She must decide if she can trust her fellow classmates – and how far she's willing to go to solve the murder.
Dark academia meets dark romance in bestselling author RuNyx’s latest novel. Salem enrols at the prestigious Mortimer Academy to investigate what happened to her older sister, who is missing. But while there, she learns her sister is one of many girls who has disappeared from the university. As her investigation takes her to the dark underbelly of campus life, including its secret societies, Salem clashes with the charismatic but dangerous Cazimir in this steamy romance that hums with suspense and intrigue.
4. Babel by R. F. Kuang (2022)
Oxford, 1836. Robin, an orphan from Canton, enrols in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation – otherwise known as Babel. The tower and its students are the beating heart of the British Empire – using the gifts of magic and translation to in service of its colonization efforts. Robin believes Babel is a safe haven, but gradually realises that serving the Empire means betraying his motherland. But how can a student make a stand against a whole system? Babel offers a fresh perspective on the violence of imperialism, set against the dreaming spires of Oxford.
5. The Cloisters by Katy Hays (2022)
New York newbie and art aficionado Ann dreams of interning at the Museum of Metropolitan Art and is disappointed when she’s assigned to The Cloisters – a gothic museum which houses the Met’s mediaeval holdings. However, she quickly falls in with the quirky staff and indulges their theories, including the idea that ancient divination holds the key to predicting the future. When Ann discovers a 15th-century deck of tarot cards, she is caught in a dangerous game of power, ambition, and academic obsession – with fatal consequences.
6. The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent (2023)
Clare arrives at Edinburgh University eager to reinvent herself in a place where no-one knows her. When she meets the beautiful, intimidatingly rich Tabitha in her art history class, she knows they're destined to become friends and is drawn into her hedonistic circle. But this group is not what they seem, and by the time Clare understands what they’re capable of, it’s too late. Exploring obsession with an original and sinister edge, The Things We Do to Our Friends is a seductive feminist thriller about the battle between the greedy and the privileged.
7. Neverthorn by Shannon Mayer (2025)
Dark academia gets a fantasy twist in Neverthorn, which takes place in a world of witchcraft and wizardry – but not as you know it. Harlow is a 29-year-old wizarding school dropout who is blackmailed into returning to Neverthorn Academy to complete her studies so she can defend her world against a dark wizard. Upon re-enrolling at the school, she comes head-to-head with a former mean girl and feels infuriating chemistry with one of her professors. With its slow-burn tension and moody atmosphere, Neverthorn is a great addition to your TBR pile.
8. Bunny by Mona Awad (2019)
Samantha is a scholarship student at a small New England university who usually prefers the company of her eccentric friend Ava to that of her classmates. But when she is invited to join a clique of girls who call each other “Bunny,” she is drawn into their sinister off-campus activities. As Samantha joins in the rituals, she plunges further and further into the group’s saccharine, lonely, and terrible world. Bunny blends sharp, witty satire with an exploration of the dark underbelly of female friendship.
9. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (2020)
El attends Scholomance, a school of dark magic where there are no teachers, no holidays, and friendships are purely strategic. There are only two means of escape: you graduate, or you die. El might not have many allies, but she is a powerful sorceress. Her unique strength allows her to fight monsters in the school, but she must learn to control her power or she could accidentally kill her classmates. If you spent your happiest days at Hogwarts, this is the series for you.
10. They Never Learn by Layne Fargo (2025)
There has been a series of deaths at an elite university, and English professor Scarlett is responsible. She has taken it upon herself to kill the predatory man on campus, and she’s preparing for her riskiest murder yet when the police arrive on scene, investigating links between the deaths. Meanwhile, freshman student Carly is shaken when her roommate is attacked at a party, and she becomes obsessed with making the boy pay. They Never Learn is a feminist revenge thriller that brims with rage and feels like Killing Eve meets Promising Young Woman.
11. If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio (2017)
Oliver has served 10 years in prison for a murder he may or may not have committed. As a student, he was part of a group of seven actors studying Shakespeare at a prestigious arts conservatory. It was a toxic environment of jealousy and competition that blurred fact and fiction and, ultimately, resulted in murder. So, when the police came on the scene, the group prepared for their greatest performance yet. This is an all-consuming story about obsession, academia, and the dark side of human nature.
12. The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (2019)
Alex dropped out of school as a teenager and fell in with the wrong crowd. Now 20, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. While recovering in hospital, a mysterious benefactor offers her the chance to attend Yale, all expenses paid. But there is a catch: Alex must monitor the university’s secret societies, and their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister than she could have imagined. This dark, atmospheric fantasy novel uses magic to examine the relationship between privilege and the abuse of power.
Frequently asked questions
What does ‘dark academia’ mean?
Dark academia isn’t an official subgenre of fiction: it’s more of a literary aesthetic, with these books sharing certain characteristics. Firstly, they are focused on higher education – usually at elite institutions, with beautiful old buildings and wood-panelled walls.
Secondly, the characters tend to dress in a certain way – and this has influenced fashion in the real world too, especially on social media. The dark academia aesthetic is usually defined by vintage clothes such as tweed jackets, blazers and cable-knit sweaters in autumnal colours.
However, beneath the preppy fashion and idyllic settings of these books, there is a moody and melancholic atmosphere, and often a sense of mystery or something not feeling right. Dark academia books explore the dark side of intellectual pursuits, whether that be in terms of elitism, murky morality or an unhealthy obsession with certain topics. Their morose mood, along with their majestic settings, demonstrate how these books has been heavily influenced by Gothic literature.
When and where does dark academia come from?
There are plenty of literary forefathers to the dark academia aesthetic in literature – whether that be the brooding novels of Wuthering Heights and The Picture of Dorian Grey, or Frankenstein’s focus on the danger of intellectual pursuits. The subgenre also takes inspiration from campus novels that were popular in the first half of the 20th Century, according to JSTOR.
However, the origin of the specific term “dark academia” is more recent. The term was thought to have originated on Tumblr blogs in the mid-2010s, with a particular focus on Gothic interiors and aesthetics. Interest then exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, coinciding with a boom in TikTok and social media usage, which has led to a continued interest in dark academia books today.