While most of us became aware of Dark Academia thanks to TikTok, where the hashtag #darkacademia has over 5 billion views, the aesthetic/subculture found its foothold on Tumblr around 2014. Some trace its origin even further back to 1992, citing Donna Tartt’s The Secret History as the genesis of Dark Academia.
So what is the Dark Academia aesthetic? It’s Oxbridge with a hint of Hogwarts. Think: tweed blazers, leather satchels, gothic architecture, dark underexposed photos, candlelight, and nearly always a stack of books.
A Dark Academia book can be any genre but usually features an academic setting (boarding schools and universities, primarily) and often contains “dark” themes. See below for some of our top Dark Academia reads or click here for a more complete list.
