Dark Academia

By Sarah Yurch | December 4 2023 | FictionKids

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.

9781400031702
NATIONAL BESTSELLER--Donna Tartt's riveting classic about an elite group of students at a private New England college and the terrifying secret that binds them together. First time in Vintage. VINTAGE CONTEMPORARIES
$18.00 US
Apr 13, 2004
Paperback
Vintage
US, Canada, Open Mkt

9781524714758
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club” (Entertainment Weekly) in this addictive mystery about what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive.
$12.99 US
Feb 28, 2023
Paperback
Delacorte Press
US, Canada, Open Mkt

A Novel
9780525559757
The Vegetarian meets Heathers in this "wickedly hilarious" (New Yorker), "audacious and ultimately unforgettable novel" (Los Angeles Times)
$18.00 US
Jun 09, 2020
Paperback
Penguin Books
US, Opn Mkt (no CAN)

9780525645610
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!"Celebrates the resilience of girls and the earthshaking power of their friendships. An eerie, unforgettable triumph." --Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn"Wilder Girls is so sharp and packs so much emotion in such wise ways. I'm convinced we're about to witness the emergence of a major new literary star." --Jeff VanderMeer, New York Times bestselling author of AnnihilationA feminist Lord of the Flies about three best friends living in quarantine at their island boarding school, and the lengths they go to uncover the truth of their confinement when one disappears. This fresh debut is a mind-bending novel unlike anything you've read before.
$12.99 US
Jun 02, 2020
Paperback
Ember
US, Canada, Open Mkt

A Novel
9780593128503
The New York Times bestselling novel, telling the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic.
$18.00 US
May 04, 2021
Paperback
Del Rey
US, Canada, Open Mkt