18 of the best dark academia books
The dark academia genre overlaps aggressively with the realm of fantasy. This is because the remarkably gatekept world of elite education is out of reach for much of the population.
Even those who have fought tooth and nail to make it into prestigious academic institutions have often failed to claw their way into the deepest circles of the societal elite. It’s what makes the hallowed halls of ancient universities so fascinating to avid readers, and so rife for literary imagination.
The many, varied tales which are spun with fictional or non-fictional colleges at their centre are not only wildly entertaining but frankly gut-wrenching. The formula for darkly academic novels usually sees an outsider of sorts attempt to deceive their way into acceptance – whether falsely invited by members of the so-called elite or written with the inherent intention to do so.
With the odds stacked against them and a damning oracle of imminent failure hanging over our protagonists’ heads, these narratives serve as parables for the destructive and corrupt nature of power structures in contemporary society.
Far from democratising education, the mega-wealthy cohort of esteemed colleges and universities are simultaneously self-serving and self-destructive. Populated by shadowy secret societies, addiction and depression, it just so happens that these damning narratives are, more often than not, told through alluring tales of witches, vampires, magic, murder and mayhem.
The genre of dark academia invites us into this strange unfamiliar world, where we gallivant across ancient stone paths