Dark Academia? Light Academia? Huh?

[Critteranne]

A few months ago, I saw a tweet that mentioned "dark academia." My first response was, "Huh?" After seeing in come up a few times, I looked it up again.

It turns out there is a whole dark academia aesthetic. It became especially popular during COVID (maybe because students couldn't go to their campuses, so they missed the experience). This aesthetic involves clothing and fashion; music; art; and of course, books and movies.

Even though the term is fairly new, the concept of "dark academia" has been a part of fiction for a while. But the definitions can be amorphous. So some things are included that you might not classify that way. (I think that's a good thing because a definition that's too strict can exclude deserving books. But sometimes, I think "Aaaaaa!")

In fiction (and movies), "dark academia" is used to refer to dark and creepy stories that involve a college campus or boarding school setting. But that description doesn't match all the examples. Also, some of the stories might involve a historical mystery rather than a campus.


One of the classic examples is Donna Tartt's The Secret History. People credit that book with creating the aesthetic. A lot of people interested in this aesthetic grew up reading Donna Tartt books. The term got popularized on Instagram in 2017.

Other examples include Possession by A.S. Byatt; If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio; Brideshead Revisited; Dead Poet's Society; some Wilkie Collins novels; A Separate Peace by John Knowles; and so forth.

So what books do you recommend in this genre?

And what do you think of this classification? Is it helpful? Or can it be ?

And then, to confuse everything, there is a "light academia" aesthetic as well (which was created on Tumblr in response to dark academia around 2019).

[issybird]

How about Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House about the occult activities in the secret societies at Yale?

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by issybird

How about Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House about the occult activities in the secret societies at Yale?

Yes, that was at the top of one of the lists I saw.

I typed this response on my fone, so Eye hop it's okay.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Critteranne

Yes, that was at the top of one of the lists I saw.

I typed this response on my fone, so Eye hop it's okay.

Heh. That’s why I was so short in my post. I don’t have the skills or the patience for a long post on a small screen.

Back on topic: this was a new term to me and while I think I get it and I take your point about not defining it too narrowly, I think Brideshead Revisited as one example is something of a stretch. I get the nostalgia for earlier more aristocratic times, but I think “dark” has to mean more than that. Also, the Oxford portion was only half the story and not the point. I did love it, though, while I didn’t care for Secret History at all and abandoned Ninth House. Not my cuppa.

I love what I think of as “campus” or “school” books, so now I want to give some thought to which might qualify, at least by the loose definition.

[issybird]

Oh, how about The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie? And certainly Alec Waugh’s The Loom of Youth.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by issybird

Oh, how about The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie? And certainly Alec Waugh’s The Loom of Youth.

I've definitely seen The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie included on Dark Academia lists. I'm not sure about The Loom of Youth -- but it might need more modern readers to discover it. Then, they'll add it. It's not on any Listopia lists on Goodreads.

[Dr. Drib]

One of my favorite novels:

See The Magus (original and revised): John Fowles.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

One of my favorite novels:

See The Magus (original and revised): John Fowles.

Yes, that would work!

There's a revised edition?!

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Critteranne

Yes, that would work!

There's a revised edition?!

Revised by the author in 1977 (from the original 1965 edition).

[issybird]

For that matter, Brideshead Revisited also was revised. However, the issue in print in the US is the original; the revised was not published here. I’ve read it and prefer the original.

Authors need to let a book go. Once it’s been published, that should be it - at least for fiction. Second thoughts? Regrets? Too bad!

[Catlady]

Current books that might fit the category are The Maidens by Alex Michaelides and Madam by Phoebe Wynne. Also YAs The Ivies by Alexa Donne and The Divines by Ellie Eaton.


ETA: Also Samantha Downing's current novel For Your Own Good. Megan Abbott's latest, The Turnout, might also fit--actually, a number of her books about adolescent girls might fit.

Some Carol Goodman books are set at girls' boarding schools. Then there are Lois Duncan's Down a Dark Hall and Daughters of Eve. And maybe Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Current books that might fit the category are The Maidens by Alex Michaelides and Madam by Phoebe Wynne. Also YAs The Ivies by Alexa Donne and The Divines by Ellie Eaton.

This is great news because I was able to buy Madam during the Barnes & Noble Bookhaul. I've added the others to the list.

Originally Posted by Catlady

ETA: Also Samantha Downing's current novel For Your Own Good. Megan Abbott's latest, The Turnout, might also fit--actually, a number of her books about adolescent girls might fit.

Some Carol Goodman books are set at girls' boarding schools. Then there are Lois Duncan's Down a Dark Hall and Daughters of Eve. And maybe Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

It's interesting how many of these books are often in the Mysteries & Thriller section of the bookstore -- and many others are in the YA section. That can make finding a book a challenge if I'm prowling through the bricks & mortar bookstore. But it's a form of exercise.

I noticed that Special Topics in Calamity Physics was often recommended as a dark academia book. I think the others you added count as well.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Critteranne

This is great news because I was able to buy Madam during the Barnes & Noble Bookhaul. I've added the others to the list.

I read Madam and The Maidens pretty close together and they have a similar vibe. I think I'd give a slight edge to The Maidens.

It's interesting how many of these books are often in the Mysteries & Thriller section of the bookstore -- and many others are in the YA section. That can make finding a book a challenge if I'm prowling through the bricks & mortar bookstore. But it's a form of exercise.

YA seems to be the natural category unless the POV character is an adult. I never knew there was a dark academia genre, and I'm still rather hazy about the parameters, but I do like suspense novels with school settings.

I noticed that Special Topics in Calamity Physics was often recommended as a dark academia book. I think the others you added count as well.

I enjoyed that one; I don't know how well it fits but it's quite good.

I am currently reading The Furies, a YA by Katie Lowe, which seems to fit the category.

[db105]

One I have read is Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris. It's about an old teacher in a prestigious boarding school for boys who starts to suspect that there's a wolf in sheep's clothing in the school.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by db105

One I have read is Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris. It's about an old teacher in a prestigious boarding school for boys who starts to suspect that there's a wolf in sheep's clothing in the school.

That sounds promising…