“The Secret History” makes strides in budding dark academia genre

BY BEATA GARRETT ’20

When the public discovered that Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” was greenlit for a film adaptation, critics were skeptical whether her book could transfer to the screen. The Guardian called the Pulitzerwinning novel her “most divisive book” and noted that Warner Brothers sought the rights to her debut novel, “The Secret History,” before gaining rights to “The Goldfinch.”

“The Secret History” received praise when released and remains popular with “dark academia” fans, who credit the book with creating the genre. Since the release of “The Secret History,” other novels similar to Tartt’s have begun to define the genre. While the definition of dark academia is still murky, the online community seeks to understand it.

Dark academia novels draw from the genres of satire and tragedy. They also often focus on the humanities and liberal arts, which motivate the passions of the main characters, who resort to violence. Dark academia focuses heavily on gothic aesthetics and its authors write in elaborate prose.

These elements differentiate it from the “campus novel,” which takes place at college, and the “campus murder mystery novel.” Because of these requirements, novels like V.E. Schwab’s “Vicious” and Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians” series would not qualify as dark academia; “Vicious” is only briefly set in college and “The Magicians” lacks a focus on gothic aesthetics.

Study Breaks Magazine explores the allure of Dark Academia geared toward traditional collegeaged students, writing that, “[i]nstead of viewing college with the ... dread that college students usually do, they have delved into their studies with a renewed, finer appreciation for things as simple as the aesthetic of pens, notebook pages and cursive writing ... lying on their desks.”

Dark academia is full of narrative possibilities but has been criticized for being overwhelmingly white and male-centered. Books in the genre do feature gay romances, but there are few happy endings to go around.

“The genre has a problem with the way it treats its gay characters, the women, and the absence of people of color entirely,” Ju Eun Choi ’20 said. “Novels in Dark Academia also romanticize college life without criticizing the institutions and other students who make it so difficult for marginalized students struggling with things like mental health and racism.”

Dark academia is a relatively new genre, but has great potential to tap into the more taboo aspects of academia. To get started, fans typically recommend Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History” and M.L. Rio’s “If We Were Villains,” a book about actors studying Shakespeare who must confront each other and themselves after one of them is killed.