10 books similar to "The Secret History"

[@justlanchen]

Just wanted to add a quick PSA about the use of candles in this video. I am in no way advising anyone to light candles in the way I choose to in my video. Candles were lit strictly for my shots and were blown out after. If you do choose to have candles in your home opt for flameless candles (this is what I use day to day) and if you do choose to have real candles, Please use with caution, do not leave candles unattended at anytime and keep them away from anything flammable.

[@amenahayyoub1280]

FINNALLY someone who doesn't recommend the same two books over and over again, thank you for the recommendations!

[@justlanchen]

Omg yay! I’m glad you said that. I know if we were villains is talked about a lot 🫠🥴

[@maria5988]

I don't think this is the same as the secret history, but a great dark academia book I recently read was Babel by R.F. Kuang. It's slightly fantasy since there is a magic system, but it acts more like technology than magic, and it's based on what gets lost in translation between languages. It's set in an alternate Oxford, and follows a group of four students. There is a death in the book, and its themes are around colonialism. If you enjoy word etymology, I would highly recommend it. I'm doing a bad job of explaining it, but I absolutely loved it.

[@justlanchen]

Omg yes! I have seen so many yt book reviews on it but the way you explained it sounds waaaaaay more captivating than what I've heard from other people. It kinda reminds me a bit of atlas six, where magic is based off science. Going to add this one to my TBR now 🥰

[@rangimarienightingale5472]

Rf kuang actually wrote this in response to The Secret History and its well worth the read.

[@hollydavid7904]

Came here to recommend the Babel as well! Dark academia, secret society, technology based magic system that is easy to understand, even similar temperament main character! I flew through it and could not recommend it enough.

[@radiant_charly]

Busy reading 'The Secret History' (naturally I am obsessed) and I have been waiting for this type of video to hit my sphere! Thank you for making it and filling the rest of my days with some quality book reccomendations.

[@justlanchen]

happy to help🥰🥰🥰 DA books are the best

[@siriussemmelweis553]

OKAY HEAR ME OUT 'Babel' (or the Necessity of Violence) by R. F. Kuang. . It is SO good, it left me so obsessed and on edge, the last book to just completely submerge me in the intrigues and immorality of the various parties at play like this was actually The Secret History. the main character is a boy taken from Canton to London in 1829 to work as a translation student in Oxford, and the whole story is centred around the cohort undergoing that special kind of education and the bonds and conflicts that form in the process. the main character struggles with his idealisation of the institute and England as what saved him from the poverty and death of Cholera in Canton and the creeping realisation just how sick the actual function and power of the institute is, and the issues of systematic racism, colonialism etc and how he is actually more held/ regarded as an animal with a function than granted refuge as a person. aside from the magical aspects, it is completely historically accurate and the research this woman has done is just IMMACULATE. it's a completely unhinged deep dive into language and it's essence and ALSO playing with some biblical references. strong homoromantic undertones, which you have to admit is inherently dark academia. and the eloquence and brilliance of the author has me on my KNEES, i love her so so much. i do have to advise caution bc it has so many twists and turns that i for one would've actually liked a constant of some sort. there are constants ofc, but those who have read the book will probably know what i mean. oh and another thing is that it does get pretty theoretical sometimes regarding etymology, semantics etc, which i absolutely adored, but which probably isn't for everybody. otherwise 10/10 gO READ IT

[@zoetevka4653]

Oh i LOVE that Book 😍😍🫶🏻📚🍁🍁🥰💫♥️

[@abbyteaford5071]

I would highly reccomend the books Possession, The Go Between, and Return to Brideshead that I think completely fit the same genre and aesthetic and have those dark academia elements!

[@justlanchen]

I am definitely going to add these to my TBR!! Is return to brideshead the same as Brideshead revisited?

[@ddl4374]

Wow! Thanks!

[@lo7057]

I absolutely loved The Secret History, I read it at least 5 times, and I wanted to read more books that I would love in the same way. But most people only advertise The Secret History and If We Were Villains (Which are both great books btw), getting a longer list from someone who loved The Secret History in a way that I did is really helpful. I also need to put more books on my Tbr so this is great.

[@ianmcelwee2910]

My copy of the Secret History comes in on Saturday!!!! I can’t wait. I fell in love with the aesthetic over winter and have loved all of your content!! 🤎🖤🩶

[@MiriamPinbe]

I just finished The Secret History and already bought If We Were Villains. WHAT A JOURNEY! Thank you for these recommendations, they really caught my attention.

[@justlanchen]

So happy to hear that! Have you read if we were villains yet??? You must read the bellwether revivals 🥵

[@MiriamPinbe]

@@justlanchen Not yet, but it's on my shelf waiting! I'm currently reading another book from a different genre (dark romance and mafia). I like to alternate. :) I'll read The Bellwether Revivals for sure! I'll probably read every single book you recommended tho 😂 LOVE YOUR CONTENT, BTW! You inspire me a lot. Love from Spain!

[@haleylquinton]

stellar DA vibes and perfect editing as always, Lanchen! I really want to read The Bellwether Revivals! The Likeness is so good! I'm going to do a re-read of TSH this month because I last read it in 2020 and that whole year was just a bizarre experience lol so I feel like I need a re-read!

[@justlanchen]

thank you!! 🥰🥰🥰 You will love those two books, they all go sooo well together as back to back reads

[@fancynancy2870]

Thank you so much for the new recommendations! I would love to hear more of your DA list. Can't wait to get started 🙃

[@justlanchen]

oh yay! I would love to recommend more books 🥰🥰

[@lyndamichelleduggan8513]

Would love to hear more about DA books have just started to explore everything DA. Thank you x

[@justlanchen]

More to come!

[@DenisZaharenko]

The likeness is actually a part of the dublin murder squad series

[@justlanchen]

Yes that’s right it is

[@nursemain3174]

Donna tartt is one of my favourite authors but personally for me her best work is the little friend

[@aspetty]

I finished this book and loved it and like many books that fall into this great literature I'm not sure if i ever want to read it again

[@justlanchen]

Oh you must!!! You notice so much more the second time around 🥰

[@aspetty]

@@justlanchen I noticed the connection to Rules of Attraction and the reference to this book in there also came to mind at the big reveal of what they have done.

[@aspetty]

@@justlanchen also going through likeness right now bro intrigued didn't know it was second book in a series but it helps that it feels self contained in a respect

[@Incandescentkiki]

I haven’t read secret history yet but it’s on my list and now I really want to !! ❤

[@justlanchen]

it is life changing!

[@esthersucksatlife]

I genuinely do not understand why, however I read the secret history after we were liars and for some reason both books gave me similar vibes smh

[@justlanchen]

Same! I was going to put that on the list but because it didn’t have academia I figured I’d save it for another video. But you are so right, the friend group was spot on

[@JamesComfort2]

Just added all these titles to my GoodReads TBR. The Truly, Devious series has a lot of the same elements - school setting, murder, mystery - but it might be too YA-centric to be on a list like this. Still enjoyable tho.

[@justlanchen]

It’s so funny I actually wrote this one down originally but ended up cutting it out. I loveee this series!

[@bookshelfmonaluffy]

Do you read Babel by R.F Kuang? The Furies (katie lowe) and these violent delights (Micah Neverever) are also very good too! Also In my dreams I hold a knife (this is good but bot that good)

[@justlanchen]

Comment below if you've read any other these novels or have any other books similar to TSH that you would like to recommend! 🕯🕰🤎 links to books in description 🤎

[@victoriameade8832]

More DA book recs please!

[@dannynutshell]

literally the first thing i did after finished the book has been typing "books similars to the secret history"

[@justlanchen]

SAME!

[@justlanchen]

I’ve found more books since this video too. “They never learn” by layne Fargo and “in my dreams I hold and knife” BUT this one is almost identical to “one of us is lying” so if you’ve read that, you might not be into “in my dreams I hold a knife”

[@dannynutshell]

@@justlanchen I didn't like too much "one of us is lying" BUT I don't know which one start reading first, i'm between "The Goldfinch (I love Donna's writing) or "If we were villians" helpp

[@justlanchen]

@@dannynutshell “in my dreams I hold a knife” is slightly different from “one of us is lying” because they are in college and it’s more academic. I would say still read it because it is fast paced and you won’t regret it but you will definitely see the similarities when you finish 😅 READ IF WE WERE VILLAINS!! And report back if you do. I LOVED IT

[@dannynutshell]

@@justlanchen OKAY I WILL,, THANK U

[@aliabarry2371]

In love with your videos 🤎

[@justlanchen]

Thank you🥹🥹🥹🤎

[@florenciairamaz6341]

Gracias por las recomendaciones!!!

[@leafsonata]

Yes please give us more DA recs

[@TLpjh888]

Greetings from Singapore !🌸

[@malinpetersson4182]

I really like your videos but I also need to say that, even as a straight woman, I sometimes get lost in how cute you are 😇 You remind me of Kiera Knightley 😊

[@justlanchen]

omg bb you are so sweet for saying that 🥺🤍

[@ladyi9178]

I wonder... When you wear DA dress or corsett outfits... do you actually leave your flat in these? Bc sometimes I'm a bit scared to do that especially when I'm "extremly exta" xDD. Do you also have a line you don't cross or do you not care? 👀

[@justlanchen]

Oh totally! I always get compliments on my outfits too. I promise it’s not extra at all

[@hannascrivs5379]

love this video! have you read any TSH fanfics, & if so, do you have any recs?

[@justlanchen]

I have not but I am going to now!!! omgggg

[@lovelife5646]

Nice reviews!

[@drewpanyko5424]

Are you familiar with "The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell? I think you'd enjoy it. Check it out.

[@justlanchen]

Oh no I haven’t heard of this one. I’ll definitely check it out though. Thanks for sharing!!!

[@requiemforanali]

GIRL YOU R DOING GOD’S WORK

[@Azidust]

I’ve read it without knowing that there’s something called dark academia 😅 thought it’ was similar to Bret Easton Ellis the rules of attraction

[@llywrch7116]

I'll suggest a few titles that I feel belong to the Dark Academia aesthetic that might not occur to the average fan of that aesthetic. YMMV. * Kawabata Yasunari, Snow Country. The central character of this Japanese novel is a dilettante who writes about Western ballet yet has never seen one performed. Although the plot centers on his relationship with a geisha, it is enfused with a sense of decay & longing -- definitely dark themes. And besides, it is one of those novels not familiar to most people, so reading it gives one a claim to the same intellectual status as learning Classical Greek. * Philip Larkin, Jill. Set in the 1940s, this novel relates the experiences of a student from Northern England at an Oxbridge University who clearly is an outsider & wants to belong to a sophisticated, in-group, which comes to a disaster out ending. Larkin is better known for his poetry. * Arturo Perez-Reverte, The Flanders Panel. Another novel that is not set in an academic locale, but the protagonist is a skilled painting restorer/conservationist, & the book is full of learned allusions. The story concerns a riddle hidden in the subject of a 16th painting, suggesting it identifies the murderer of a renowned knight -- as well as reconstructing the moves of a possibly fictitious game of chess. I'm about halfway thru it, so I'm guessing it fits the genre.

[@justlanchen]

Thank you for all the recommendations!! these are all new ones that I've never heard of so I really appreciate you taking the time to share them 🥰🥰🥰

[@haileykramer-vd2wr]

one DA i loved was a society for soulless girls by laura steven

[@NoahAnselmus]

Thank you for the video! I don't know that you ever heard about Polarcirklen, made by Liza Marklund, but it's very similar to Secret History. I love krimi books and this sweeden story was way to good. This book has everything, what we need in DA style!🤍

[@justlanchen]

ahh omg thank you for the rec!! 🥰🥰🥰 I'm definitely going to put that book on my reading list!!

[@cottinghamcyclinggardener6822]

Another book springs to mind which I loved for all the reasons you state is, ( I kid you not!), Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. The book is a collection of short stories and the one you actually need to read is called Hearts in Atlantis. Very enjoyable. Don't bother with the film version, it's rubbish.b

[@ianmcelwee2910]

I love how you say “I can’t handle reading about the senseless killing of animals” and then your faves are about the murder of humans 😂 honestly same.

[@justinleemiller]

Read Season of Migration to the North.