Summer is over and a new university semester begins for thousands of fresh-faced students here in the UK. The first signs of Autumn are arriving, with shorter days, the turning of the leaves, and a crisp coolness in the air.
It is a window of time that holds a great deal of promise for many, including lovers of all things bookish. Autumn is the perfect time for settling down in a comfy chair with a hot chocolate, thick socks and a big novel.
The ‘campus’ novel is always a particular draw during these days. It is a type of fiction often synonymous with the rolling lawns of American campuses. Grand buildings with echoes of their colonial past, the waspy leafy New England setting, as well as the dark, ritual secrecy of sorority and fraternity houses, have all inspired the writers of the genre. There are also the red brick institutions of Britain, with their traditions and lofty aspirations, the academic politics, and social climbing.
University is a unique era in a young person’s life. There is the idealism of youth and learning, the untainted passions, and the aestheticism of the setting, which when combined, are ripe for exploration within the campus novel.
In recent years there has even been the emergence of the ‘Dark Academia’ sub-genre. Inspired by Donna Tartt’s fantastic 1991 modern classic ‘The Secret History’ it is typified by a dark, brooding aesthetic, paired with a love of classic literature and culture. The novel is by no means the only great novel to explore and reinforce our collective ideas of the university as a place of exploration, reinvention, and mystique, if you are yet to pick up a campus novel or are looking for some inspiration, we’ve provided a few Willoughby recommendations for you!
Campus Novels: A Primer
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The story of a closed, enigmatic group of classics students and their charismatic professor at a elite New England university. Secrets, rituals, lies, murder- it has it all!
Mrs S by K Patrick
At an all-girls boarding school, a young, butch Australian outsider starts the job of 'matron' and attracts the attention of Mrs S, the headmaster's wife. There's forbidden love, straight-forward, sensual prose, and classic descriptions of the contemporary yet antiquated boarding school setting.
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
If you like an unreliable narrator, you need to read Vladimir. A fifty-something English professor at a small liberal arts college is faced with a barrage of accusations from students against her husband, a fellow professor, who is known for his questionable relationships with his mentees. When she meets the younger academic and novelist, Vladimir, who has just arrived on campus with his wife, she quickly becomes obsessed with him, leading to dark and twisty results.
Starter for Ten by David Nicholls
A quintessentially British campus novel, Starter For Ten is a warm and funny novel set in 1985, following Brian Jackson, a working-class scholarship student who is desperate to appear on the legendary University Challenge. When he qualifies for his school team's first televised match and finds himself falling for his teammate, Alice, life becomes a little more chaotic than planned!
The Red Word by Sarah Henstra
An intriguing and propulsive tale of radical feminism, sororities, fraternities, mythology, and campus politics. I read this not long ago and was blown away by its honest and complicated exploration of rape culture in American universities. It's not for the faint of heart, but is absolutely worth checking out.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
One of Smith's most revered novels, On Beauty is set in the university town of Wellington, Massachusetts. It's a witty, literary family saga, as well as a satirical skewering of academia. Expect a Dickensian cast of characters and her fantastic turns of phrase.
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
A hilarious dissection of boarding school culture from the perspective of 14-year-old Lee Fiora, who is dropped off outside her dorm at Ault School, and left to navigate the complications of adolescent relationships and angst.
As another Massachussetts- based tale, it absolutely deserves a mention in the ever-expanding canon of campus novels.
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Considered by many as one of the funniest novel of the twentieth century, this 1954 tale of stuffy, post-war university life is written from the perspective of the hilariously misanthropic history lecturer, Jim Dixon. If you're interested in a mid-century takedown of British academic culture, this is the novel for you.
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
This is a book for people who love reading about books. It's a love story, as well as a love letter to the romance novel. Set in the early 1980s, polar opposites Madeleine and Leonard form a relationship against the odds. Expect nods to classic novels of the past and enjoy this funny, intelligent novel of love and its obstacles.
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
Taylor's debut about a black academic on a predominantly white college campus is a fantastic insight into the interior of a character and his friends over the course of a long, summer weekend. Quietly powerful, it reads like a European novel in the best of ways.
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
A wonderful, nostalgic book set in 1995 as the protagonist, Turkish-American Selin, begins her freshman year at Harvard. Following her days as she makes friends, attends lectures and seminars, experiences first love, and spends her summers travelling, it's a great slice-of-life insight into university life!
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Greer Kadetsky, a shy and withdrawing first-year student, has her life and its path utterly transformed by the introduction of second-wave feminist icon, Faith Frank, into her life. It's a brilliant book of characters and ideas, with really interesting conversations about feminism, womanhood, power, and influence.
Changing Places - David Lodge
The first title in Lodge's Campus Trilogy, the two main characters are the English Philip Swallow and the zany American Changing Places is a true time capsule, evoking the fervor of the anti-war movement, the....
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