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Description
Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.
On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.
But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.
Summary
I recently read An Education in Malice by US author S.T. Gibson, a sapphic dark academia reimagining of classic vampire novella Carmilla by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu.
Review
An Education in Malice is a wonderful reimagining of the classic sapphic vampire novella Carmilla by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu in 1872 and predated Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Gibson cleverly reimagines the characters and themes of Carmilla in a 1960s setting within the dark academia genre that is a sapphic romance and gothic vampire horror. There is homage to the original author of Carmilla is the character name of Laura Sheridan and the use of multiple points of view switching between the characters of Laura and Carmilla provides depth to the story and the romance developing between them despite their competition for the vampire mentor Dr DeFonte.
The ties to vampire lore is rich throughout and Gibson writes with such vibrancy to entices the reader into the world of An Education in Malice as it becomes increasingly dark, entangled romances and tragic but is a truly modern gothic novel. Gibson’s writing is executed with beauty and aplomb to craft an engrossing modern gothic horror which pays strong homage to the original while being a unique work on its own.
Conclusion
A modern reimagining of a vampire gothic horror classic with strong marginalised themes including LGBTQI, BIPOC and societal classes to bring a classic into the modern world while creating a unique work. Highly recommended!
** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **
Leanbh Pearson 