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.
Like a million other books, I’ve been really meaning to get to S. T. Gibson’s A DOWRY OF BLOOD. It just kind of passed me by when it was released, but I’m looking forward to it even more now, because goddamn.
AN EDUCATION IN MALICE absolutely mesmerized me from beginning to end.
Sometimes I feel a little fuzzy on the whole dark academia thing. Is it a genre? A subgenre? A vibe? I don’t know. But I feel like this fits.
This is apparently a somewhat loose retelling of CARMILLA, a pre-DRACULA vampire novella written all the way back in 1873! I have a copy of CARMILLA, but you know…see above for more about the books I’ve been meaning to get to.
So while I have a general awareness of CARMILLA (it’s vampires, it’s queer, it inspired DRACULA & Castlevania & a whole bunch of other stuff!) I certainly can’t compare AN EDUCATION IN MALICE to it.
The book is set in Massachusetts (hey that’s where I’m from originally!) in the mid 1960’s.
The story opens with Laura Sheridan arriving at Saint Perpetua’s College, a small liberal arts school. She’s a poetry student, and before she can (probably) unpack her bags, she finds herself drawn into a serious academic rivalry with another student named Carmilla.
Their poetry professor is an enigmatic woman named De Lafontaine. It’s clear from the beginning that the relationship between Carmilla and De Lafontaine is…problematic. There’s a handful of content warnings provided by the author at the front of the book, including “Uneven power dynamics” and “Inappropriate relationships between a professor and students.” Something to be aware of heading into this one.
Carmilla quickly recognizes Laura’s talent and sees her as a threat. Both as a poet & as someone who might draw the attention of De Lafontaine.
The hatred & tension that explodes between these two is just…so fucking intense.
And that’s BEFORE we discover that De Lafontaine is a vampire who drinks from Carmilla to survive.
Oof.
The atmosphere in this book is off the charts. It’s a super quick read, and feels impossible to put down. I’m not sure I’ve ever described a book this way, but if I had to describe AN EDUCATION IN MALICE in one word, it would be decadent.
There’s some super creepy scenes that take place in a network of tunnels underneath the school, which really adds to the feeling that this school has a dark & secret history. Also, as a lifelong New Englander, Gibson absolutely NAILS the vibe of fall in this area…loved that!
This was so great & made an instant fan out of me. Really excited to go back & check out A DOWRY OF BLOOD soon, and to see what’s next from S. T. Gibson. AN EDUCATION OF MALICE will for sure wind up on my list of favorites for 2024!
Grimdark Dad 