The Secret History vs If We Were Villains: Read First?
The Secret History and If We Were Villains are the two defining dark academia novels. Here's how they differ, what each does best, and which to read first.
If you love dark academia, two novels tower over the genre, and readers constantly pit them against each other: Donna Tartt’s The Secret History (1992) and M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains (2017). Both follow a small, intense group of students at an elite college, bound together by a death and the secrets that follow. Both are atmospheric, morally murky, and obsessed with beauty and art. So which should you read first? So which is for you?
At a Glance
| The Secret History | If We Were Villains | |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Donna Tartt | M.L. Rio |
| Published | 1992 | 2017 |
| Students of | Ancient Greek | Shakespeare |
| Structure | Inverted whodunit (death revealed first) | Confession told from prison |
| Strength | Literary depth and influence | Plot, emotion, momentum |
| Read first? | Yes | Second |
What Happens in The Secret History
The Secret History opens by telling you there has been a murder and who died — then spends the novel revealing how a clique of brilliant, privileged Classics students at a Vermont college arrived at that point. Narrated by an outsider drawn into their charmed, dangerous circle, it is a study of elitism, obsession, guilt, and the seductive idea that beauty and intellect place one beyond ordinary morality. Tartt’s prose is rich and immersive, and the novel is widely credited with defining the dark academia aesthetic.
A Quick Look at If We Were Villains
If We Were Villains follows seven fourth-year acting students at an elite arts conservatory, so steeped in Shakespeare that they quote him in conversation, until on-stage rivalries and off-stage passions curdle into a real death. Narrated by one of them, released from prison a decade later, it is more tightly plotted than Tartt’s novel and saturated with theatrical atmosphere. Rio’s book is the dark academia novel most often handed to readers who finished The Secret History and wanted to feel that way again.
Where They Part Ways
The biggest difference is depth versus momentum. The Secret History is the more literary and psychologically complex — denser, slower, and richer. If We Were Villains is faster, more plot-driven, and more emotionally direct. If you read for prose and ideas, Tartt wins; if you read for propulsion and feeling, Rio does.
A second is the obsession. Tartt’s students are consumed by Ancient Greek and a Dionysian ideal of beauty; Rio’s are consumed by Shakespeare, whose lines thread through the entire novel. Your own taste — classical philosophy or theatrical drama — may decide it.
Then there is influence versus homage. The Secret History is the genre’s foundational text; If We Were Villains is, in part, a knowing conversation with it. Reading Tartt first lets you see how thoroughly Rio is building on what came before.
Which Should You Read First?
Read The Secret History first. As the older and more influential book — the one that essentially created the genre — it gives you the full context for everything dark academia has become, and it lets you appreciate how If We Were Villains responds to it. Read Rio second, as the loving, propulsive heir.
The exception: if you want the more accessible, faster-moving entry point, start with If We Were Villains. It is the easier first step into the genre, and its momentum may hook reluctant readers more quickly than Tartt’s slower burn.
Why They’re Always Compared
It is no accident that these two novels are mentioned together more than almost any other pairing in fiction. Both belong to the small, intense subgenre of dark academia, and both follow the same essential blueprint: a closed circle of gifted, privileged students at an elite institution; a charismatic mentor; an obsessive devotion to a single discipline; and a death that exposes the moral rot beneath all that beauty and brilliance. Both are narrated in retrospect by a member of the group looking back with guilt, and both are fascinated by the idea that art and intellect can seduce people into believing themselves above ordinary rules. M.L. Rio has openly acknowledged Tartt’s influence, and reading the two together is like watching a conversation unfold across twenty-five years of the genre. Whichever you start with, the other will feel like its natural companion — which is why so few readers stop at just one.
Where to Read On
Once you have read both, our books like The Secret History list and our best dark academia books roundup point to the rest of the genre, from campus murder to gothic scholarship. Our best campus novels guide widens the lens further to the great fiction of university life, and our Babel vs The Secret History and A Little Life vs The Secret History comparisons cover two more essential pairings.
To put it simply, read The Secret History first for the genre-defining masterpiece, then If We Were Villains for the Shakespeare-soaked page-turner — and you will have read the two pillars of dark academia. After that, every other book in the genre is, in one way or another, in conversation with these two.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I read The Secret History or If We Were Villains first?
Read The Secret History first. Published in 1992, it is the novel that essentially created the dark academia genre, and If We Were Villains is in many ways a loving response to it. Starting with Tartt lets you appreciate how Rio builds on and converses with the original. That said, both stand completely alone and can be read in either order.
Which is better, The Secret History or If We Were Villains?
The Secret History is the more literary and influential — a modern classic with richer prose and deeper psychological complexity. If We Were Villains is more plot-driven, more emotional, and faster to read, with a Shakespeare-soaked atmosphere many readers love even more. Tartt is the masterpiece; Rio is the page-turner. It comes down to whether you prize depth or momentum.
Are The Secret History and If We Were Villains similar?
Very. Both are dark academia novels about a tight-knit group of brilliant students at an elite college, a death that binds them, and the moral rot beneath their rarefied world — one studying Ancient Greek, the other Shakespeare. If We Were Villains is the book most often recommended to readers who loved The Secret History.
