Available Formats
Hardback
Published: 12th October 2024
Paperback
Published: 17th September 2024
Paperback
Published: 11th November 2025
An Academy for Liars
By (Author) Alexis Henderson
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Penguin (Transworld)
11th November 2025
14th August 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Contemporary horror and ghost stories
Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary
813.6
Paperback
464
Width 127mm, Height 198mm, Spine 35mm
500g
They are born with magic in their blood but they must be taught how to wield it . . . In a mysterious college a student will find that the hardest lessons are learned outside the classroom in this stunning dark academia novel from the acclaimed author of The Year of the Witching and House of Hunger. 'Saturated with violence, desire, and power. It's a book with blood on its lips, and I loved it completely.' ALIX E. HARROW 'Alexis Henderson is one of the best Gothic writers out there.' HANNAH WHITTEN 'Dark academia stunner infused with Henderson's signature style - it's lush, atmospheric, imaginative and impossible to put down.' RACHEL HARRISON 'A modern-day Anne Rice, Henderson has a gift for creating a world engorged with desire and death.' THE NEW YORK TIMES Lennon Carter's life is falling apart. Until she gets a mysterious phone call inviting her to sit the entrance exam for somewhere few have heard of - Drayton College, a school of magic hidden in a secret pocket of Savannah. Lennon doesn't know it yet, but she is special. She possesses the innate gift of persuasion- the ability to wield her will like a weapon, controlling others, and even matter itself. But this is a devastating power than Lennon must learn how to master. While persuasion takes a heavy toll on her body and her mind, she is captivated by all that surrounds her - her studies, Drayton's lush campus and, most of all, Dante - the charismatic adviser who both intimidates and enamours her. But the longer that Lennon spends at Drayton, learning to wield her uncanny abilities, the more she uncovers about Drayton's unsettling history, and Dante's tragic and violent past. For it seems that the ultimate test is to embrace absolute power without succumbing to corruption and darkness . . . and it's a test she's terrified she is going to fail.
This darkly gorgeous story is a lavish feast for fans of gothic horror. One of my top reads of the year! -- SUNYI DEAN, author of The Book Eaters
The perfect blend of gothic horror and dark academia. It grabs you by the throat and doesnt let go until long after its final pages. Lennons is a vicious and gloriously unsettling tale of power, betrayal, and the bloody price of ambition. -- FRANCESCA MAY, author of Wild and Wicked Things
Alexis Henderson turns her incredible eye for the upsetting to academia, and delivers a campus novel saturated with violence, desire, and power. It's a book with blood on its lips, and I loved it completely. -- ALIX E. HARROW, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
A modern-day Anne Rice, Henderson has a gift for creating a world engorged with desire and death. * THE NEW YORK TIMES *
An Academy for Liars is propulsive, thought provoking, and sexy - Alexis Henderson is in a class of her own. -- HANNAH WHITTEN, author of The Foxglove King
Dark academia stunner infused with Henderson's signature style it's lush, atmospheric, imaginative and impossible to put down. -- RACHEL HARRISON, author of Cackle
Perfect for the darker nights, this atmospheric novel is one for lovers of dark academia. * HEAT magazine *
Alexis Henderson is a speculative fiction writer with a penchant for dark fantasy, witchcraft and cosmic horror. Her adult books include The Year of the Witching, House of Hunger and An Academy for Liars. Growing up in one of America's most haunted cities, Savannah, Georgia, instilled in her a life-long love of ghost stories. When she doesn't have her nose buried in a book, you can find her painting or watching horror movies with her feline familiar. When I Was Death is her debut YA novel.