A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee Summary

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee is a dark academia thriller set at Dalloway School, an isolated boarding school in the Catskills. The novel follows Felicity Morrow, who returns after her girlfriend Alex's mysterious death, only to be drawn into investigating the Dalloway Five—five girls who died centuries ago under suspicious circumstances. As Felicity collaborates with literary prodigy Ellis Haley, the lines between reality, witchcraft, and psychological breakdown blur in this atmospheric tale of grief, obsession, and vengeance.

Victoria Lee is a YA author with a PhD in psychology, which she applies to creating complex, psychologically nuanced characters. Lee grew up in Durham, North Carolina, writing ghost stories and dreaming of boarding schools. Beyond A Lesson in Vengeance, she authored The Fever King series (The Fever King and The Electric Heir). Lee lives in New York City and uses her academic background to explore themes of mental illness, trauma, and power dynamics throughout her fiction.

A Lesson in Vengeance appeals to fans of dark academia, atmospheric boarding school thrillers, and LGBTQ+ YA fiction. Readers who enjoyed The Secret History or Mexican Gothic will appreciate Victoria Lee's exploration of witchcraft, historical mysteries, and unreliable narrators. The book is ideal for those interested in psychological thrillers examining grief, guilt, and mental illness. However, potential readers should note content warnings for death, trauma, psychiatric hospitalization, and potentially disturbing ritualistic scenes.

A Lesson in Vengeance is worth reading for its atmospheric prose, complex exploration of whether witchcraft represents real supernatural power or patriarchal persecution of independent women, and nuanced portrayal of grief and mental illness. Victoria Lee masterfully blurs reality and delusion, keeping readers questioning Felicity's reliability throughout. The novel offers more than typical YA fare, examining how history demonizes women who challenge societal norms. Its gothic setting and psychological depth make it a standout in the dark academia genre.

The Dalloway Five are five girls who died mysteriously on the Dalloway School grounds centuries ago, allegedly practicing witchcraft. Victoria Lee uses these historical figures to examine whether they were actual witches or simply intelligent, independent women persecuted by patriarchal society. In A Lesson in Vengeance, Felicity Morrow has studied the Dalloway Five extensively for her thesis, while Ellis Haley plans to write a novel about them. Their deaths become central to understanding the school's dark legacy and the contemporary murders.

A Lesson in Vengeance explores how history weaponizes accusations of witchcraft to silence powerful women who threaten patriarchal norms. Victoria Lee examines whether the Dalloway Five were truly practicing dark arts or were victims demonized for their intelligence and independence. The novel parallels this with Felicity's own experiences, questioning whether she's genuinely haunted or experiencing mental illness. Additional themes include grief, guilt, toxic relationships, obsession, and the dangerous allure of recreating past tragedies.

A Lesson in Vengeance is quintessential dark academia, set at the prestigious, ivy-covered Dalloway School in the isolated Catskill mountains. Victoria Lee incorporates classic dark academia elements:

• Elite boarding school atmosphere
• Obsession with historical mysteries
• Secretive covens
• Gothic architecture
• Academic research driving the plot
• Morally ambiguous protagonists

The novel features Godwin House, the most exclusive dormitory with the darkest history, and explores occult rituals, forbidden knowledge, and the dangerous intersection of scholarship and supernatural investigation.

Alex, Felicity Morrow's girlfriend, died in a tragic fall from the Dalloway School roof approximately one year before A Lesson in Vengeance begins. The circumstances remain mysterious—whether accident, suicide, or something more sinister. Felicity witnessed the death and carries overwhelming guilt, believing she may have been responsible. The trauma led to Felicity's psychiatric hospitalization and year-long absence from school. Throughout Victoria Lee's novel, Alex's ghost allegedly haunts Felicity, though the reality of these supernatural encounters remains ambiguous.

A Lesson in Vengeance deliberately keeps the existence of real witchcraft ambiguous, creating tension between supernatural and psychological explanations. Ellis Haley insists witchcraft isn't real and that the Dalloway Five were victims of historical persecution, not actual practitioners. However, Felicity experiences visions, ghostly encounters, and disturbing phenomena during the Night Migrations rituals that recreate historical witch practices. Victoria Lee never definitively answers whether magic exists or if Felicity's mental illness creates these experiences, allowing readers to interpret the supernatural elements themselves.

Godwin House is the most elite and historically significant dormitory at Dalloway School where only select girls reside. This isolated building holds the darkest connection to the Dalloway Five and the school's witchcraft legacy. In A Lesson in Vengeance, Felicity Morrow lives in Godwin House, the same location where Alex died and where centuries of mysterious deaths occurred. Victoria Lee uses Godwin House as an atmospheric, Gothic setting where past and present collide, boundaries between reality and supernatural blur, and the Night Migrations coven conducts their ritualistic meetings.

A Lesson in Vengeance treats mental illness with psychological complexity, reflecting Victoria Lee's PhD in psychology. Felicity Morrow returns to Dalloway after psychiatric hospitalization following Alex's death, struggling to distinguish between genuine supernatural experiences and trauma-induced delusions. The novel explores grief, PTSD, guilt, and unreliable perception without romanticizing mental health struggles. Lee questions whether Felicity's haunting reflects real ghosts or psychological breakdown, examining how trauma reshapes reality. The narrative demonstrates how isolation, guilt, and manipulation by Ellis exacerbate Felicity's fragile mental state.

At the climax of A Lesson in Vengeance, Felicity discovers Ellis Haley murdered Clara and manipulated events to frame Felicity for her novel's dramatic ending. During a confrontation on the school roof—mirroring Alex's death—Felicity pushes Ellis off, killing her. This act simultaneously represents release from Ellis's psychological manipulation and condemns Felicity as she mirrors the violence that traumatized her. Victoria Lee leaves Felicity grappling with whether she's victim or villain, her own darkness revealed. The aftermath shows Felicity seeking redemption while preparing to leave Dalloway's haunted legacy behind.