8 Books and Movies to Check Out if You Loved "Saltburn"

This cult-classic novel by Donna Tartt gives off all of the "Saltburn" vibes within just the first chapter. Readers are immediately catapulted into a world of overindulgence, greed and ego, set at a historic college in New England. The darker tones and academic setting are paralleled between both "Saltburn" and this novel, making it the perfect book to reach for if you cannot get enough of Fennell's film.

This 1999 film is probably the closest thing you can get to watching "Saltburn" again without actually watching it. In fact, Fennell herself instructed Keoghan and Elordi to watch it before filming. This movie follows a con artist, Tom Ripley who is sent from New York City to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled playboy, to return home. However, Ripley quickly realizes his desires for Greenleaf's life and proves he will go to extremes to make that lifestyle his own.

Another book that matches the dark academia aesthetic found in the first hour of "Saltburn," this novel follows seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college. But when the casting changes and egos are bruised, the plays spill dangerously over into real life and one of them is found dead. The novel is told non-chronologically, with the accused murderer being released from prison in the first chapter and the story (and truth) unfolding around it.

If the drama and large estate caught your interest in "Saltburn," then "Atonement" is a great film to check out. The film chronicles a crime and its consequences over the course of six decades, beginning in the 1930s, all set in a large British manor. If you prefer to read over watch a film, this movie was adapted from a novel by the same name.

In the summer of 1983, twenty-year-old Nick Guest moves into an attic room in the home of the Feddens: conservative Member of Parliament Gerald, his wealthy wife Rachel and their two children. Nick is catapulted into a world of politics, money and glamour and soon finds his life altered by the rising fortunes of this glamorous family and his deep desire to match them.

This Korean thriller and 2019 Oscar-winning film follows the destitute Kim clan as they begin working for the wealthy Park family. Driven by need and ambition, the Kims begin to manipulate the Parks, and a symbiotic relationship is formed that plunges both families into peril. Much like Fennell's "Saltburn," this film also contains themes of wealth inequality, greed and justice.

This classic novel is a late 1930s Gothic that depicts an unnamed young woman who impulsively marries a wealthy widower. Soon after the pair are married, she discovers that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife, Rebecca. Secrets are revealed and a dark plot unfolds at this large, mysterious estate, a book you are sure to enjoy if you were a fan of "Saltburn."

"Kill Your Darlings" is based on the true story of the Beat Generation, a subculture in the literary world that started in the 1950s with authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. The film follows a young Allen Ginsberg as a freshman at Columbia University who begins to spend time with anti-establishment writers who introduce him to a world of illicit activities. After a fight and a fellow student dies, the film explores a dark yet poetic side to academia, wealth and friendship.