Daily Books - The Secret History: A Novel by Donna Tartt | Conversation Starters

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Donna Tartts

The Secret History

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Copyright 2015 by dailyBooks.All Rights Reserved.

First Published in the United States of America 2015

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A T THE BEGINNING OF THE SECRET HISTORY , RICHARD moves from Plano, California, to Vermont. He goes to Vermont hoping that he will be able to continue his Ancient Greek studies at Hampden College. However, he is unable to get into the class because the professor, Julian Morrow, only allows a small number of students that he chooses himself.

After he is denied entrance to the class, Richard becomes obsessed with it and the members of the class. He follows them around the campus and observes their behaviors. When he is able to help the group solve a Greek grammar problem, the group accepts Richard as their friend and gives him advice on how to impress Professor Morrow. Richard goes to meet with Professor Morrow and is accepted into the class. He continues to grow closer to group members Henry, Francis, Bunny, Charles, and Camilla.

Throughout the novel, Richard has pretended to be rich, with parents who own an oil well. He takes a job on campus and spends winter break in a warehouse that has no heat. Henry, returning from Italy, finds Richard, rescues him, and saves him from dying from pneumonia and hypothermia. More secrets within the group are revealed to Richard. Henry and Francis tell him that Henry accidentally killed a farmer that lived in the town where Francis' country estate was located. Bunny was suspicious of Henry for some time, and while they were in Italy together, Bunny read Henry's diary and discovered the truth. He used this information to blackmail Henry and other members of the group. The group now feels as though Bunny is a danger to them all. They quickly put together a scheme to kill Bunny.

One night, while Bunny is drunk, he tells Richard about Henry killing the farmer. Later, the entire group finds Bunny hiking, and they confront him. The confrontation ends with Henry pushing Bunny into a ravine and committing murder once again. After Bunny's death, the group is questioned by police and must maintain their story. The group begins to fall apart. Professor Morrow finds a letter from Bunny, written before his death, asking for his help. Morrow leaves the school instead of telling the police.

Charles has become an alcoholic. Francis is having panic attacks. Camilla and Henry begin a relationship, which upsets Charles and worsens his drinking. He tries to kill Henry one night; however, Henry struggles to grab the gun. When the rest of the group piles on top of Henry and Charles, Charles accidentally fires the gun and hits Richard in the abdomen. Henry then kisses Camilla and shoots and kills himself with the gun.

After Henry's death, the group falls apart. It is revealed that Francis is homosexual, but his grandmother will not accept that and forces him to marry a woman. Camilla has completely isolated herself by taking care of her grandmother. Charles goes to rehab but runs away to get married. It is also revealed that Richard is in love with Camilla, but his love remains unrequited. Richard continues his studies alone. The book ends with Richard seeing Henry in a dream. Richard asks Henry if he is happy. Henry replies, Not particularly. But, you're not very happy where you are, either.

The Secret History explores the themes of social class, sexual exploration, aesthetic beauty, and guilt. The novel is written as a confessional. The reader knows in the beginning that there has been a murder, but must read on to discover the story of why the murder happened.

D ONNA TARTT WAS BORN IN MISSISSIPPI, WHERE SHE spent her childhood growing up in Grenada, Mississippi, where she was raised in Roman Catholicism. As a child, she said that she was a girl who loved books that were written for boys. Her favorite authors were Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne, and Ivanhoe. She began winning literary contests at the age of thirteen. She was also having her poetry published in literary journals in Mississippi at thirteen.

In 1981, she attended the University of Mississippi. In her freshman year, writer Willie Morris was impressed by Tartt's writing. Morris contacted the writer-in-residence and recommended Tartt to be admitted to a graduate short story class. Hannah agreed to the request and admitted Tartt to study short story writing in his class at just eighteen years old. Later, Hannah would describe Tartt as deeply literary... a rare genius and literary star.

Morris suggested to Tartt that she transfer to Bennington College, which she did in 1982. At Bennington College, Tartt was able to study Classic Literature under Claude Fredericks. She became friends with fellow authors Jonathan Letham, Bret Easton Ellis, and Jill Eisenstadt. She had a short romance with Ellis after the two shared their unfinished stories, Less Than Zero and The Secret History . She would later tell The Guardian in 2013 that her happiest times were at Bennington College.