March 2011 Guest Editor Robert Goddard on The Secret History...

This was the debut of a highly talented novelist who has since frustrated her legion of fans by producing precisely one further book in nineteen years. Who knows how long it took her to write The Secret History, then, but never mind, it was worth it. There’s something hypnotically real and entirely credible about the mystery she enmeshes her central character in.That, together with the luminous quality of her writing, gives us a story that is both profound and unforgettable.

Comparison: Justin Cartwright, Pauline Melville, Ian McEwan
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Synopsis

A misfit at an exclusive New England college, Richard finds kindred spirits in the five eccentric students of his ancient Greek class. But his new friends have a horrific secret. When blackmail and violence threaten to blow their privileged lives apart, they drag Richard into the nightmare that engulfs them. And soon they enter a terrifying heart of darkness from which they may never return.

Reviews

A thriller in the Daphne du Maurier vein, Tartt's debut novel charts the death of innocence among a group of over-privileged New England students. The narrator, Richard Papen, is easily seduced by the snobberies of the classics school at Hampden College, Vermont but - vainly - tries to hold firm against debauchery and murder. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author

Donna Tartt was educated at the University of Mississippi and Bennington College. She lives in Mississippi and New York City. Photograph © Timothy Greenfield   More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation