This article is about the 1992 novel by Donna Tartt. For Procopius's Secret History, see Procopius § Secret History. For other uses, see secret history (disambiguation).
The Secret History
Cover of the first edition
Author
Donna Tartt
Cover artist
Chip Kidd
Barbara de Wilde
Country
United States
Language
English
Publisher
Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date
September 16, 1992
Media type
Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages
544 pp
ISBN
0-679-41032-5
OCLC
26515217
Dewey Decimal
813/.54 20
LC Class
PS3570.A657 S4 1992
The Secret History is the first novel by the American author Donna Tartt, published by Alfred A. Knopf in September 1992. Set in New England, the campus novel tells the story of a closely knit group of six classics students at Hampden College, a small liberal arts college located in Vermont based upon Bennington College, where Tartt was a student between 1982 and 1986.[1]
The Secret History is an inverted detective story narrated by one of the six students, Richard Papen, who reflects years later upon the situation that led to the murder of their friend Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran – wherein the events leading up to the murder are revealed sequentially.[2] The novel explores the circumstances and lasting effects of Bunny's death on the academically and socially isolated group of classics students of which he was a part.
The novel was originally titled The God of Illusions,[3] and its first-edition hardcover was designed by the New York City graphic designer Chip Kidd and Barbara de Wilde.[4] A 75,000 print order was made for the first edition (as opposed to the usual 10,000 order for a debut novel) and the book became a bestseller. The book has since been credited as popularizing the growth of the dark academia literary sub-genre.[5]
^Alyssia (December 8, 2021). "The Secret History of Bennington College". Hot off the Shelf. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
^Grady, Constance (May 8, 2020). "Vox Book Club, The Secret History, week 1: Did Bunny have it coming?". Vox. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
^Fein, Esther B. (November 16, 1992). "The Media Business; The Marketing of a Cause Celebre". The New York Times.
^Wilkinson, Carl (2011-02-07). "Book cover: The Secret History". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
^Garrett, Beata (2019-10-06). "'The Secret History' Makes Strides in Budding Dark Academia Genre". Mount Holyoke News. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
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