chapters.indigo.ca: The Secret History: Donna Tartt: Books

About this Book

Format:Trade Paperback

Dimensions:576 Pages, 5.2 x 9.95 x 1 IN

Published:April 13, 2004

Publisher:Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
ISBN - 10:1400031702
ISBN - 13:9781400031702

From the Publisher

Truly deserving of the accolade a modern classic, Donna Tartt's novel is a remarkable achievement-both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

From the Jacket

Truly deserving of the accolade a modern classic, Donna Tartt''s novel is a remarkable achievement--both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

Other Editions

Format	List Price	Online Price
Audio Book (Cassette)	$59.95	$59.95

From the Critics

"The Secret History succeeds magnificently. . . . A remarkably powerful novel [and] a ferociously well-paced entertainment. . . . Forceful, cerebral, and impeccably controlled." --The New York Times

"An accomplished psychological thriller. . . . Absolutely chilling. . . . Tartt has a stunning command of the lyrical." --The Village Voice

"Beautifully written, suspenseful from start to finish." --Vogue

"A haunting, compelling, and brilliant piece of fiction. . . . Packed with literary allusion and told with a sophistication and texture that owes much more to the nineteenth century than to the twentieth." --The Times (London)

"Her writing bewitches us. . . . The Secret History is a wonderfully beguiling book, a journey backward to the fierce and heady friendships of our school days, when all of us believed in our power to conjure up divinity and to be forgiven any sin." --The Philadephia Inquirer

"Enthralling. . . . A remarkably powerful novel [and] a ferociously wll-paced entertainment. . . . Forceful, cerebral, and impeccably controlled." --The New York Times Book Review

"A huge, mesmerizing, galloping read, pleasurably devoured. . . . .Gorgeously written, relentlessly erudite." -Vanity Fair

From The Community

Who's Listing it as a Top Ten

This title has appeared in 13 Top Ten lists. See the most recent lists below:

Maggie's 10 Favourite Books/Authors of Sagas

Maggie61 , 2 years ago
All-time best

Bonnie , 2 years ago
Ten Novels that you must read before they take away your driver's license and library card.

Antonio Arch , 2 years ago
Powerful fiction.

Tali B , 2 years ago
top ten fiction

julie lewis , 2 years ago
Faves

Cat , 2 years ago
Sydney's Top Ten List - April 2008

Sydney Kennedy , 2 years ago
Ten Top Cool Chick Books

RedIndianGirl , 14 months ago
Favorite books

Lesley Cresswell , 14 months ago
Actual good books - vampire free!

Lisa Wills , 7 months ago
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Average Customer Rating:
Reviews from the Community5 Reviews

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Karen
The Secret History

This review is from: The Secret History (Audio Book (Cassette))

9 years ago

A great book to see the way guilt affects different kinds of people. The main characters are very real and you learn a lot about the interactions among the characters. One bad thing about the book is that every time the characters were upset they would get drunk.
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BookThia
An original, fantastical story

3 weeks ago

Tartt is such a clever writer, I can't say enough about her skill. This book, which mirrors the story-telling styles of Greek tragedy, is full of deeply disturbed, yet somehow likeable, characters. The reader is so gradually brought into their Secret History, that by the time you realize how abhorrant they are, you have developed a real true liking for them. The beauty of this, of course, is that the reader is told of their crime in the first few pages ... Compelling reading, excellent… + read more
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Monica
- Top Book Reviewer
A Great Psychological Read

9 months ago

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book...but i ended up loving it. The darkness of it, the slightly British tinge to it, the eloquent way the words flowed...all made for fast reading. Richard, the narrator, tells the tale of how he and five others "reinvent" themselves to be these dark and foreboding characters, as though they stepped right out of some dry, British novel, filled with Irish whiskey, smokey rooms, and nights spent studying the meaning of all things Greek. This was a strong… + read more
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Onessa
- Top Book Reviewer
Engrossing!

18 months ago

Donna Tartt's first book. She is a very good writer and leads up to revelations slowly. It began kind of slow but the details of the characters made them very real. The character, Henry, has to be one of the most intereting characters I have read of. I am looking forward to reading Donna's next book when it costs about $5.
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Anonymous
Creepy Thriller

3 years ago

This is a thriller that creeps up on you before you know it. It's got atmosphere, a camaraderie of amoral characters, some pretty good descriptions of a Vermont setting and reckless fun and games that end in more than tears. The premise is very simple though a little outlandish. However, Tartt does a good job weaving a spell that traps the reader just as the main character is trapped. Not for those who like their gore heavy handed but for those who like a room full of shadows and their… + read more
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