The Secret History | Donna Tartt

FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE GOLDFINCH Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement ­­- both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful. ­­­­­­­'What we did was terrible, but still I don't think any of us were bad, exactly; chalk it up to weakness on my part, hubris on Henry's, too much Greek prose composition - whatever you like.' 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 morality, their lives are changed profoundly and for ever. The Secret History is a story of two parts; the chain of events that led to the death of a classmate - and what happened next. 'So irresistible and seductive it's almost a guilty pleasure' Guardian 'Donna Tartt is an amazingly good writer. She's dense, she's allusive. She's a gorgeous storyteller' Stephen King 'A haunting, compelling, and brilliant piece of fiction . . . Packed with literary allusion and told with a sophistication and texture' The Times

"It takes my breath away". --Ruth Rendell "Enthralling ...image the plot of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment crossed with the story of Euripides' Bacchae set against the backdrop of Bret Easton Ellis' The Rules of Attraction...forceful, cerebral and impeccably controlled...ferociously well-paced...remarkably powerful". --The New York Times

Donna Tartt was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and educated at the University of Mississippi and Bennington College. She is a novelist, essayist, and critic. THE SECRET HISTORY has been translated into twenty-four languages.