The Secret History
by Donna Tartt · first published 1992
66% recommend31% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Dark academia novel about a clique of classics students at an isolated college and a murder revealed early on. Fans praise its cozy yet suffocating atmosphere and gripping, re-readable storytelling.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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 they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last - inexorably - into evil.
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…year that I felt were "Good", starting from the most recent : To Kill A Mocking Bird (Insanely good) True Grit (Insanely good) The Little Friend (Good) Priceless (Very good, about art theft) The Secret History (Insanely good) Ready Player One (Good, nerdy) Shadow Divers (Very good, history nerd book) Diary of Anne Frank (Very good) Unbroken (Very good, way better than the movie) With The Old Breed at Peleliu…
on “Ask HN: What's one book you've recently read and enjoyed?” ↗The Secret History by Donna Tartt is an amazing novel about a group of classics students who try to reproduce such a banquet with interesting results.
on “The Lavish Roman Banquet: A Calculated Display Of Debauchery And Power” ↗…about my JS code. http://www.manning.com/resig/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Tartt Has a new book out I haven't read, yet, but her other books have been great. especially http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-History-Donna-Tartt/dp/1400... Then neither a tutorial nor book, but pretty helpful: Bookmarking the comments of people like Paul Graham. Since he usually makes insightful comments on interesting articles, it…
on “Ask HN: Best books/tutorials you read in 2013?” ↗…exposure to Seamless dinners without any connection to Nature. But then again, my cure for almost any modern ailment tends to be to look to the ancients! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29044.The_Secret_History
on “Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix” ↗I can't recommend Donna Tartt's books enough, especially The Secret History and The Goldfinch. I've read both 3 times now.
on “The Singular Voice, and Pungent Humor, of Charles Portis” ↗…declassified primary sources, and publications from open source intelligence. Two somewhat lesser known books I recommend if you are looking for details more than broad history are U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History and The Swords of Armageddon, both by Chuck Hansen. Both are currently out of print. The latter can be found on Library Genesis. I scanned The Secret History about 10 years ago and uploaded it to a technical…
on “Revisiting the “Tsar Bomba” nuclear test” ↗I think 'The Magus' may be my favourite book of all time. And it's the only Fowles I've read. I did lend it to someone that hated it however ! :) Secret History by Donna Tart also recommended.
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗…about Bennington College in the 80's, where Tartt, Jonathan Lethem, and Bret Easton Ellis were contemporaries. I skipped through it, but I found it interesting the extent to which the backdrop of The Secret History came from Bennington. https://cadence13.com/once-upon-a-time-at-bennington-college... I'd also recommend the Tartt-narrated version of the audiobook. (I believe there's another version narrated by Robert…
on “The Secret History: A murder mystery that thrills 30 years on” ↗Goldfinch is one of my favorites, so let me chime in as I’ve read during serious depression and understand the struggle. - tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow - 1Q84 - After Dark - secret history (author of goldfinch) - never let me go (bit sad-ish) Note: I explicitly filtered my reads to be things I enjoyed during depressive states. Lots of other books I read during that period I didn’t enjoy/made…
on “Ask HN: What books have you found understandable during serious depression?” ↗These are wonderful: Louis Auchincloss, The Rector of Justin (1964) Donna Tartt, The Secret History (1992)
on “David Lodge, British novelist who satirized academic life, has died” ↗…skirts to her programming job.) From what I remember, the characters were a bit flat, the plot didn't draw me in, and the writing style was a little formulaic. I can't help compare with Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which I absolutely adored.
on “Dark Academia Grows Up” ↗I read The Secret History at an impressionable age and arrived at university grossly misinformed. I love it anyway.
on “Dark Academia Grows Up” ↗Oh that’s interesting - I’d never thought of Possession as being dark academia. But you’re right, it is. It’s certainly one of my favorite novels, on another level than The Secret History which I also enjoyed. Every time I re-read it I am impressed all over again by how it’s woven together and, not least, how Byatt managed to write all the poems herself.
on “Dark Academia Grows Up” ↗I quite like _The Secret History_ too. I think in _Babel_ (and _Katabasis_ as well), Kuang is a bit more prone than Tartt to showing off legit academic tidbits, which gives a nice scholarly glint (the illusion of high-brow? authenticity,…
on “Dark Academia Grows Up” ↗I reread The Secret History by Donna Tartt for the umpteenth time and it is still wonderful.
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗