7 surprising facts about The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Published in 1992, The Secret History tells the story of a group of university students who get lost in their own eccentric way of thinking and living. As moral boundaries blur, they find themselves pushing the limits to extreme.

The consequences? Disastrous.

The book quickly became a modern classic and continues to captivate readers today. Thrilling, fast-paced, and full of drama, The Secret History weaves a unique and compelling narrative so realistic that journalists and podcasters have tried to draw connections between the fictional story and the author’s own life.

Read on to learn about a few parallels that readers have noticed and learn more about The Secret History. 

Surprising facts about The Secret History

1. The book is set at a fictional college in rural Vermont called Hampden College. Readers have speculated that it is based on Bennington College, the small liberal arts school that Tartt attended. Like Hampden, Bennington is also set in rural Vermont and bears many similarities to the fictional college in the book.
2. Tartt might have been writing from life when it came to her characters. Like the students in the book, Tartt majored in Classics at university. It has been suggested that the professor in the book was based on a professor that the author encountered during her college years.
3. The Secret History is Donna Tartt’s first book, published when she was only 29. Since then, she has gone on to publish two more novels.
4. Since its 1992 publication, The Secret History has been translated into 24 languages and sold over 5 million copies.
5. The Secret History is dedicated to fellow author Bret Easton Ellis, who was in the same graduating class as Tartt at Bennington College.
6. There has been talk of a movie for years, but nothing has ever come to fruition. Alan J. Pakula first secured the rights to the film but died before the project gained momentum. In 2002, Gwyneth and Jake Paltrow ‘made a deal to develop The Secret History with Miramax,’ reports Town & Country. However, their father died that year, and the project fell to the wayside. Eventually, the rights reverted back to Tartt.
7. The book is current trending on TikTok with over 248 million views of videos related to The Secret History.

Haven't read it yet? Add it to your to-read list ASAP and order a copy to see what all the hype is about.