Why Everyone Became Obsessed With The Secret History
How does Donna Tartt combine gothic academia and greek mythology in her captivating debut novel? What do the characters tell us about the dark side of human nature? And, did her own university experience influence the story?
Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett discuss all this and more in this week's episode on The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
Explore our favourite Folio books at https://foliosociety.com/thebookclub
Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen
Social Producer: Harry Balden
Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris
Video Editor: Lorcan Moullier
Executive Producer: Dom Johnson
0:00 The Folio Society
1:22 The Greatest Opening Line in Modern Fiction?
5:05 Why The Secret History Is So Addictive
9:49 A Murder Mystery… Where You Already Know the Killer
14:34 Who Is Richard Papen And Can We Trust Him?
19:00 From Hogwarts to Vermont: The Power of Closed Worlds
22:09 The Allure of the Elite Clique
26:09 “Beauty Is Terror”: The Idea Behind Everything
29:31 Why These Characters Are So Magnetic (Despite Being Awful)
33:26 Meet Bunny: The Victim Who Might Be the Hero
38:56 The Funniest Line in the Entire Book
41:04 The First Murder: What Really Happened in the Woods
46:01 Henry Winter: Genius, Monster, or Both?
49:59 Is Richard the Real Villain?
51:12 The Plan to Kill Bunny
53:22 The Murder Scene: And Why We Never See It
55:23 After the Murder: Guilt, Lies, and Dark Comedy
56:32 The Funeral: Tragedy Turns Absurd
1:00:03 Flashbacks to the Killing — What They Actually Did
1:03:33 The Collapse: When Everything Falls Apart
1:04:28 Did They Get Away With It?
1:06:45 The Secret History Behind The Secret History
1:10:15 The Real-Life Inspiration for Julian and the Clique
1:14:50 Dark Academia — Why This Book Took Over the Internet
1:15:36 Is It Actually One of the Great Modern Novels?
1:17:11 Final Verdict — Dead Bunnies Rating