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Description
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... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis
Cast of Characters/Important People
- Richard Papen: Protagonist Richard Papen narrates The Secret History in retrospect at the age of 28 (the age of the author at the time of publication). Coming from an vapid and tense household in Plano, California to Hampden College, New England, Richard is instantly enamoured of the small group of classics students of which he eventually becomes a part.
- Henry Winter: The blue-eyed polymath Henry suffered a severe physical accident as a child which led to his bookish manner. Conversant in numerous tongues, he is also a deceptively physical presence. The son of a wealthy property/construction magnate, Henry wants for nothing and his knowledge far surpasses that required for the programme he is enrolled in at Hampden College. Henry's inner-desire for the sublime sets the chain of the novel's narrative events into motion.
- Julian Morrow: The charismatic and charming Julian is the Professor of the small group of students at the centre of the novel. A minor society figure of apparently vast personal wealth, his background mirrors that of his favourite student, Henry. Like the young people he surrounds himself with, Julian sets himself apart from the university community. Julian's elitism is quickly evident though his integrity remains undetermined for much of the novel.
- Bunny Corcoran: The youngest of four all-American New England sons of a banker, Bunny is an outwardly affable fellow and the closest friend to Henry, with whom he casts a striking contrast. Bunny's jovial character hides a strong vindictive streak from which not even his friends and class-mates are exempt.
- Charles and Camilla Macauley: Identical twins Charles and Camilla were orphaned from a very young age when their parents died in a car accident and were subsequently raised by a succession of relatives. Blond-haired, blue-eyed and frequently dressed in all white, they are of conspicuous appearance and thefreindliest members of the group.
- Francis Abernathy: The red-haired fop Francis can frequently be seen wearing a fake monocle. Like much of the group, he comes from considerable wealth, equally like his fellow students, his childhood was not without its own unorthodoxies. He is, regardless, a greatly generous giver of gifts to his friends.
Memorable Quotes
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“He refused to see anything about any of us except our most engaging qualities, which he cultivated and magnified to the exclusion of all our tedious and less desirable ones.”
Richard -
“Julian himself was constantly in the process of reinventing the people and events around him, conferring kindness, or wisdom, or bravery, or charm, on actions which contained nothing of the sort. It was one of the reasons I loved him: for that flattering light in which he saw me, for the person I was when I was with him, for what it was he allowed me to be.”
Richard
First Sentence
Does such a thing as 'the fatal flaw,' that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't.
Table of Contents
Authors & Contributors
- Donna Tartt (Author)
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