The Secret History

''The Secret History'' is Donna Tartt 's first novel. It was first published in 1992 to great demand, even overwhelming a massive 75,000 book order for the first printing (as opposed to a 10,000 book order which is usual for a first novel's first printing) and becoming a best-seller.

Set in Vermont , ''The Secret History'' tells the story of a closely-knit group of Classics students at an elite American college. The narrator, Richard Papen (one of the students in the group), looks back years later on the circumstances that led to a murder within the group (implying the murder on the outset, but otherwise revealing the details sequentially).

Although the book contains many literary references and allusions, at its simplest, the publication can be read as a "murder mystery" - even though the author introduces immediately both the murder and those responsible. At another level, the novel undertakes an analysis of literary beauty versus reality, social constraints compared to our desire for liberation, and the relationships and truths that exist behind social structures.

The novel, written as if it were the annotations or diary of Papen, includes the following very early on: "Does such a thing as 'the fatal flaw,' that shadowy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs." This theme continues throughout the novel as Richard is repeatedly confronted with the separation of literary beauty as he would capture and report it, compared to the reality as it occurs.

In the initial chapter of the book, we are introduced to Richard Papen and the death of Bunny Corcoran. The novel then undertakes to reveal the circumstances behind the death and then the lasting effects upon all involved. In particular, the novel examines the impact of these events upon a small group of an academically and socially isolated group of students attending Hampden college in Vermont.

The impact of the events upon the students is ultimately destructive and the potential promise of many young lives is lost to circumstance. It mirrors, in many ways, the notion of a Greek tragedy with fate playing a large part in dictating the very circumstances that lead to an escalation of already fomenting issues.

PLOT OUTLINE

As the story opens, Richard Papen leaves Plano, California, where he is generally unhappy, for Hampden College in Vermont. His approach to his background is in keeping with a theme of literary beauty, in comparison to harsh reality, that continues throughout the novel. That is, he misleads others about his background as necessary, replacing his mediocre working-class childhood with one of elite boarding schools and oil wealth.

After moving to Vermont, Richard requests to continue his study of Greek, only to be told that the class is full, as the Classics professor Julian Morrow limits his enrolment to five students. He becomes obsessed with the small group of classics students who are studying Greek, often observing them around campus. This continues until he manages to ingratiate himself with the group, helping them solve a Greek grammar problem as they study in the college library. Soon after, he meets with Julian once more and is admitted to the select Classics program.

Gradually Richard, and the reader, gets to know the group better. Two students in particular now become the central focus of the story - the "linguistic genius" Henry Winter, a studious intellectual with a passion for the classics and Plato, and Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran, a back-slapping jokester more comfortable reading Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu , particularly if someone else has bought him a copy.

Their relationship, already considered odd by Richard, becomes even more mystifying when Bunny announces that he and Henry will be spending the winter break together in Italy. This, despite the fact that Henry appears scarely tolerant of Bunny and that Bunny is unable to afford such a lavish holiday himself; in fact, it is Henry who is footing the bill for the trip.

When they return, Richard notes that the relationship between the rest of the group and Bunny has become even more strained. Ultimately, Richard learns the truth: during a "successful" Bacchanal (without Richard or Bunny), they had inadvertently killed a farmer. Bunny, having been suspicious for some time, finally uncovered the truth in Italy after reading some of Henry's private notes, and blackmailed them ever since.

The group, no longer able to meet Bunny's demands and fearing that Bunny will report the matter to the police, resolve to kill Bunny. Henry forms several plots to kill him, and finally go ahead with a plot when Bunny tells Richard of the killing. Bunny is killed while bush-walking. He is pushed by Henry and falls to his death.

The remainder of the novel focuses heavily on the aftermath of Bunny's death, especially the collapse of the group and the psychological strains of remorse borne by the individual members. Julian Morrow, the group's professor, eventually discovers the truth about everything. He never reports the crime, but leaves the college and leaves all of the splintered group to deal with their crime, to a large extent, in isolation. Henry eventually commits suicide.

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The Secret History