
The Secret History
American novelist, born 1963. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014.
The Secret History is a 1992 novel by Donna Tartt.
On 3 of the 18 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Donna Tartt
- First published
- 1992
- Length
- 503 pages (UK paperback)
- Genre
- Thrillers and spy fiction, Crime, Psychological, Class and society
Is The Secret History worth reading?
3 of the 18 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian) and 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.co.uk).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.co.uk, 2014) | Listed | See the list |
| Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 41 | See the list |
| The Big Read top 100 (BBC, 2003) | No. 76 | See the list |
Best edition of The Secret History
The edition we link to is the Penguin Books paperback (1993), 503 pages.
- Publisher
- Penguin Books (paperback, 1993)
- Pages
- 503
- ISBN
- 9780140167771
How critics, prizes and readers rate The Secret History
Readers rate it most highly: it earned 49% of the points available on readers' and booksellers' lists, against 0% on critics' lists and 0% on prize lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like The Secret History
If you liked The Secret History, try The Goldfinch, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie or The Vegetarian.



