Cover of The Secret History

The Secret History

Donna Tartt, 1992

American novelist, born 1963. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014.

The Secret History is a 1992 novel by Donna Tartt.

  • Readers' Favourite

In thrillers and spy fiction

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).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.co.uk, 2014)ListedSee the list
Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026)No. 41See the list
The Big Read top 100 (BBC, 2003)No. 76See 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.

Critics
0%
Prizes
0%
Readers and booksellers
49%

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.

Lists used on this page