The Secret History
Author: Donna Tartt
Originally Published: 1992
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
written by: Tina Nguyen | date: 19th April, 2026
Moral of the story from The Secret History by Donna Tartt: don’t try to fit in and trust your friend group too fast, especially when you’re the person who joined latter – you never know who they truly are or what the f*?k they are committing behind your back. (And don’t glaze them too much, either).
The story spins around a group of students who took an “exclusive” Greek class with just a limitation of 5 people through the lens and perception of Richard Papen. Little did he know that getting his scholarship to Hampden College, begging to be in the Greek class just because he was the best at the language, trying to fit in with the elites, changed his life and the way he viewed it forever.
Richard Papen was that one friend who thought he finally fit in with the others in the group since he was the last person to join, but he turned out to be too amused by every single person to realise the weird, unknown dynamic of this group. This was demonstrated throughout the whole book, where Donna Tartt delivered exceptionally outstanding writing that slowed down the plot, leaving me (and probably other readers) confused, questioning myself here and there, and wondering if there was something more to it – all because Tartt intentionally made Richard the narrator in this story. The whole time reading this book, I could tell there was something in the friend group, but I could not pinpoint exactly what it was; it was this frustrating feeling that piqued my curiosity and kept me reading, bit by bit. Tartt used an unreliable narrator to “glaze” and romanticise pretty much every person through Richard’s perspective to create more unknown mysteries and confusing dynamics inside the group.
“For if the modern mind is whimsical and discursive, the classical mind is narrow, unhesitating, relentless. It is not a quality of intelligence that one encounters frequently these days. But though I can digress with the best of them, I am nothing in my soul if not obsessive.”
There are 5 people amongst this ‘friend’ group aside from Richard – Henry Winter, Francis Abernathy, Charles and Camilla Macaulay, and Edmund “Bunny” Corcoran. I have strong impressions of Henry, Camilla, and Bunny, and will break down these characters below (without spoilers, of course).
Henry Winter: a charismatic ‘unsaid leader’ of the group. Everyone seemed to be charmed by him somehow. They did whatever insane ideas he proposed, trusted him blindly, and defended him, since they would not know what to do without Henry. However, there was another person who silently stood behind and influenced all of Henry's intentions – Julian Morrow, their Greek teacher, whom Henry formed a complicated relationship with and was said to be loved “more than Henry’s father”. I guess we'll never know Julian’s true intentions toward Henry, or what their bond was called. The way Julian taught his students was not only Greek studies, but the way he presented himself was infused in how they viewed Greek culture. I believe that he intentionally picked Henry to get his charm and convince others to practice the very outdated Greek rituals that were not suitable in modern days.
“‘It was the most important night of my life, it enabled me to do what I’ve always wanted most.’
‘Which is?’
‘To live without thinking.’
…
‘That surge of power and delight, of confidence, of control. That sudden sense of the richness of the world. Its infinite possibility.’”
Despite all the twisted morals that Richard had to deal with, mostly Henry and Julian, I personally think that Camilla Macaulay played a big role in driving Richard insane. To me, she always had something that I couldn’t tell because I was reading through Richard’s POV, and her twisted and dark intentions were so unclear throughout the book. The line between his morals/ sanity, and corruption/lust/impulsion was always blurred when it came to Camilla. Not only did she drive Richard insane, but she also messed with other boys in the group (spoiler-free review so I will not say which ones, sorry). I guess we never truly know who she truly was or what she was really up to.
“Neither one cares about anybody but himself – or herself, as the case may be. They like to present a unified front but I don't even know how much they care about each other. Certainly they take a perverse pleasure in leading one on – yes, she does lead you on.”
The most sane person in this friend group might have been Edmund “Bunny” Corcoran all along, even though he might not appear as such in the first half of the book. From Richard’s character development, he seemed to grow more fond of Henry and just like everyone else, he was successfully ‘brain-washed’ that Bunny was the ‘outlier’ amongst them. Because when he was surrounded by people who saw amoralities as normal, it was hard for him to see the hints that Bunny dropped and what he was insinuating about Henry “was not like what he thought”. At first, Richard thought that Henry’s idea of getting rid of Bunny was insane and he would never participate in that, but I think a part of Richard was utterly obsessed with the illusion of beauty and the fantasy world that he was trying to fit in. Things eventually happened, Richard stood there and watched it all unfold, while feeling relieved because he had, at that point, become a part of Henry’s twisted world (or at least Richard thought so). Overall, Henry successfully convinced everyone that Bunny was “the danger” that they needed to get rid of, just to bury his wrongdoings deep in the ground. (Plus, I think Bunny was also very verbally provocative and irritating; that was also one of the reasons why they could NOT stand this guy any longer.)
“What is unthinkable is undoable. That is something that Julian used to say in our Greek class, and while I believe he said it in order to encourage us to be more rigorous in our mental habits, it has a certain perverse bearing on the matter at hand. The idea of murdering Bunny was horrific, impossible; nonetheless we dwelt on it incessantly, convinced ourselves there was no alternative, devised plans which seemed slightly improbable and ridiculous but which actually worked quite well when put to the test… I don’t know. A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I actually stood watching one, it seemed the easiest thing in the world. How quickly he fell; how soon it was over.”
Did I enjoy The Secret History? Yes, I did. Did I enjoy it to the point that I will give it a 5 stars? Not… really. I genuinely think this is a dark, twisted, and thrilling book to read. However, the pace was too slow for my liking at some points, and I found the main events happened at a very quick pace, which made my heart race and my stomach drop every time I got to the unpredictable twists. I highly recommend this book for someone who is into aestheticism, intellectualism, and the obsession with beauty that leads to moral decay.