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"We have Charles and Camilla, the twins. When Richard first sees them he thinks they're dating, which, remember I told you that." I CACKLED OH BOY

The only thing I'm 99% sure of with Richard is that he was hot. Judy immediately likes him for no apparent reason, Francis immediately demands if he wants to sleep with him, and the two girls that Richard sleeps with while at Hampton hit on him, not the other way around. Either he made all this up or this boy was fine as hell.

My messed up brain was thinking that Julian was sleeping with Henry, a very impressionable young man who's able to lead, and was controlling him in order to carry out his deepest desires (like murder) without having to get his hands dirty. I'm kind of disappointed that the professor wasn't the antagonist. No, we got inscmest instead.

I feel like Richard and Julian are similar. Julian views the Greek club members as pieces in his collection of rare and interesting things, and that's really how Richard views them too. I wouldn't be surprised if Julian had a similar background to Richard (I don't remember the book mentioning his background, but I only read it once...) of growing up with an unimpressive family, and then just going out into the world, infiltrating other spaces and collecting new identities. They both also have pretty bad perceptive abilities; neither of them picked up on what the group did (to Bunny/the farmer) until it was explicitly laid out in front of them. Kind of adorably unaware. Or maybe it's willful ignorance because they prefer things to be enigmatic and alluring instead of facing the ugly truth.

did i read the book? yes. did i watch all of this even tho? yes. loved it, this really is the vibe ahahahah

“Brother, sister, gay, you, like what’s going on” 😂

The fact italian renesainsse is so heavily based on greek mythology and henry can read hieroglyphics but not speak italian is wild

*’Symbolic, symbolic, we see it Tartt…’* *me throughout the entire book*

"He got lieabetes" absolutely SENT ME

Julian is a massive red flag omg like seeing the story laid out like this there are so many signs

wish Francis and Richard would've ended up together lmao

Listening to you I realize that I romanticided this book, better yet, all characters waaay too much. Gotta read it again, but not yet, just finished it 3 days ago. Thank you!

Objectively the best retelling I have watched. It was incredible hearing it put into "vibes" so I can talk about this book and feel smart

It find it hilarious that this book is about pretentious rich kids because Judy Poovey is *allegedly* based on Michelle Matland, the costume designer for Succession. Great video, btw!

great recap🎀 i couldn’t stop thinking about this book so this helps with closure. I just wish Camilla was a more prominent character and that we knew her better, but it’s probably on purpose to symbolize that richard just romanticized her and that she was pretty much a concept in his mind, rather than a real person. also i am so mad at henry for some reason, i can’t stopppp he really annoyed me at the end

For folks who want to read or reread The Secret History, I would recommend reading the following first (in no particular order): 1.) The Rules of Attraction (1987) by Brent Easton Ellis 2.) Either the Bacchae by Euripides or the Oresteia by Aeschylus (or both -- they are fascinating works & I am not judging.) ------------------------------------------------ The reason I pose these works is that they might help someone get in the right headspace for trying to pick up what Tartt is putting down. Ellis is a comparable writer to Tartt not only due to having a shared background but also that The Rules of Attraction & The Secret History are very similar in terms of plot, deliberately confusing style, & how they relate to the "campus novel" genre. The characters try to fool the audience to buying into a particular perception of themselves when in actuality it does not line up with reality, which is much more like Rules of Attraction. The second group are there to help the reader pick what even the characters in the story do not recognize; despite presenting these characters as epic heroes & heroines, they are actually in a Greek Tragedy. Euripides's Bacchae is included for somewhat obvious reasons, but I also included The Oresteia as the archetypical tragedy but also because the "curse" of House Atreus is as much of a cycle of violence by broken characters believing they will be the ones to break the curse as it is an actual curse. EDIT: Also, if you want a good film to go with The Secret History, I would highly recommend Rope (1948) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The reasons should be obvious.

i always thought Julian knew about the bacchanal and that they were attempting it but he never knew about the farmer. when richard asked didn't henry say theres no need to bother julian with things that might affect him or something like that? that's why i think at the end, henry was the "god of illusion" which was supposed to be the original title of the book. Because he's the one withholding the information as and when he likes, holding on to the illusions his intellect and appearance provide. why Julian finding out the truth about his star pupil really dishevels him because he's lost control of the illusion. it was henry who pushed the group to try out the bacchanal, he who debated which book would portray a better illusion of innocence and morality and ethics. Even his end was an illusion for the rest of the world. edit: yup yup i checked sparknotes and even there ch 5 summary says that julian didnt know about the farmer only that the bachanal was a success. which makes sense as to why he left when he found out (my brain is processing the story half a month later) because 1: he realised for the first time that the people he was talking to, indulging in "play" with, not work, weren't educated adults whom he usually dealt with. they were young minds capable of molding and bending to an idolised person's will. it was the end of julian's own childlike fascination with everything mystic and mythic and realising how his words had real life consequences. and also why he didn't report to the police because 2: he realized that once the entire letter was submitted the truth about the farmer would come to light, and of course the reason behind it, the bacchanal, also would come to light and who else would be to blame but the elusive tax evasive man in the college who forced his students to only study with him and isolated the students to only be surrounded by his opinions, not letting them mingle with the normal crowd so they're able to see through the intense emulation julian was putting the students through and how unhealthy it was. that's why henry was also so offended at his cowardice because a man who spoke about living forever couldn't live one day in the presence of the consequences of his own actions. WOW WHAT AN END TO MY THOUGHT I HAVE COMPLETED EDUCATION GOOD NIGHT>

I remember when this book first dropped, every girl I knew who was aged between 18 and 25 was obsessed with it.

You did the lord’s work with this video because I like to watch summaries after I read super long or interesting books to make sure I’m not dumb and I got everything 😂. Thanks for the content!

Julian is giving Horace Slughorn though

i love this book so much, like this is amazing. also, i feel like we are due for a tv adaptation, like it needs to happen, but after the goldfinch flopped, i am thinking donna is not letting anyone touch this one lmao. if i were to adapt it, one thing i would enhance, besides making the cast diverse, is richard's incessant "I'm not gay, but..." like Richard would be clearly bi, and still infatuated with camila, and more involved with francis, and just very clearly in love with the idea of henry. idk why donna loves to write main characters that are like "well i hooked up with this guy, and also I'm basically in love with this guy, but I'm also obsessed with the idea of this girl so clearly i am straight and could never in many year be any type of queer" like Richard and theo why are you like this??

this is one of the best video essays on the secret history ever it's so in depth and well-explained and your commentary adds a fun element so it's never boring. def gonna watch all your other vids lol

it took me literally a year to read this because I was living in a really shitty apartment in the dead of winter and I had to keep the window open cause if I didn't literally MOLD would grow on my walls, and this coincided with Richard living with the hippy and it was like way too real so yeah I had to pause and wait till the warmer months

i liked before the video even started because THREE AND A HALF HOURS???? girl… (i’m so seated)

this book has been sitting on my shelf for A YEAR and watching this video really made me wanna read the book despite the fact that i’ve spoiled it for myself 😭😭 anyways this was so interesting to watch and you gained a new subscriber

So much admiration for you for making this craaaazy long video in honour of such a special book! The presentation style is really engaging, the 212 minutes fly by, and it does a great job at taking you through all the key plot points, while adding in lots of character notes and theories. To be ultra pedantic, at 55:35, Charles *tries* to pull out the shard of glass from Camilla's foot but is too squeamish to do it seeing how much it hurts her, and Henry has to shove him aside and do it himself, establishing his capacity to act with unflinching efficiency in the face of an unpalatable task. If I ever get around to making my short video eulogising about The Secret History, I'll definitely link viewers back to this splendid epic of yours!

this was amazing and you explained a complex book in such a captivating way. i never finish video essays but i watched this one to completion. thank you for giving us this video!!!!!!

I LOVE THIS BOOOOOOOIKKKK. I think reading it was the first time i had to periodically stop and wonder about the symbolism and meaning and if hold true for me. The writing is so realistic that i forget that its fiction. i love it. i would give up ten words from my vocabulary to know what henry whispered in camilla's ear.

"Oh captain my captain" SENT ME. That's one of my favorite movies! Also, thank YOU for making this video. Girl you went THROUGH IT. I had to DNF at chapter 5. But this was a life savor and so well done!.THANK YOU

This was so good!! Thank you for this! I felt like I was in an English class with a cool teacher or something lol. I’m currently reading the book but I got half of it spoiled for me so I just decided to watch this so I knew what I was getting myself into 😂

The secret history is a really good book to have a conversation on. I have read the book but this is a good way to understand perspectives and relive the book

Loved the book, ADORE this summary! Also: gonna introduce "LIE-abetes" to my everyday vocabulary, what a stroke of genius lmao

Would love to see a retelling of Babel in this format!!!

3 and a half hours of pure gold thank u for your service

i also thought that the whole scene of the school mourning was how like commentary on how people make an event out of anything. the people who even knew him barely were mourning him like he was their closest friend, how they saw him dance ONCE or throw a beer can once. thats why it tied up with the analogy of the girl who did the unaliving and how the student rep or whatever used the same "we have lost a wonderful life today" speech that he used for bunny. and also when the book is compared to if we were villains, i think the fact that no one went to jail was even a worse option for them because there was no absolving of guilt and they lost the one thing, which is julian's magic of it all, that mattered and tied them together the most. they lost the appeal to study it, they lost the idealistic and fancy foo foo world of classics they were living in. in IWWV, the dude goes to jail and things get resolved and he still loves shakespeare. he knows it was because of shakespeare that it all happened in the first place but he's still quoting the dialogues when he comes out of prison ten years later.

Donna Tartt descriptions are the best thing in the book! I love them! I have never red such beautiful descriptions.

this is my roman empire

GURL thanks a lot! Keep making more of these book explanations, you’re so good at explaining!

thank you girl, I watched 30 sec of Taylor Rosen telling about this book and I thought: yes I am now interested. But not in reading the book, I am into watching a 3h video explaining its most juicy parts.

Me giving my bf a tsh lecture at 3 am because he said something vaguely related and I'm autistic

ugh u deserve so much more recognition for this it’s great

Omg I loved thissss, you did such a good job putting everything together in an interesting way! Thank you for thisss I know it must’ve taken a TON of time 🙏🏽 honestly at the end of watching it I just wanted more, I was hookeddd!

i'm loving this video!! i'm almost done reading the book, and i'll come back to this video to pick up where i left off! can't wait to see you recap the ending aaaa

this is my favorite book of all time and i wanted to reread it this fall but it would take wayyy too long so this was the perfect way to relive it 🤭 thank you so much

"he wouldn't pick bunny...but he would pick me" I LOVE IT!!

Watching this after I just finished the book. Thank you so much for making this it really allows us who read it to get a great summary and feel immersed again :> you’re a queen

Thank you sooo much for this! I absolutely love this book, and your video was fantastic. It enlightened me about so many things that I can't wait to read the book again. I know I'll be coming back here to watch this video multiple times!

This was great. I read the book but I loved watching this explanation and you made a lot of connections that I didn’t Please do more long form book explanations like this!

Mike Mic! lmaooo YESSS I love his videos. I love this new genre of videos on KZfaq that describe fandoms visually

This genuinely made my day. Thank you so much for all you did to bring this to life. Your side comments gave me life! Excellent observations of one of my favorite novels

PLEASE PLEASE MAKE MORE OF THESE !!!❤ I LOVES THIS

i read the finnish translation of this book and the scene when Bunny and Richard are eating at the restaurant and Bunny is being a bigot, in the finnish version the homophobic slurs are replaced with a derogatory term for a person who is a drug addict. It really felt off and I had to google the word just to make sure it didn't mean anything homophobic, but now that I know it was meant to be homophobic it makes so much more sense.

9:44 'remember i told you that' LMAO

This was TRULY a rollercoaster! Gonna binge your other videos!

one if my favorite books!! your retelling was great i love how you frane the different bits

this is my favourite book of all time and no way you referenced criminal minds (my favourite tv show) and mikes mic as well I LOVE THIS 😭❤ I am in awe you literally left NOTHING out

i literally did not sleep to finish this video, i loved it!! the secret history is one of my favorite books but i wanted to freshen up my memory so really, thank you for this

FINALLY finished watching this after multiple sessions because I did not want to miss anything when I fell asleep. This is awesome, your way of presenting it was super engrossing, the book choice is fantastic, and I can’t wait to make my way slowly through the rest of your videos!!!!! What’s more is that I’m considering reading it, which is not typically how I feel coming off these sorts of videos- all over amazing job!!!!!

This video inspired me to read more of Donna Tart's work, I'd love to hear you talk about the Goldfinch

You’re amazing- keep up the great work inspiring the next generation of readers, sis!

this is so accurate I literally watched it as I was reading the book it was so amazing and now I'm back here cause I constantly think about the book

I didn't think I needed a 3,5h long video explaining this book after reading it like 4 times, but i did and i absolutely love it!

I keep coming back to this video. Never read this book but your breakdown is so entertaining.

i can’t believe this vid didn’t find me sooner!! you are so cute and this video was so well thought out! i could tell you spent a long time on it!!❤

Your video really helped me finally understand this book (and I’ve read it!) - Thank you Moe❤

Love you for making this 3hr long explanation on This book. 😘

I am so interested in this story but did not want to read the book. You explained TSH so well and now I actually want to read it. Thank you so much for this video!!! Side note you are so pretty and I love your makeup so much 😭💗

The best three hours of my life, please I need another book video

Literally love everything about this vid😊❤️❤️

Thank you for this! Must've taken so much work ❤

i’ve read the book twice but i can’t resist your storytelling.

i LOVE your hair it’s so pretty

I read the book already, but this was so much fun to relive! I had this on while I cleaned my whole apartment (I've been putting it off for weeks). This was amazing and so nostalgic for me :) Thank you!

OMG this was so helpful. I just finished reading the book and don't get me wrong it was incredible but there's so much that happened and I was so confused from the end so this video was so HELPFUL!!!!

GIRLLLL this is just what I’m looking for to debrief after reading!!! UHG ur so bestie for this 😭😭😭😭🩷

What if Julian (because he had the closest relationship with Henry) gave Henry the idea of doing bacchanals and then when the farmer died and Bunny turned out to be a problem. He gave Henry the idea to off bunny.

We sang “evacuate the dance floor” at the same time 😭 I love this so much

Of course there wasn't really no valid reason for murdering bunny or for richard helping them out to do so, but saying thay bunny had been "nothing but nice to him" is a reach. I feel like he was nice to him at first (charming like he is with everyone) but his toxic side slowly came out and he made a lot of mean remarks about richards past, lack of money, and was so jealous of him being in that group, closer to henry, towards the end. Henry and others in the group even told richard (or implied) that bun didn't like him much at all, unless of course this was unreliable too which it might be. I feel like the image we have of bunny's personality and mind is quite hazy ON PURPOSE.

THIS IS LITERALLY the best!!! Thank you!

this is a brilliantly produced video and I’m so engaged

i’ve already read it but i’m here anyway because i love this

thanks for tagging me! sorry im late to this :)

i've always wanted to read secret history but can't bring myself to open such a thick book, thank you for your service

Your thoughts on the plot line up almost 1 to 1 with me. Outstanding lmao

Hi, it's me again! 😅 Listening to you talking about clues that Henry and Camilla brought me back to high school when I didn't get that my two friends are together and my mom did! 😂

i subbed simply because your commitment to this is unparalelled

Thank you for this!! I was struggling to get through the audiobook. I loved the beginning but part way through felt so slow so this helped me see what happens but also your thoughts bring all the themes together ❤

I NEEEEEEED you to do this for a little life though I’ve already read it. This was the perfect refresh

Just finished this book and this video is what i needed to cure my hangover. My gosh that book was mind blowing

This video is helping with my emptiness after finishing the book 🫶🏼

Just now accured to me- Camilla and Charles… listen again CAMILLA AND CHARLES. Just like prince Charles and Camilla Parker. But also… why???

i love this channel already

I enjoyed this so much!!!

THE DEDICATION!!!! I ate this up.

thank you this is amazing also ur so pretty

Didn’t even watch but subscribed bc gurl just love the title you deserve it

I just finished reading the book. Am I really going to commit an extra 3 hours of my life to listening to someone unpack everything that happened in it? Maybe. But I think I need to stare at a wall for a couple days and ponder my existence first. I'm not too sure what I think of this book yet. So I'll put this on my watch later list for now and I'm excited to come back to it!

just finished this book for class! excited to watch ❤❤❤

thank you so much for this video, i read 86% and just can’t do it anymore so i’m definitely dnf‘ing… just wanted to see what the rest of the book is about so i don’t have to force myself to read the last 150 pages