The REAL Locations from Donna Tartt’s The Secret History

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The REAL Locations from Donna Tartt’s The Secret History

Рет қаралды 21,225

Жыл бұрын

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@meggie3141 Жыл бұрын

The podcast Once Upon a Time at Bennington College dives SUPER deep into Donna’s time at college and traces all of the places/people/experiences that ended up in the book! It also charts Bret Easton Ellis’ time there, too, since they were classmates. It’s gets very juicy, very chaotic, and really it’s just very cool to have like this weird behind the scenes knowledge of TSH & Less Than Zero - I recommend it! 💓

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Oh baby, that pod is gonna accompany me when I return home next. I want that juicy gossip!!

@bebopdestroyer4641 Жыл бұрын

before she got SUING

@bebopdestroyer4641 Жыл бұрын

CEASE AND DESIST

@tickledtodeath0 Жыл бұрын

Yep. I was just going to say the same thing. My roommate Madi is interviewed a bit and my name in mentioned because I did the illustration on Madi’s publication of Tartt’s Elvis in Hell story. Madi and I had/have? a band thing youtube.com/@JollyRamey

@lilblondiee 6 ай бұрын

wait do you mean the one on spotify with the pink profile picture?

@allywolken 10 ай бұрын

crazy how she rarely changed the names of the places and it makes it all the more real

@AnaWallaceJohnson 10 ай бұрын

right? When you're around the area, it feels like you are in the novel

@lauraanne7108 Жыл бұрын

I visited Bennington College a few months ago as a prospective student, with my mom who went during the same time as Donna Tartt, and after visiting I knew I had to take my moms (and the entire internet book community) suggestion and read the book. I loved it and was picturing Bennington the whole time. Such a great video!!!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

!!! wowowow. I can't tell you how amazing this comment is. Did your mother chat with Donna at all when they were students? And how amazing is Bennington's campus??! I feel like I'm not grounded in reality when I walk around there.

@Montrealphotochick Жыл бұрын

Im the mom!! Your video is a great visit through town and the locations in the book. Did you know the Blue Benn is now owned by a Bennington grad who is running it in the style it always was! I did not know Donna at the time. I was a couple years younger than her class but I did talk to Bret a few times. (Bret Ellis). I consider myself so very lucky to have gone to Bennington in the mid 80s. Bennington Alum are a super tight community which has been a wonderful part of my life. I majored in literature and early childhood studies. I had to laugh at Redeemed Repair making the video! Now I must reread Secret History. I don’t think I’ve read it since it came out. Best regards !!

@Montrealphotochick Жыл бұрын

And yes. Campus is dreamy!!!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

@@Montrealphotochick I love this comment thread so much. Family affair!! How cool to talk to Bret!! I am completely fascinated by Bennington College, so it's so neat to hear your history with it. I didn't know that about Blue Benn, but I love it!! Thank you so much for dropping this comment

@SavidgeReads Жыл бұрын

F**king hell Anna. You’re just too good. Too good. Loved this. I’ve not read TSH for YEARS but it’s a book I don’t think I’ll ever forget and this brought all the feels back. J’adore. Loved the abandoned stadium. Wow. Thank you, from basic Simon.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

If you're Basic Simon, I'm the most basic. Love to you and your wonderful comment. It was a nice holiday pastime to drive around and film. The stadium is now an unlocked level for nightmares, though😳

@juliak1615 7 ай бұрын

I second this! What a gem on KZfaq. Brb re-reading The Secret History, on this perfectly bleak day.

@JT33303 23 сағат бұрын

Hi Anna, I’ve just finished the book this afternoon and it’s one of the best I have ever read. I’m stunned after seeing these places because in my imagination they’re just how I pictured them! Thank you and love from the UK

@taylorfusion Жыл бұрын

Wow! That was a great video. You brought me down memory lane. I was at Bennington for all of 1984 and I have to tell you, I recall many many names there, and certainly many faculty members, but I never once saw Donna. There were lots of so-wanna-be cool kids from wealthy families And I’ve got lots of photos. Parties at Booth house, pornos playing on the ceilings, LSD trips, classes with Bill Dixon at Jennings, my own studio in the carriage barn at the top of the stairs, hanging out with Stephen Sandy, doing garden work for Ken Kensington Jeffrey Levine pulling me out of a jam,music jam sessions, tennis on clay, courts. That shot you took where you were standing in front of Jennings, looking towards the Commons (dogs running rampant, btw!) was my first trek on a cold March day, one of the first students to arrive, after the end of the past classes, NRT. Had no idea what I was getting into coming from the Midwest in the middle of a term. Then during the summer, when all the kids went back to New York, or wherever they lived, I stayed and worked on the maintenance team cutting lawns, filling potholes with hot asphalt, oh man, I lived in that house you showed in North Bennington. It was above a general store I believe. Maybe it still is! 24 years old in 1984 and I had no idea there were three soon to be published authors in my midst, (my roommate was a writer as well) in an off-campus house “hill house“ had my first and only visit by a cold presence that can only be described as supernatural. And that house, incidentally inspired the book, the haunting of Hill House, by Stephen King, as I recall. I think Shirley Jackson also lived in North Bennington, where she wrote “the lottery“ I haven’t been back since 1984, but your video makes me want to take the trip again. Of course, all the elders have passed on, but the secrets are still there! I probably should read Donna’s book. I just discovered the podcast “once upon a time… At Bennington College“ and Ima trippin’ again. Saw a lot of what is talked about, and certainly, the rumors that we all heard between professors and students seem to be true. I had a lot of fun, but I had my head down in the saxophone for sure. Thanks again for an awesome road trip back in time.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

!!!! Wowowowowow. I have to say this is one of my favorite comments of all time. The atmosphere of Bennington is still pretty much how you described. There’s still stories of how the kids at Bennington party. The campus keeps getting better, so if you have a chance to visit, it’s absolutely worth it!!

@thevegfriend100 4 ай бұрын

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="310">5:10</a> No way the owner/manager’s last name is Corcoran!!! I guess Bennington had a LOT of influence!

@AnaWallaceJohnson 4 ай бұрын

Ohhhh yes. She was USING her surroundings

@r.enee.morris Жыл бұрын

She goes above and beyond every time!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

She's gonna milk being from the area The Secret History is from every time 🤪

@sophiethepegasus Жыл бұрын

Ana, wow, this blew it out of the park. This is GROUNDBREAKING and i love the energy you put into i.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

thank you, thank you!! It was so much fun to see where the author takes inspiration.

@karakask5488 Жыл бұрын

That was awesome! Thank you for doing this. Donna Tartt is one of my all time favorites, I got to meet her once, I made a fool of myself but she still signed my books, it was definitely a highlight of my life. This was such a cool idea for a video!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

I have to know... is she short or tall?

@karakask5488 Жыл бұрын

@@AnaWallaceJohnson She was slightly taller than me, so I'd say about 5'6" ish

Жыл бұрын

omgggg i love finding out tidbits about the novel's inspiration 🤩 kind of a long read but esquire's "the secret oral history of bennington" goes REALLY in depth about tartt's time at bennington and it's fascinating (and sometimes hilarious)

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Ooooh, I'd actually love to read that. I am absorbed by the atmosphere of this novel. So much mystique around it!!

@shawnmccomb Жыл бұрын

I don’t think you understand…………………………………………………………………… I’m obsessed.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

very 👉👈, but

@cathyg.9996 Жыл бұрын

I absolutely loved this video Ana! It was like being in the novel. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt and this was perfect ❤️ If she’s still writing one book every 10 years, then the next one will hopefully be out sometime in 2023. Did you read her other 2 novels?

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Cathy! I haven't read the other two. I think I may be more inclined to pick up The Little Friend. Although, if a new book is due soon, maybe that one first :))

@LezjianJen 7 ай бұрын

This is freaking fantastic and made me giggle a few times! You rock!! Wow

@thebaileygrind Жыл бұрын

Once again, a true masterpiece!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

You're amazing. Thank you.

@thevibrantvixen Жыл бұрын

😮 Ana! … you have outdone yourself! Blown away. Thank you. Perfection.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I had a lot of fun with this one. Great holiday activity :)))

@SeanPFarley 11 ай бұрын

This video is everything. Why it took me this long to stumble upon it with all my random rabbit-hole meanderings regarding Donna and this amazing novel, I couldn't tell you. But to see even just a few places from what is my favorite novel...well, I smiled the whole way through. Even with the abandoned race track. Donna's reference is the gun-shy greyhound Francis has, right? Anyway, thank you. I am in grad school at the stunning age of 48 and my creative thesis is a memoir anchored by The Secret History. Like Richard, I, too, moved from the bleak paths of California to the gloriousness of New England (not Vermont, sadly, but Boston). While there, at 21, suffering my own weird despair, I stumbled upon The Secret History in the library - and I have adored it ever since. Seeing pieces of it "live" in this video is such a treat!

@AnaWallaceJohnson 11 ай бұрын

WOW! Oh my gosh, I love this story and I am so happy you found this video. Since making this video, I feel like my relationship to the novel has become even stronger. Congrats on grad school--it's a huge step and I'm sure you'll do amazing things : )

@babysp1c3666 Жыл бұрын

I’ve had this book on my shelf for sooo long but I’m dying to get home and read it all ASAP after watching this

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

omg, snuggle up and flip those pages, baby!! it's your sign

@Azidust 2 ай бұрын

I thought I was the only one obsessed with the location 😂😂

@sixtodelgadosandoval5747 Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this. This is absolutely brilliant. I hope to one day visit, I've never been to the Northeast yet it's one of my biggest dreams in life.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Oh, you MUST come! Late September to October is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

@amesforbooks1343 Жыл бұрын

The lengths you will go to for your subscribers Ana...WOOF! I read TSH for the first time with Jaylen's bookclub and although I enjoyed it I was missing the deeper understanding and feel of the place that you have. Thank you so much for sharing (and for the maniacle cackles) 📚🎭

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Thank you for reading to join the bookclub. I hope you didn't mind me saying, "like" all the time in the live stream 🥲

@mashaaa468 8 ай бұрын

Could anyone let me know the page number for the Hoosatonic Inn please? Great video by the way, now I can picture theses places in my head when I read the book!

@itssaiyana 6 ай бұрын

While watching this video, I thought about how pretty you are and how the warm, light energy of yours is. This video is perfect. Thank you! (I subscribe immediately)

@AnaWallaceJohnson 4 ай бұрын

😊😊😊 thank you, my dove!!

@Nastya_Suvorova Жыл бұрын

god I need to reread this masterpiece now that I know what it really looks like😍 thank you thank you thank you!!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

😊😊😊 thank YOU! 'tis the season to crack it back open

@tiachu Жыл бұрын

One of my favorite books, thank you SOOO MUCCH FOR MAKING THIS VID WOW IM IN AWE

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

I'm glad the novel was brought to life for you!! I agree, the novel is the best of the best

@NapoleanBuonaparte 8 ай бұрын

The first 30 seconds felt like Donna Tartt herself was speaking. I don't know if you did that deliberately or it was just by chance.

@AnaWallaceJohnson 8 ай бұрын

By chance, but I’ll take that as a huge compliment-thank you :)

@nailea9950 Жыл бұрын

Omg!!! I just started TSH I’m 200 pages in this is so perfect!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Let the locations guide you through, baby!!

@georgianatrutescu Жыл бұрын

Lovely!! So nice to see all these places, thank you for sharing with us! Fab idea!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

It was so much fun! (I wore the same outfit for 4 days straight shhhhh)

@georgianatrutescu Жыл бұрын

@@AnaWallaceJohnson Oh, my!! That's so funny, I couldn't tell there were multiple days shooting the video!! 😂

@cosmoshivani 3 ай бұрын

so beautiful.. this had me crying 😭😭

@jobuckley2999 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant! Fun! Exciting! Loved it! Thanks Oleg. Oh. Ana you were pretty great too!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

HAHA round of applause for Oleg, the man behind everything

@HA-bh1wh Жыл бұрын

Excellent

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

😍🥰

@boldbearings Жыл бұрын

Great write up and presentation. You legit look like young Donna Tartt. If they do the bio, jump on that part. 🌟

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

omg, I've never gotten that! I'll take it!!

@tnan123 Жыл бұрын

Beautiful tour. Thanks for sharing these places.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

thank you for watching!

@ghitaelidrissi1 7 ай бұрын

amazing fkn video!!! and such a vibrant personnality, ty for this

@AnaWallaceJohnson 6 ай бұрын

Love ya for that! Thank you!

@staciave Жыл бұрын

spectacular!! makes me wanna do my own lil walking tour

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

If you can find a place, I highly suggest. Shirley Jackson also based many of her novels around the campus/ Bennington, so it's got a lot of ~flair~*

@kimberlyrichardson2848 Жыл бұрын

You’re freaking brilliant.😎

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

🤓 thank you so much

@bloodandaces9693 6 ай бұрын

I knew it took place in a liberal arts college in Vermont but I somehow imagined the setting as a bit more gothic or romanesque? I guess I was imagining my own uni haha. A really great and descriptive video!! Love the pretty views!!

@AnaWallaceJohnson 4 ай бұрын

I totally get what you mean. I think the last castle looking building is the main idea people have in their head. But it’s still so wild to me that these places fully exist!

@btamez7669 Жыл бұрын

i read the book for the live chat but this is beyond.... perfection!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Hope you enjoyed the chat! I was a bit nervous and over caffeinated, but it was so fun! 😋

@btamez7669 Жыл бұрын

@@AnaWallaceJohnson I did!! thank you!!! i loved to listen you all of your opinions especially yours since your content speaks to me so much 💛🧡❤️

@talianiwa 2 ай бұрын

what a video!! sooo cool

@lisaplummer8144 Жыл бұрын

You spoil us rotten. ❤

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

only for you

@lisaplummer8144 Жыл бұрын

@@AnaWallaceJohnson 😘

@libraryofjonathan Жыл бұрын

Great video! I might have to look into reading The Secret History.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

It's a fun one. Big 'ol book you can read in a week or so, if you're 100% in tune. Fun ride you won't regret even if you love or hate it

@marytumulty4257 Жыл бұрын

Now I have to read the book sooner than later. This was a great video. (The other day I saw that Jenna Bush Hager just announced The Secret History is the next pick for her book club. Coincidence? 🤔 📚😎)

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Woah! Had no idea! She copied us ;) Great winter read!!

@rebekahmenn2118 Жыл бұрын

What a great video! I did not like the book at all, but I love this creative video.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Totally get it! I'm happy to provide at least some entertainment during the reading process

@SthethSavvy 6 ай бұрын

Wow, thank you so much ❤

@jolafaith Жыл бұрын

Oh my god! This was wonderful!!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

thank you so, so much! I had a lot of fun making it!

@veroni1321 Жыл бұрын

Ana you impress me every time you are wonderful and fabulous as well

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

ilysm you're making the tears flow

@faezafaeza7798 Жыл бұрын

Been waiting 💝

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

she's here for you, bby

@SchDari 10 ай бұрын

Thank you, so much!❤

@AnaWallaceJohnson 10 ай бұрын

@seashanties8927 Жыл бұрын

Adored this ❤

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

thank you! adore your prof pic!

@katheriner37 Жыл бұрын

Bravoooooo! Now I need to finish the book lol

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

hahaha! Just wait for a cold night and hunker down

@jaynm Жыл бұрын

wow the racetrack is beautiful.

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

I KNOW! I want to film more there

@cindyo6298 Жыл бұрын

Oh I loved this!!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

@czowiekpismo9541 7 ай бұрын

As an European no thanks, I prefer all the places I've imagined 😅

@AnaWallaceJohnson 7 ай бұрын

Haha! I feel you! Let that imagination run free

@CJReads Жыл бұрын

This vid goes so hard

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

the ppl from the racetrack almost got me and this would've never happened

@graceknuckey9909 Жыл бұрын

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="312">5:12</a> Redeemed Repair being owned by Steven Corcoran UMMM

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

It's so wild to me that it's a fully functioning, actual place!!

@gmv17 Жыл бұрын

this is so good

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

thank you so much :-)))

@miss_piggyy Жыл бұрын

great video❤

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

😍😍😍🤩 ily

@megkennedy2626 Жыл бұрын

so cool

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

It was so fun!

@francisconogueira6850 Жыл бұрын

This content is for free but should be paid .

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

I'll start charing for walking tours : )

@Joy-tq2de Жыл бұрын

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="175">2:55</a> it’s Charles!

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

he's always with us!

@lauradone9232 Жыл бұрын

I read the secret history this year, honestly...wasn't the biggest fan. It was fairly misleading and had the most insufferable characters. This video definitely lines up with what I had in my head when I was reading though 👍🏼

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

Totally understand your points! At least, you know your inner narrative during the reading was 100% spot on

@thomasseabolt9385 11 ай бұрын

You comment 'how these characters deviated from my own world'... Well not from mine. TSH literally hit home.

@AnaWallaceJohnson 11 ай бұрын

Really? You know Tartt at all??

@ahleahhook9791 11 ай бұрын

its like Forks Washington for the DA minded

@AnaWallaceJohnson 11 ай бұрын

haha there ya go!!!

@loukiadams5340 Жыл бұрын

I love this, AWJ! But unfortunately, I did not love The Secret History at all. Tartt writes the characters very well and they're supposed to be clever, and yet the dialogues that they say are dumb and vacuous. And Julian was described as charismatic, and yet where's the charisma? I've also read The Goldfinch, and just like TSH, it gave me NOTHING...

@AnaWallaceJohnson Жыл бұрын

I love this comment! I wanna hear other takes on the novel and what was a high or low point for the reader. Julian is one of the most abhorrent characters in literature for me, so I definitely agree. I think the depth of the main characters felt purposely shallow, as they're children (though old enough to be adults) cosplaying as heroic intellectuals that they have no right being! If that all makes sense!