Episode description
With James Naughtie.
Donna Tartt discusses her cult debut novel The Secret History, first published in 1992.
"I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell."
In a rare visit to the UK, Donna Tartt discusses The Secret History, which she has described as a 'why dunnit'. It's a murder mystery about a group of classic students at a privileged New England college; but from page one she discloses that the friends have murdered one of their number, Bunny. A literary thriller with allusions to Euripides and Dostoevsky, The Secret History was an overnight sensation and has gripped readers for decades.
As always in Bookclub, a group of invited readers join in the discussion too.
February's Bookclub choice : The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
Producer : Dymphna Flynn.