What school is Hampden college based on?

Set in New England, the campus novel tells the story of a closely knit group of six classics students at Hampden College, a small, elite liberal arts college located in Vermont based upon Bennington College, where Tartt was a student between 1982 and 1986.

Is Hampden college from The Secret History real?

The book is set at a fictional college in rural Vermont called Hampden College. Readers have speculated that it is based on Bennington College, the small liberal arts school that Tartt attended. Like Hampden, Bennington is also set in rural Vermont and bears many similarities to the fictional college in the book.

Is The Secret History Based on a true story?

The Secret History is fiction, obviously.

Where did Donna Tartt go to college?

The Secret History (1992) was derived from her time at Bennington College. Amanda Urban was her agent and the novel became a critical and financial success. Vanity Fair called Tartt a precocious literary genius, as she was just 29 years old.

What was the bacchanal in The Secret History?

The students later enact their own version of a bacchanal in the woods – a night of extreme revelry, intoxication and, ultimately, murder. While Bacchae is Tartt's most obvious reference, there are many other, complex ones throughout the book, says Hodkinson, mostly imperceptible to anyone not well-versed in classics.

Impressions of the Queer Community at Hampden-Sydney College

Is there any LGBT in The Secret History?

All of the main characters besides Camilla are bisexual or gay ... remember the bacchanalia? Richard is attracted to Camilla's "boyishness" as well. It may be that the person he was actually in love with was Charles.

Did Julian know about the bacchanal?

Julian receives a letter purporting to be from Bunny, detailing the bacchanal murder and Bunny's fear that Henry is plotting to kill him. Though Julian initially dismisses it as a hoax, he realizes the truth when he notices the letterhead from Henry and Bunny's hotel in Rome.

Did Bret Easton Ellis date Donna Tartt?

“Less Than Zero” author Bret Easton Ellis reveals in Esquire magazine's new “Secret Oral History of Bennington” that he dated “The Goldfinch” novelist Donna Tartt at the Vermont college.

Why does Donna Tartt take so long?

Really, I think it comes down to the detail that Tartt puts into her writing. She's said in an interview that she takes so long to write because she's essentially painting a huge canvas with a brush the size of an eyelash.

Where in England is Jamie Tartt from?

They did a very wide search and originally thought that he might be Hispanic and I auditioned for it once in a Spanish accent and they were like… for many reasons, no. But I watch a lot of football and I know that a lot of footballers are from Manchester, which is where Jamie is from.

Why is Edmund called Bunny in The Secret History?

Among the collegiate heroes of The Secret History is a young man named Edmund Corcoran, whose nickname, Bunny, inevitably recalls that celebrated man of letters, Edmund "Bunny" Wilson; Wilson's Axel's Castle contains one of the definitive critical appraisals of Eliot.

Is The Secret History hard to read in English?

I wouldn't call The Secret History an easy book to read. There's untranslated Latin, Greek, and French all over the place, the length of it can certainly be intimidating, and the first half can easily deter a reader before they've seen the best the book has to offer.

Is The Secret History being made into a movie?

Despite being a bestseller, Donna Tartt's novel "The Secret History" has faced numerous failed attempts at adaptation to film due to various reasons. Hollywood legends Alan J. Pakula and Joan Didion were initially involved in the first attempt at adaptation but faced obstacles and eventually, the project was shelved.

Is Hampden college based on Bennington?

Hampden College is loosely based on Bennington College in Vermont, where Tartt and fellow Gen X novelists Jonathan Lethem and Brett Easton Ellis (to whom The Secret History is partially dedicated) were all members of the class of '86.

Was Richard Papen in love with Henry?

he hasn't known henry for a very long time when henry takes his own life but richard actually confesses that he loved henry. he could've say “i miss him too” or something but nope. richard doesn't seem to marry anyone after camilla declined his proposal.

Why was The Goldfinch flopped?

"The Goldfinch" is the biggest box-office flop of the year so far. So what went wrong? It doesn't spend enough time developing the characters, yet feels way too long. Because of the way the movie time jumps and withholds information, it robs key moments of emotional weight.

Is The Goldfinch difficult to read?

Reinhard Skandera Yes, is hard work to finish it, but worth. Personally, I hate drugs. But imagining to loose the mother with 13 years, let understanding increase.

What is Donna Tartt's accent?

She was raised in Mississippi and retains a strong southern accent and even stronger southern manners – friendly but formal.

Does Donna Tartt have children?

(For the record, she is unmarried, has no children, and divides her time between Manhattan and the Virginia countryside.) Ten years after “The Secret History,” Ms. Tartt and her publisher, Knopf, released “The Little Friend,” a story set in the South that received much less enthusiastic reviews but still sold briskly.

Did a woman write American Psycho?

American Psycho is a 2000 satirical psychological horror film directed by Mary Harron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner. Based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis, it stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a New York City investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer.

Did Donna Tartt study Greek?

“There was a lot of awful writing at Bennington, but Donna's stories were very sophisticated, very mysterious, very structurally sound. She was the only person I knew who'd studied Greek and Latin, who'd read all of Proust.” “When her stories came in, nobody could say anything,” Bret Ellis says.

What was Richard's final dream in The Secret History?

Recently, Richard had a dream that he was in a building with displays of exhibits of ancient civilizations. There, he saw Henry, who said he was not dead but was simply having trouble with his passport.

How did Richard know Henry killed someone?

Richard realizes that Henry and the others must have killed someone, which Henry confirms. Henry explains that he and the others decided to have a bacchanal after discussing Dionysiac madness in Julian's class.

Does Richard have feelings for Francis?

Though Richard seems to detest anything superficial, he has a weakness for the beautiful and romantic and often does not look past appearances to what is on the inside. Richard spends much of the novel in love with Camilla, though he also seems to have feelings for Francis.