History Literature / TheSecretHistory

* AbusiveParents: All over the place. Richard's father used to beat both him and his mother. Francis's mother is a neglectful alcoholic who dates men almost his own age and propositions his friends for threesomes. Bunny's parents abandon him at schools they can barely afford the fees for and don't give him a penny to live on while he's there. Tartt also hints at this with Henry, who is mostly estranged from his father for no reason that we ever learn. Henry suffered a serious injury that gave him permanent facial scarring as a child, and Bunny gets very uncomfortable talking about it.

''The Secret History'' was Creator/DonnaTartt's immensely successful first novel, released in 1992.

--->'''''The Secret History'':''' ''On the way to Francis's, a pregnant dog ran across the road in front of us. "That," said Henry, "is a very bad omen."''\\
'''''Odes'' by {{Creator/Horace}}''': ''Let the wicked be led by omens of screeching from owls, by pregnant dogs, or a grey-she wolf, hurrying down from Lanuvian meadows, or a fox with young."''

** Julian Morrow is said to have been acquainted with literary figures including Creator/TSEliot and Creator/GeorgeOrwell

** A few details leak through at other moments, though. When Bunny is bullying Camilla and their conviction to do this building, Richard thinks about how dramatically, how SlowMotionFall, Bunny's fall looked. At Bunny's funeral, Richard thinks about how Henry went down to check Bunny's neck really was broken.

-->'''Julian:''' I think we're much more hypocritical about illness, and poverty, than were people in former ages. In America, the rich man tries to pretend that the poor man is his equal in every respect but money, which is simply not true.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The Classics clique cultivate around them an aura of TheForties or TheFifties. It generally seems like the novel is set in TheEighties because Donna Tartt attended Bennington College between 1982 and 1986 and that's very overtly the inspiration behind the story -- particularly the setting. That said, there's also a couple throwaway references suggesting it's set the late 80s or early TheNineties. The book was published in 1992.
** Dr Roland drives a "98 Regency Brougham, ten years old." This is a NonIndicativeName, and the 98 Regency Brougham was introduced for 1982. 10 years old would bring us to 1992.
** The Dean of Studies refers to [[Literature/TheSatanicVerses the Rushdie Affair]] (1988), saying "I can't for the life of me imagine what the Isramis would want with Julian. Hampden's own Creator/SalmanRushdie."
** There's a TV show, ''Tonight in Vermont'', which is described as "in imitation of Oprah and Phil." ''Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow'' began in 1986.
** An offhanded mention of UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein.

* TheEighties: It generally seems like the novel (except the epilogue) is set in the 80s. Richard is 19 when he starts Hampton and turns 20 in February. He's 28 in the pro/epilogue (time of year unknown), creating a 9 or 8 year gap. The book was published in 1992 so--if you equate that to the story and subtract the gap--then it's set in 1983 or 1984. More importantly, Donna Tartt attended Bennington College between 1982 and 1986, and that's very overtly the inspiration behind the story. A couple references that might date it are:
** On April 24 (the day of Bunny's murder) Judy refers to "an eating disorder, not anorexia, but that [[{{Music/Carpenters}} Karen Carpenter]] thing where you make yourself puke." Karan Carpenter died in February 1983 (although of anorexia, not bulimia). So it's set in the school year of 1982-1983 at the very earliest.
** A throwaway reference to UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein suggests it may be set in the early part of TheNineties.

* HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier: In the aftermath of Bunny's death, Richard takes to hanging out with Judy, and her friends Tracy and Beth. Francis comes by during that time and tries to gossip about the investigaron and the Corcoran family in front of them in Ancient Greek. Since it's a dead language, Ancient Greek class is mostly concerned with formal literature. (In contrast, a Spanish class is much more interested in teaching you how to converse casually about day-to-day things.) Constrained by the Ancient Green vocabulary they know, their everyday conversation has an odd, poetic slant.
-->'''Francis:''' ''[in Ancient Greek]'' There has been much rumor. The mother grieves. Not for her son, for she is a wicked woman. Rather she grieves for the shame which has fallen on her house. […] There is talk among the citizens. It is shameful for a young man to die while drunk.

* IfOnlyYouKnew: Julian has a poor opinion of young people taking drugs. It's a good thing he's so good at selective perception, or he'd like his students rather less well.
-->'''Julian:''' [The detectives] said that Edmund was on drugs. Do you think that odd? I think it very odd. I said certainly not. I may be flattering myself, but I do think I know Edmund rather well. He's really quite timid, puritanical, almost... I can't imagine him doing anything of the sort and besides, young people who take drugs are always so bovine and prosaic. But do you know what this man said to me? He said that with young people, ''you can never tell''. I don't think that's right, do you?