Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Secret History | 1992 | Donna Tartt | Buy |
| 2 | The Little Friend | 2002 | Donna Tartt | Buy |
| 3 | The Goldfinch | 2013 | Donna Tartt | Buy |
Donna Tartt’s three standalone novels span more than two decades of literary fiction. The Secret History (1992) is a dark campus novel about elite college students and murder, narrated in reverse chronology. The Little Friend (2002) shifts to rural Mississippi and follows a child’s investigation into an old family tragedy. The Goldfinch (2013) is the longest and most expansive of the three, a coming-of-age story tied to an act of art theft and spanning two decades of one man’s life.
All three novels share an interest in obsession, guilt, and the moral consequences of choices made in extreme circumstances. Tartt writes slowly and deliberately, and each book has a distinct setting and cast. They do not share characters or storylines.
The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was adapted into a film in 2019. The Secret History has maintained a strong presence in book culture for more than 30 years and continues to attract new readers, particularly among those interested in dark academia as a genre.