How many pages is The Secret History?

578 pages, which is about 173,000 words and 11½ hrs of reading. Editions vary, so we use the figure two of our sources agree on.

Is The Secret History worth reading?

We score it 6.8 out of 10 for the time it takes — worth the time. Readers on Hardcover rate it 4.08 out of 5 from 1,685 ratings, which counts for 7.2; at about 11½ hrs at an average pace it gives back 0.4 for its length.

How long is The Secret History audiobook?

About 19½ hrs, estimated from the 173,000 words at a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute. Real editions vary by narrator, usually by well under an hour.

Find a copy Listen on Audible · ≈19½ hrs

The Secret History

Name: The Secret History
Author: Donna Tartt

Donna Tartt

11½ hrsto read

6.8worth it

At your speed≈ 11½ hrs

Pages578

Audiobook≈ 19½ hrs

Times shown for 250 words a minute (average)

578 pages works out to roughly 173,000 words. At an average 250 words a minute that is 11½ hrs — a week or more of evenings.

Readers on Hardcover rate it 4.08 out of 5, from 1,685 ratings.

Worth-it score 6.8/10 — Worth the time. Readers 7.2 (Hardcover's 4.08★ from 1,685 ratings) − length 0.4 = 6.8. How the score works →

How long does it take to read The Secret History?

The Secret History is 578 pages, or roughly 173,000 words. How long that takes depends on how fast you read:

Estimated reading time for The Secret History at three reading speeds.
Your pace	Words per minute	Time to finish
Slow	175	16½ hrs
Average	250	11½ hrs
Fast	400	7 hrs

Estimated at about 300 words per page. Most adults read between 200 and 300 words a minute — set your own pace and every time on the site adjusts. Prefer to listen? At a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute the audiobook runs about 19½ hrs — an estimate from the word count, since narrators vary.

Common questions

How long does it take to read The Secret History?: About 11½ hrs at an average reading speed of 250 words per minute. The Secret History runs 578 pages, roughly 173,000 words — so at a slower 175 wpm it is nearer 16½ hrs, and at 400 wpm closer to 7 hrs.
How many pages is The Secret History?: 578 pages, which is about 173,000 words and 11½ hrs of reading. Editions vary, so we use the figure two of our sources agree on.
Is The Secret History worth reading?: We score it 6.8 out of 10 for the time it takes — worth the time. Readers on Hardcover rate it 4.08 out of 5 from 1,685 ratings, which counts for 7.2; at about 11½ hrs at an average pace it gives back 0.4 for its length.
How long is The Secret History audiobook?: About 19½ hrs, estimated from the 173,000 words at a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute. Real editions vary by narrator, usually by well under an hour.

From the publisher

Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path, beyond human constructs of morality.

FictionCollege studentsTeacher-student relationshipsClassicistsMurderMurderersDetective and mystery storiesFiction, psychological