OMG. I loved it. I've been looking for a good Camilla analysis and this one is just perfect! I would love it if you did it about Henry Winter too. Congratulations on the great work!
I loved it!! I read your essay with my book open next to me. By the way, while I was skimming the pages, I found another passage showing Charles’ possessiveness and jealousy; but also Camilla and Henry’s relationship. Page 480, Richard asks about how Henry’s doing and Camilla answers him. He then wondered how she knows and:
“She paused, the fork mid-air; her glance was like a light turned suddenly into my face. ‘Because I just saw him.’”. And a few sentences after: “Beside her, chin in hand, Charles glowered down at his untouched plate.”
Now I’m going to search your profile for other analyses 👀
I found this while researching the secret history for my class and i am so pleasantly surprised by this essay. i read every word, and i definitely was not expecting to. i love the character break downs and the analyses. i now want to reread the book and annotate it as im sure you have already done. great job!! <3
I’ve just finished rereading the novel for the second time, and I immediately ran to Substack for analyses of Camilla’s character. Thank god I found your essay. Richard’s unreliable narration is terribly compelling—a testament to Tartt’s writing, I think—but his underestimation of Camilla is unforgivable. In my view, this subtle sort of misogyny is the very worst of Richard’s sins and my primary reason for disliking him (and the reasons are abundant). The textual evidence you selected here clearly supports Camilla’s role as Queen, covertly pulling the strings of the entire operation. Richard is our historian (and a poor one at that… he’s a dramatist, really), but Camilla is the secret. In any case, I’d pay obscene sums of money for Tartt to write this novel from Camilla’s perspective, or for some screen adaptation that centers Camilla’s role—though I’ll never forgive the universe if the filmmakers mess it up.
OMG. I loved it. I've been looking for a good Camilla analysis and this one is just perfect! I would love it if you did it about Henry Winter too. Congratulations on the great work!
Thank you so much!!🤎
I loved it!! I read your essay with my book open next to me. By the way, while I was skimming the pages, I found another passage showing Charles’ possessiveness and jealousy; but also Camilla and Henry’s relationship. Page 480, Richard asks about how Henry’s doing and Camilla answers him. He then wondered how she knows and:
“She paused, the fork mid-air; her glance was like a light turned suddenly into my face. ‘Because I just saw him.’”. And a few sentences after: “Beside her, chin in hand, Charles glowered down at his untouched plate.”
Now I’m going to search your profile for other analyses 👀
please DO go on and on about this book!! I love reading your thoughts and analysis <3
I found this while researching the secret history for my class and i am so pleasantly surprised by this essay. i read every word, and i definitely was not expecting to. i love the character break downs and the analyses. i now want to reread the book and annotate it as im sure you have already done. great job!! <3
Thank you so so much! 🫶🏽
I loved reading this! So many moments from when we have talked about this book, and new things I didn’t even think about!
I’ve just finished rereading the novel for the second time, and I immediately ran to Substack for analyses of Camilla’s character. Thank god I found your essay. Richard’s unreliable narration is terribly compelling—a testament to Tartt’s writing, I think—but his underestimation of Camilla is unforgivable. In my view, this subtle sort of misogyny is the very worst of Richard’s sins and my primary reason for disliking him (and the reasons are abundant). The textual evidence you selected here clearly supports Camilla’s role as Queen, covertly pulling the strings of the entire operation. Richard is our historian (and a poor one at that… he’s a dramatist, really), but Camilla is the secret. In any case, I’d pay obscene sums of money for Tartt to write this novel from Camilla’s perspective, or for some screen adaptation that centers Camilla’s role—though I’ll never forgive the universe if the filmmakers mess it up.