Book · Thrillers and mysteries
The Secret History
by Donna Tartt
Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The Secret History, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.
- Pages
- 559
- Reading time
- ≈ 10 h 10 min
- Checkpoints
- 21
- Genre
- Thriller
Free on iPhone and Android.
How long does it take to read The Secret History?
At 559 pages, The Secret History is a long book. Expect about 10 hours 10 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.
At 30 minutes a day, that is about 21 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 8 reading days. For a book of this length (400 to 599 pages), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 5.3 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).
- 30 minutes a day21 days
- Vread median pace (72 pp./day)8 days
Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.
Prove you read it
The Vread challenge: 21 checkpoints
- Checkpoint 1, page 27
- Checkpoint 2, page 53
- Checkpoint 3, page 80
- Checkpoint 4, page 106
- Checkpoint 5, page 133
- Checkpoint 6, page 160
- Checkpoint 7, page 186
- Checkpoint 8, page 213
- Checkpoint 9, page 240
- Checkpoint 10, page 266
- Checkpoint 11, page 293
- Checkpoint 12, page 319
- Checkpoint 13, page 346
- Checkpoint 14, page 373
- Checkpoint 15, page 399
- Checkpoint 16, page 426
- Checkpoint 17, page 453
- Checkpoint 18, page 479
- Checkpoint 19, page 506
- Checkpoint 20, page 532
- Checkpoint 21, page 559
In Vread, The Secret History is split into 21 checkpoints, one every 27 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.
The challenge: validate all 21 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.
Also available in French on Vread.
Illustrative example
What a checkpoint looks like
A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.
The answer is in the text: reply in the app.
This is not a question from The Secret History: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.
Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.
Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions
How many pages is The Secret History?
How long does it take to read The Secret History?
Is there a quiz on The Secret History?
Where can I find a summary of The Secret History?
More by this author on Vread
Similar books: thrillers and mysteries
Read The Secret History with Vread
Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.
Take the challenge