Donna Tartt to publish third novel two decades after The Secret History

The Goldfinch: A Novel is the story of a young orphan in New York

Author Donna Tartt (Getty Images)

The celebrated author behind The Secret History is to publish a new novel this year, just her third in as many decades.

Donna Tartt is to release The Goldfinch: A Novel on October 22, described as a “haunted odyssey through present-day America”.

Publisher Little,Brown revealed that The Goldfinch follows the story of a young orphan in New York who is drawn into the art underworld, adding “it is a story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the enormous power of art”.

The Mississippi-born writer became a literary sensation upon the publication of The Secret History, a murder mystery set on a college campus, in 1992. The book became a bestseller, selling more than 5 million copies, and was translated into 24 languages.

Yet, she retreated from the limelight and it was another 10 years before she released her second book The Little Friend, which met with more muted response.