It Girl - Donna Tartt

It was impossible to see the noses of It Girls last week, because they were all buried in the pages of a book with a goldfinch on the front. We now know that The Goldfinch is Donna Tartt's new novel, her first release in over a decade and a welcome return of this reclusive author to the public eye.

The Secret History was Tartt's 1992 debut novel. The Mississippi native wrote and set much of the murder tale at Vermont's Bennington College, while she dated Bret Easton Ellis when he was writing Less Than Zero. Ms. Tartt's talent, beauty and fashion sense all received attention in the press, but the green eyed brunette met celebrity with seclusion while Mr. Ellis started a rumor that she was living on a plantation in Virginia with goats, sheep, and a very young boyfriend.

Truthfully, Miss Tartt split her professional life between Virginia and Manhattan, where her devout writing habits lead to a natural low profile. She released The Little Friend after a decade's work, then spent the past 11 years creating The Goldfinch. In a new BBC interview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiL1dIXAQKo) Ms. Tartt reveals she has done recent writing on the Madison Avenue bus and in the Allen Room of the New York Public Library (http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/allen-room). If you missed her at either of these locations, Ms. Tartt will be making a free appearance in Brooklyn tomorrow night (http://donnatartt.splashthat.com/#). , where we expect that Ms. Tartt's choice for neckwear will dictate scarf style in the coming winter months.