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{{short description|2003 novel by Dan Brown}} | |||
{{About|the novel|other uses|The Da Vinci Code (disambiguation)}} | |||
{{About|the novel|the 2006 film|The Da Vinci Code (film)|other uses|The Da Vinci Code (disambiguation)}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2013}} | {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2013}} | ||
{{Infobox book | {{Infobox book | ||
| name = The Da Vinci Code | | name = The Da Vinci Code | ||
| image = |
| image = DaVinciCode.jpg | ||
| caption = The first U.S. edition | | caption = The first U.S. edition | ||
| author = ] | | author = ] | ||
| country = United States | | country = United States | ||
| genre = ], ], ], ] | | genre = ], ], ], ] | ||
| publisher = ] (US |
| publisher = ] (US) | ||
| series = ] #2 | | series = ] #2 | ||
| release_date = March 18, 2003<ref>{{cite web |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1924489,00.html |title=How Good Is Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol? |date=September 15, 2009 |publisher=Time}}</ref> | |||
| release_date = April 2003 | |||
| pages = |
| pages = 689 (U.S. hardback)<br />489 (U.S. paperback) | ||
| isbn = 0-385-50420-9 |
| isbn = 0-385-50420-9 | ||
| isbn_note = (US) | |||
| dewey = 813/.54 21 | | dewey = 813/.54 21 | ||
| congress = PS3552.R685434 D3 2003 | | congress = PS3552.R685434 D3 2003 | ||
| oclc = 50920659 | | oclc = 50920659 | ||
| preceded_by = ] | | preceded_by = ] | ||
| followed_by = ] | | followed_by = ] | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''The Da Vinci Code''''' is a 2003 ] |
'''''The Da Vinci Code''''' is a 2003 ] ] by ]. It is Brown's second novel to include the character ]: the first was his 2000 novel '']''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows ] Langdon and ] Sophie Neveu after a murder in the ] in Paris entangles them in a dispute between the ] and ] over the possibility of ] and ] having had a child together. | ||
The novel explores an alternative religious history, whose central plot point is that the ] ] were descended from ] and Mary Magdalene, ideas derived from Clive Prince's '']'' (1997) and books by Margaret Starbird. The book also refers to '']'' (1982) |
The novel explores an alternative religious history, whose central plot point is that the ] ] were descended from ] and Mary Magdalene, ideas derived from Clive Prince's '']'' (1997) and books by ]. The book also refers to '']'' (1982), although Brown stated that it was not used as research material.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Suthersanen |first=Uma |date=June 2006 |title=Copyright in the Courts: The Da Vinci Code |url=https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2006/03/article_0004.html |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=WIPO Magazine |language=en}}</ref> | ||
''The Da Vinci Code'' provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the ] legend and Mary Magdalene's role in the ]. The book has |
''The Da Vinci Code'' provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the ] legend and Mary Magdalene's role in the ]. The book has been extensively denounced by many ] as an attack on the ], and also consistently criticized by scholars for ]. The novel became a massive worldwide ],<ref>Wyat, Edward (November 4, 2005). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012054731/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/books/04code.html |date=October 12, 2013 }}. ''The New York Times''.</ref> selling 80 million copies {{As of|2009|lc=on}},<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.mercurynews.com/celebrities/ci_12530761?nclick_check=1 |title = New novel from Dan Brown due this fall |newspaper = San Jose Mercury News |access-date = 2011-01-04 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604112734/http://www.mercurynews.com/celebrities/ci_12530761?nclick_check=1 |archive-date = June 4, 2011 |url-status = live |df = mdy-all }}</ref> and has been translated into 44 languages. In November 2004, ] published a Special Illustrated Edition with 160 illustrations. In 2006, ] was released by ]. | ||
==Plot |
==Plot== | ||
] curator and ] grand master Jacques Saunière is fatally shot one night at the museum by an albino Catholic monk named Silas, who is working on behalf of someone he knows only as the Teacher, who wishes to discover the location of the "keystone |
] curator and ] grand master Jacques Saunière is fatally shot one night at the museum by an ] Catholic monk named Silas, who is working on behalf of someone he knows only as the Teacher, who wishes to discover the location of the "keystone", an item crucial in the search for the ]. After Saunière's body is discovered in the pose of the '']'' by ], the police summon Harvard professor Robert Langdon, who is in town on business. Police captain Bezu Fache tells him that he was summoned to help the police decode the cryptic message Saunière left during the final minutes of his life. The message includes a ] out of order and an anagram: "O, draconian devil! Oh, lame saint!" Langdon explains to Fache that the pentacle Saunière drew on his chest in his own blood represents an allusion to the goddess and not devil worship, as Fache believes. | ||
Sophie Neveu, a police ], secretly explains to Langdon that she is Saunière's estranged granddaughter and that Fache thinks Langdon is the murderer because the last line in her grandfather's message, which was meant for Neveu, said "P.S. Find Robert Langdon", which Fache had erased prior to Langdon's arrival. However, "P.S." does not refer to "]", but rather to Sophie ''—'' the nickname given to her by her grandfather was "Princess Sophie". She understands that her grandfather intended Langdon to decipher the code, which leads to Leonardo da Vinci's '']'', which in turn leads to his painting '']''. They find a pendant that holds the address of the Paris branch of the Depository Bank of Zurich. | |||
]]] | |||
Langdon and Neveu take the keystone to the house of Langdon's friend, Sir Leigh Teabing, an expert on the Holy Grail. There, Teabing explains that the Grail is not a cup, but a tomb containing the bones of ]. The trio then flees the country on Teabing's private plane, on which they conclude that the proper combination of letters spell out Neveu's given name, Sofia. Opening the cryptex, they discover a smaller cryptex inside it, along with another riddle that ultimately leads the group to the tomb of ] in ]. | |||
Neveu and Langdon escape from the police and visit the bank. In the safe deposit box, which is unlocked with the Fibonacci sequence, they find a box containing the keystone: a ], a cylindrical, hand-held vault with five concentric, rotating dials labeled with letters. When they are lined up correctly, they unlock the device, but if the cryptex is forced open, an enclosed vial of vinegar breaks and dissolves the message inside the cryptex, which was written on ]. The box containing the cryptex contains clues to its password. | |||
Langdon and Neveu take the keystone to the home of Langdon's friend, Sir Leigh Teabing, an expert on the Holy Grail, the legend of which is heavily connected to the Priory. There, Teabing explains that the Grail is not a cup but connected to ], and that she was Jesus Christ's wife and is the person to his right in '']''. The trio then flee the country on Teabing's private plane, on which they conclude that the proper combination of letters spells out Neveu's given name, Sofia. Opening the cryptex, they discover a smaller cryptex inside it, along with another riddle that ultimately leads the group to the tomb of ] in ]. | |||
During the flight to Britain, Neveu reveals the source of her estrangement from her grandfather ten years earlier. Arriving home unexpectedly from university, Neveu secretly witnesses a spring fertility rite conducted in the secret basement of her grandfather's country estate. From her hiding place, she is shocked to see her grandfather with a woman at the center of a ritual attended by men and women who are wearing masks and chanting praise to the goddess. She flees the house and breaks off all contact with Saunière. Langdon explains that what she witnessed was an ancient ceremony known as ] or "sacred marriage." | |||
During the flight to Britain, Neveu reveals the source of her estrangement from her grandfather ten years earlier: arriving home unexpectedly from university, Neveu secretly witnessed a spring fertility rite conducted in the secret basement of her grandfather's country estate. From her hiding place, she was shocked to see her grandfather with a woman at the center of a ritual attended by men and women who were wearing masks and chanting praise to the goddess. She fled the house and broke off all contact with Saunière. Langdon explains that what she witnessed was an ancient ceremony known as '']'' or "sacred marriage". | |||
By the time they arrive at ], Teabing is revealed to be the Teacher for whom Silas is working. Teabing wishes to use the Holy Grail, which he believes is a series of documents establishing that ] married Mary Magdalene and bore children, in order to ruin the ]. He compels Langdon at gunpoint to solve the second cryptex's password, which Langdon realizes is "apple." Langdon secretly opens the cryptex and removes its contents before tossing the empty cryptex in the air. Teabing is arrested by Fache, who by now knows that Langdon was innocent. Bishop Aringarosa, realizing that Silas has been used to murder innocent people, rushes to help the police find him. When the police find Silas hiding in an ] Center, he assumes that they are there to kill him, and he rushes out, accidentally shooting Bishop Aringarosa. Bishop Aringarosa survives but is informed that Silas was found dead later from a bullet wound. | |||
By the time they arrive at ], Teabing is revealed to be the Teacher for whom Silas is working. Teabing wishes to use the Holy Grail, which he believes is a series of documents establishing that ] married Mary Magdalene and fathered children, in order to ruin the ]. He compels Langdon at gunpoint to solve the second cryptex's password, which Langdon realizes is "apple". Langdon secretly opens the cryptex and removes its contents before tossing the empty cryptex in the air. Teabing is arrested by Fache, who by now realizes that Langdon is innocent. Bishop Aringarosa, head of religious sect ] and Silas' mentor, realizing that Silas has been used to murder innocent people, rushes to help the police find him. When the police find Silas hiding in an Opus Dei Center, Silas assumes that they are there to kill him and he rushes out, accidentally shooting Bishop Aringarosa. Bishop Aringarosa survives but is informed that Silas was found dead later from a gunshot wound. | |||
The final message inside the second keystone leads Neveu and Langdon to ], whose docent turns out to be Neveu's long lost brother, whom Neveu had been told died as a child in the car accident that killed her parents. The guardian of Rosslyn Chapel, Marie Chauvel Saint Clair, is Neveu's long lost grandmother. It is revealed that Neveu and her brother are descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The Priory of Sion hid her identity to protect her from possible threats to her life. | |||
The real meaning of the last message is that the |
The final message inside the second keystone leads Neveu and Langdon to ], whose docent turns out to be Neveu's long-lost brother, whom Neveu had been told died as a child in the car accident that killed her parents. The guardian of Rosslyn Chapel, Marie Chauvel Saint Clair, is Neveu's long-lost grandmother and Saunière's wife who was the woman who participated with him in the "sacred marriage". It is revealed that Neveu and her brother are descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The Priory of Sion hid her identity to protect her from possible threats to her life. The real meaning of the last message is that the Grail is buried beneath the small ] directly below '']'', the inverted glass pyramid of the Louvre. It also lies beneath the "Rose Line", an allusion to "Rosslyn". Langdon figures out this final piece to the puzzle; he follows the Rose Line (]) to ''La Pyramide Inversée'', where he kneels to pray before the hidden sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene, as the ] did before. | ||
==Characters== | ==Characters== | ||
{{main|List of The Da Vinci Code characters}} | |||
{{col-begin}} | {{col-begin}} | ||
{{col-2}} | {{col-2}} | ||
*''']''': A professor of symbology at Harvard University and the protagonist of the novel. | |||
*] | |||
*Jacques Saunière | *'''Jacques Saunière''': The grandmaster of the Priory of Sion, Curator of Louvre Museum. | ||
*'''Sophie Neveu''': A cryptologist of the French police and granddaughter of Saunière. | |||
*Sophie Neveu | |||
*'''Bezu Fache''': A member of Opus Dei and a French police captain. | |||
*Bezu Fache | |||
*'''Silas / The Monk''': A member of Opus Dei who murders Saunière and the secondary antagonist of the novel. | |||
*Silas | |||
*Manuel Aringarosa | *'''Manuel Aringarosa''': A bishop of the Vatican and member of Opus Dei. | ||
*'''Sister Sandrine''': A Seneschal of the Priory of Sion and nun of St. Sulpice. | |||
*Soeur Sandrine | |||
{{col-2}} | {{col-2}} | ||
*André Vernet | *'''André Vernet''': A guard of Zurich bank. | ||
*'''Sir Leigh Teabing / The Teacher''': A Grail scholar and British expatriate living in Paris, and the main antagonist of the novel. | |||
*Leigh Teabing | |||
*Rémy Legaludec | *'''Rémy Legaludec''': A servant who assists Teabing. | ||
*Jérôme Collet | *'''Jérôme Collet''': A French police lieutenant and Fache's deputy. | ||
*Marie Chauvel Saint-Clair | *'''Marie Chauvel Saint-Clair''': Sophie's grandmother. | ||
*Pamela Gettum | |||
{{col-end}} | {{col-end}} | ||
==Secret of the Holy Grail== | |||
]'' by ]|350px]] | |||
In the novel, Sir Leigh Teabing explains to Sophie Neveu that the figure at the right hand of Jesus in Leonardo da Vinci's painting of ] is not ], but actually ]. | |||
Teabing says the absence of a ] in Leonardo's painting means Leonardo knew that Mary Magdalene was the actual ] and the bearer of Jesus' blood. He explains that this idea is supported by the shape of the letter "V" that is formed by the bodily positions of Jesus and Mary, as "V" is the symbol for the ]. | |||
The absence of the Apostle John in the painting is explained by knowing that John is also referred to as "]", which would be a ] for ]. The book also notes that the ] of their garments are inverted: Jesus wears a red tunic with royal blue cloak; Mary Magdalene wears the opposite. | |||
According to the novel, the secrets of the ], as kept by the ], are as follows: | |||
* The Holy Grail is not a physical chalice, but a woman, namely Mary Magdalene, who carried the ]. | |||
* The ] expression for the Holy Grail, ''San gréal'', actually is a play on ''Sang réal'', which literally means "royal blood" in Old French. | |||
* The Grail relics consist of the documents that testify to the bloodline, as well as the actual bones of Mary Magdalene. | |||
* The Grail relics of Mary Magdalene were hidden by the ] in a secret crypt, perhaps beneath ]. | |||
* The Church has suppressed the truth about Mary Magdalene and the Jesus bloodline for 2000 years. This is principally because they fear the power of the ] in and of itself and because this would challenge the primacy of ] as an apostle. | |||
* Mary Magdalene was of ] (through the Jewish ]) and was the wife of Jesus, of the ]. That she was a prostitute was ] invented by the ] to obscure their true relationship. At the time of the ], she was pregnant. After the Crucifixion, she fled to ], where she was sheltered by the Jews of ]. She gave birth to a daughter, named ]. The bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene became the ] dynasty of France. | |||
* The existence of the bloodline was the secret that was contained in the documents discovered by the ] after they conquered ] in 1099 (see ]). The ] and the ] were organized to keep the secret. | |||
The secrets of the Grail are connected, according to the novel, to ] work as follows: | |||
* Leonardo was a member of the Priory of Sion and knew the secret of the Grail. The secret is in fact revealed in '']'', in which no actual chalice is present at the table. The figure seated next to Christ is not a man, but a woman, his wife Mary Magdalene. Most reproductions of the work are from a later alteration that obscured her obvious female characteristics. | |||
* The ] of the ] reflects the sacred union of male and female implied in the holy union of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Such parity between the cosmic forces of masculine and feminine has long been a deep threat to the established power of the Church. The name ''Mona Lisa'' is actually an anagram for "Amon L'Isa", referring to the father and mother gods of ] (namely ] and ]). | |||
==Reaction== | ==Reaction== | ||
===Sales=== | ===Sales=== | ||
''The Da Vinci Code'' was a major success in 2003 |
''The Da Vinci Code'' was a major success in 2003, outsold only by ]'s '']''.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2003-12-11-da-vinci-code_x.htm | title='Code' deciphers interest in religious history | work=USA Today | first=Bob | last=Minzesheimer | date=December 11, 2003 | access-date=2010-05-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110094551/http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2003-12-11-da-vinci-code_x.htm | archive-date=January 10, 2010 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref> As of 2016, it had sold 80 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heller |first1=Karen |title=Meet the elite group of authors who sell 100 million books – or 350 million |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/meet-the-elite-group-of-authors-who-sell-100-million-books-or-350-million-paolo-coelho-stephen-king-a7499096.html |website=Independent |date=December 29, 2016 |access-date=April 25, 2020}}</ref> | ||
===Historical inaccuracies=== | ===Historical inaccuracies=== | ||
{{Main |
{{Main|Criticism of The Da Vinci Code}} | ||
]. The TFP acronym in the banner stands for the ].]] | |||
The book generated criticism when it was first published for inaccurate description of core aspects of Christianity and descriptions of ], history, and architecture. The book has received mostly negative reviews from Catholic and other Christian communities. | |||
''The Da Vinci Code'' generated criticism when it was first published for the fictitious description of the core aspects of Christianity and descriptions of ], history, and architecture. The book has received negative reviews mostly from Catholic and other Christian communities. Many critics took issue with the level of research Brown did when writing the story. '']'' writer Laura Miller characterized the novel as "based on a notorious hoax", "rank nonsense", and "bogus", saying the book is heavily based on the fabrications of ], who is asserted to have created the Priory of Sion in 1956.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Laura |date=2004-02-22 |title=THE LAST WORD; The Da Vinci Con |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/22/books/the-last-word-the-da-vinci-con.html |access-date=2023-12-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
Critics accuse Brown of distorting and fabricating history. ] author Marcia Ford considered that novels should be judged not on their literary merit, but on their conclusions: | |||
Many critics took issue with the level of research Brown did when writing the story. '']'' writer Laura Miller characterized the novel as "based on a notorious hoax", "rank nonsense", and "bogus", saying the book is heavily based on the fabrications of ], who is asserted to have created the Priory of Sion in 1956. | |||
{{Blockquote |Regardless of whether you agree with Brown's conclusions, it's clear that his history is largely fanciful, which means he and his publisher have violated a long-held if unspoken agreement with the reader: Fiction that purports to present historical facts should be researched as carefully as a nonfiction book would be.<ref name="faithfulreader1">{{cite web|url= http://www.faithfulreader.com/features/0405-da_vinci_debunkers.asp |title=Da Vinci Debunkers: Spawns of Dan Brown's Bestseller | first = Marcia | last = Ford |publisher=FaithfulReader |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040527122442/http://faithfulreader.com/features/0405-da_vinci_debunkers.asp |archive-date=2004-05-27 |access-date=2015-04-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}} | |||
Critics accuse Brown of distorting and fabricating history. For example, Marcia Ford wrote: | |||
{{Quote |Regardless of whether you agree with Brown's conclusions, it's clear that his history is largely fanciful, which means he and his publisher have violated a long-held if unspoken agreement with the reader: Fiction that purports to present historical facts should be researched as carefully as a nonfiction book would be.<ref name="faithfulreader1">{{cite web|url= http://www.faithfulreader.com/features/0405-da_vinci_debunkers.asp |title=Da Vinci Debunkers: Spawns of Dan Brown's Bestseller | first = Marcia | last = Ford |publisher=FaithfulReader |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040527122442/http://faithfulreader.com/features/0405-da_vinci_debunkers.asp |archivedate=2004-05-27 |accessdate=2015-04-29 |deadurl=yes}}</ref>}} | |||
] wrote: | ] wrote: | ||
{{ |
{{Blockquote|The most flagrant aspect{{nbsp}}... is not that Dan Brown disagrees with Christianity but that he utterly warps it in order to disagree with it{{nbsp}}... to the point of completely rewriting a vast number of historical events. And making the matter worse has been Brown's willingness to pass off his distortions as 'facts' with which innumerable scholars and historians agree.<ref name="faithfulreader1" />}} | ||
The book opens with |
Much of the controversy generated by ''The Da Vinci Code'' was due to the fact that the book was marketed as being historically accurate; the novel opens with a "fact" page that states that "The Priory of Sion—a French ] founded in 1099—is a real organization", whereas the ] is a hoax created in 1956 by ], which Plantard admitted under oath in 1994, well before the publication of ''The Da Vinci Code''.<ref name="lepoint">"Affaire Pelat: Le Rapport du Juge", ''Le Point'', no. 1112 (8–14 January 1994), p. 11.</ref> The fact page itself is part of the novel as a fictional piece, but is not presented as such. The page also states that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents{{nbsp}}... and secret rituals in this novel are accurate", a claim disputed by numerous academic scholars and experts in numerous areas.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/ |title = History vs The Da Vinci Code |access-date = 2009-02-03}}</ref> | ||
Brown addressed the idea of some of the more controversial aspects being fact on his website, stating that the page at the beginning of the novel mentions only "documents, rituals, organization, artwork and architecture" but not any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters, stating that "Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader". Brown also says, "It is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit" and "the secret behind ''The Da Vinci Code'' was too well documented and significant for me to dismiss."<ref>{{cite web | first1 = Ken | last1 = Kelleher | first2 = Carolyn | last2 = Kelleher|url=http://www.danbrown.com/#/davinciCode/questions|title= The Da Vinci Code | type = FAQs | publisher = Dan Brown |date=April 24, 2006 |access-date=2009-02-03 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080325062025/http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/faqs.html |archive-date = 2008-03-25}}</ref> | |||
In 2003, while promoting the novel, Brown was asked in interviews what parts of the history in his novel actually happened. He replied "Absolutely all of it." In a 2003 interview with CNN's ] he was again asked how much of the historical background was true. He replied, "99% is true... the background is all true". Asked by ] in an ] special if the book would have been different if he had written it as non-fiction he replied, "I don't think it would have."<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/fiction.htm|title = Fiction| |
In 2003, while promoting the novel, Brown was asked in interviews what parts of the history in his novel actually happened. He replied "Absolutely all of it."<ref>{{cite web|date=June 3, 2003|work=NBC Today|url=http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/danbrown/interview.htm|title=NBC Today Interview|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928001540/http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/danbrown/interview.htm|archive-date=September 28, 2007|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In a 2003 interview with CNN's ] he was again asked how much of the historical background was true. He replied, "99% is true... the background is all true".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0305/25/sm.21.html|title= Interview With Dan Brown|date=May 25, 2003|publisher=]|work=]}}</ref> Asked by ] in an ] special if the book would have been different if he had written it as non-fiction he replied, "I don't think it would have."<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/fiction.htm|title = Fiction|access-date = 2009-02-03|website = History vs The Da Vinci Code}}</ref> | ||
In 2005, UK TV personality ] edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of |
In 2005, UK TV personality ] edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of Brown and those of ], ] and ], who authored the book '']'', in the program ''The Real Da Vinci Code'', shown on ] ]. The program featured lengthy interviews with many of the main protagonists cited by Brown as "absolute fact" in ''The Da Vinci Code''. Arnaud de Sède, son of ], stated categorically that his father and Plantard had made up the existence of the ], the cornerstone of the ] theory: "frankly, it was piffle",<ref>{{cite AV media|title=The Real Da Vinci Code|publisher=]}}</ref> noting that the concept of a descendant of Jesus was also an element of the 1999 ] film '']''. | ||
The earliest appearance of this theory is due to the 13th-century ] monk and chronicler ] who reported that ] believed |
The earliest appearance of this theory is due to the 13th-century ] monk and chronicler ] who reported that ] believed that the 'evil' and 'earthly' Jesus Christ had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, described as his ] (and that the 'good Christ' was incorporeal and existed spiritually in the body of Paul).<ref>{{Citation | first1 = WA | last1 = Sibly | first2 = MD | last2 = Sibly | title = The History of the Albigensian Crusade: Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay's "Historia Albigensis" | publisher = Boydell | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-85115-658-4 | quote = Further, in their secret meetings they said that the Christ who was born in the earthly and visible Bethlehem and crucified at Jerusalem was 'evil', and that Mary Magdalene was his concubine – and that she was the woman taken in adultery who is referred to in the Scriptures; the 'good' Christ, they said, neither ate nor drank nor assumed the true flesh and was never in this world, except spiritually in the body of Paul. I have used the term 'the earthly and visible Bethlehem' because the heretics believed there is a different and invisible earth in which – according to some of them – the 'good' Christ was born and crucified.}}</ref> The program ''The Real Da Vinci Code'' also cast doubt on the Rosslyn Chapel association with the Grail and on other related stories, such as the alleged landing of Mary Magdalene in France. | ||
According to ''The Da Vinci Code'', the Roman Emperor ] suppressed ] because it portrayed Jesus as purely human |
According to ''The Da Vinci Code'', the Roman Emperor ] suppressed ] because it portrayed Jesus as purely human.<ref>{{Citation|first = Tim|last = O'Neill|chapter-url = http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#christpower|chapter = 55. Early Christianity and Political Power|title = History versus the Da Vinci Code|year = 2006|access-date = February 16, 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090515112028/http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#christpower|archive-date = May 15, 2009|url-status = live|df = mdy-all}}.</ref> The novel portrays Constantine as wanting Christianity to act as a unifying religion for the ], thinking that Christianity would appeal to ]s only if it featured a ] similar to pagan heroes. According to the ], Jesus was merely a human prophet, not a demigod. Therefore, to change Jesus' image, Constantine destroyed the Gnostic Gospels and promoted the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which portray Jesus as divine or semi-divine; however, most scholars agree that all Gnostic writings depict Christ as purely divine, his human body being a mere illusion (]).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Docetae | volume = 5 | encyclopedia = Catholic Encyclopedia | location = New York | publisher = Robert Appleton | year = 1913 | first = John Peter | last = Arendzen | quote = The idea of the unreality of Christ's human nature was held by the oldest Gnostic sects{{nbsp}}... Docetism, as far as at present known, always an accompaniment of Gnosticism or later of ].}}</ref> Gnostic sects saw Christ this way because they regarded matter as evil, and therefore believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body.<ref name="chapterfiftyfive">{{cite book|last=O'Neill |first=Tim |title=History versus the Da Vinci Code |df=mdy-all |year=2006 |access-date=February 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515112028/http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#nagdss |url-status=live |chapter=55. Nag Hammadi and the Dead Sea Scrolls |chapter-url=http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#nagdss |archive-date=May 15, 2009}}</ref> | ||
But Gnosticism did not portray Jesus as merely human.<ref name="chapterfiftyfive">{{Citation |first = Tim|last = O'Neill|url = http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#nagdss|chapter = 55. Nag Hammadi and the Dead Sea Scrolls|title = History versus the Da Vinci Code|year = 2006|date = |access-date = February 16, 2009}}.</ref> All Gnostic writings depict Christ as purely divine, his ] being a mere illusion (see ]).<ref>{{Citation | contribution = Docetae | volume = 5 | title = Catholic Encyclopedia | place = New York | publisher = Robert Appleton | year = 1913 | first = John Peter | last = Arendzen | quote = The idea of the unreality of Christ's human nature was held by the oldest Gnostic sects Docetism, as far as at present known, always an accompaniment of Gnosticism or later of ].}}</ref> Gnostic sects saw Christ this way because they regarded matter as evil, and therefore believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body.<ref name = "chapterfiftyfive" /> | |||
===Literary criticism=== | ===Literary criticism=== | ||
The book received both positive and negative reviews from critics, and it has been the subject of negative appraisals concerning its portrayal of history. Its writing and historical accuracy were reviewed negatively by '']'',<ref name="NewYorker">Lane, Anthony (May 29, 2006). . '']''.</ref> ],<ref>Miller, Laura (December 29, 2004). . Salon.com. Retrieved 2009-05-15.</ref> and ].<ref>Steyn, Mark (May 10, 2006) . '']''.</ref> | The book received both positive and negative reviews from critics, and it has been the subject of negative appraisals concerning its portrayal of history. Its writing and historical accuracy were reviewed negatively by '']'',<ref name="NewYorker">Lane, Anthony (May 29, 2006). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012034806/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/29/060529crci_cinema?currentPage=all |date=October 12, 2013 }}. '']''.</ref> ],<ref>Miller, Laura (December 29, 2004). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918112741/http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2004/12/29/da_vinci_code/ |date=September 18, 2011 }}. Salon.com. Retrieved 2009-05-15.</ref> and '']''.<ref>Steyn, Mark (May 10, 2006) {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611235940/http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/article.jsp?content=20060515_126652_126652 |date=June 11, 2013 }}. '']''.</ref> On the May/June 2003 issue of '']'', a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a {{rating|4|5}} (4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary stating, "Overall, this breezy, entertaining thriller will take you on an ingeniously conceived ride through history."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Da Vinci Code|url=http://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/Reviews/DaVinciCode.htm|access-date=14 January 2023 |website=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050923144037/http://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/Reviews/DaVinciCode.htm|archive-date=23 Sep 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bookmarks Selections|url=http://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/reviews.html|access-date=14 January 2023 |website=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708134115/http://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/reviews.html|archive-date=8 Jul 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://critics.gr/Product/Kodikas-Nta-Bintsi--BBLO-/Show.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221122427/http://critics.gr/Product/Kodikas-Nta-Bintsi--BBLO-/Show.aspx|title=The Da Vinci Code|website=Critics|archivedate=21 Feb 2009|accessdate=1 March 2015|language=Greek}}</ref> | ||
====Positive==== | |||
] of ''The New York Times'' said |
] of ''The New York Times'' said that one word "concisely conveys the kind of extreme enthusiasm with which this riddle-filled, code-breaking, exhilaratingly brainy thriller can be recommended. That word is wow. The author is Dan Brown (a name you will want to remember). In this gleefully erudite suspense novel, Mr. Brown takes the format he has been developing through three earlier novels and fine-tunes it to blockbuster perfection."<ref>] (March 17, 2003). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408050458/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/17/books/books-of-the-times-spinning-a-thriller-from-a-gallery-at-the-louvre.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |date=April 8, 2016 }}.</ref> David Lazarus of '']'' said, "This story has so many twists—all satisfying, most unexpected—that it would be a sin to reveal too much of the plot in advance. Let's just say that if this novel doesn't get your pulse racing, you need to check your meds."<ref>Lazarus, David (April 6, 2003). . '']''.</ref> The book appeared at number 43 on a 2010 list of 101 best books ever written, which was derived from a survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers.<ref>{{Citation | last = Yeoman | first = William | date = June 30, 2010 | url =https://thewest.com.au/news/australia/vampires-trump-wizards-as-readers-pick-their-best-ng-ya-207095 | title = Vampires trump wizards as readers pick their best | newspaper = ] | access-date = March 24, 2011 }}{{citation | url = http://l.yimg.com/ea/doc/-/100629/the_top_100_list-162jebm.pdf |title=List |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804161548/http://l.yimg.com/ea/doc/-/100629/the_top_100_list-162jebm.pdf | archive-date = August 4, 2011 | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> | ||
David Lazarus of '']'' said, "This story has so many twists – all satisfying, most unexpected – that it would be a sin to reveal too much of the plot in advance. Let's just say that if this novel doesn't get your pulse racing, you need to check your meds."<ref>Lazarus, David (April 6, 2003). . '']''.</ref> | |||
While interviewing ] in a 2008 issue of '']'', Lila Azam Zanganeh characterized ''The Da Vinci Code'' as "a bizarre little offshoot" of Eco's novel, '']''. In response, Eco remarked, "Dan Brown is a character from Foucault's Pendulum! I invented him. He shares my characters’ fascinations—the world conspiracy of Rosicrucians, Masons, and Jesuits. The role of the Knights Templar. The hermetic secret. The principle that everything is connected. I suspect Dan Brown might not even exist."<ref>Zanganeh, Lila Azam. . ''The Paris Review''. Summer 2008, Number 185. Retrieved 2012-04-27.</ref> | |||
The book appeared on a 2010 list of 101 best books ever written, which was derived from a survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers.<ref>{{Citation | last = Yeoman | first = William | date = June 30, 2010 | url = http://l.yimg.com/ea/doc/-/100629/the_top_100_list-162jebm.pdf | title = Vampires trump wizards as readers pick their best | newspaper = ] | format = ]}}.</ref> | |||
] said during a lecture, "Do not start me on 'The Da Vinci Code'. A novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/oct/07/famed_author_takes_kansas/?city_local |title=Famed author takes on Kansas | newspaper = LJWorld |date=October 7, 2005 |accessdate=2011-01-04}}</ref> | |||
====Disparaging==== | |||
] has referred to Brown's writings as "complete loose stool-water" and "arse gravy of the worst kind".<ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.qitranscripts.com/transcripts/3x12 | contribution = 3x12 | type = episode transcript | title = ]}}.</ref> In a live chat on June 14, 2006, he clarified, "I just loathe all those book about the ] and ] and Catholic conspiracies and all that botty-dribble. I mean, there's so much more that's interesting and exciting in art and in history. It plays to the worst and laziest in humanity, the desire to think the worst of the past and the desire to feel superior to it in some fatuous way."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.douglasadams.se/forum/viewtopic.php?p=175185#175185 | title= Interview with Douglas Adams Continuum | publisher= Douglas Adams | place = ] |accessdate=2011-01-04}}</ref> | |||
] likened Brown's work to "Jokes for the John", calling such literature the "intellectual equivalent of ]".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.stephenking.com/com_address/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013011628/http://www.stephenking.com/com_address/ | archive-date = 2007-10-13 |title= Stephen King address, University of Maine |publisher= Archive |access-date=2011-01-04}}</ref> ] described it as a "potboiler written with little grace and style", although he added it did "supply an intriguing plot".<ref name="Ebert1">{{citation|title=Veni, Vidi, Da Vinci|last=Ebert|first=Roger|work=RogerEbert.com|date=May 18, 2006|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-da-vinci-code-2006}}</ref> In his review of the film '']'', whose plot also involves ancient conspiracies and treasure hunts, he wrote: "I should read a potboiler like ''The Da Vinci Code'' every once in a while, just to remind myself that life is too short to read books like ''The Da Vinci Code''."<ref name="Ebert2">{{citation|title=Clueless caper just fool's gold|last=Ebert|first=Roger|work=RogerEbert.com|date=November 18, 2004|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/national-treasure-2004}}</ref> While interviewing ] in a 2008 issue of '']'', ] characterized ''The Da Vinci Code'' as "a bizarre little offshoot" of Eco's novel, '']''. In response, Eco remarked, "Dan Brown is a character from ''Foucault's Pendulum!'' I invented him. He shares my characters' fascinations—the world conspiracy of ], ], and ]. The role of the Knights Templar. The ]. The principle that everything is connected. I suspect Dan Brown might not even exist."<ref>Zanganeh, Lila Azam. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006141852/http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5856/the-art-of-fiction-no-197-pauleacute-baacutertoacuten |date=October 6, 2016 }}. ''The Paris Review''. Summer 2008, Number 185. Retrieved 2012-04-27.</ref> | |||
====Negative==== | |||
] likened Dan Brown's work to "Jokes for the John", calling such literature the "intellectual equivalent of ]".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.stephenking.com/com_address/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013011628/http://www.stephenking.com/com_address/ | archivedate = 2007-10-13 |title= Stephen King address, University of Maine |publisher= Archive |accessdate=2011-01-04}}</ref> '']'', while reviewing the movie based on the book, called the book "Dan Brown's best-selling primer on how not to write an English sentence".<ref name= NewYorkTimes>{{cite news|last=Sorkin |first=Aaron |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/movies/18code.html |title = Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code (2006)|newspaper=]|date=December 30, 2010 |accessdate=2011-01-04}}</ref> '']'' reviewer ] refers to it as "unmitigated junk" and decries "the crumbling coarseness of the style".<ref name= "NewYorker" /> Linguist ] and others posted several entries critical of Dan Brown's writing, at ], calling Brown one of the "worst prose stylists in the history of literature" and saying Brown's "writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad".<ref>{{Citation | title = ] | contribution-url = http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html | contribution = The Dan Brown code | publisher = University of Pennsylvania}} (also follow other links at the bottom of that page)</ref> ] described it as a "potboiler written with little grace and style", although he said it did "supply an intriguing plot".<ref name = "Ebert">{{cite news| url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/REVIEWS/60419009/1023 |title= Roger Ebert's review | work = Sun times |first=Roger|last=Ebert |accessdate=2011-01-04}}</ref> In his review of the film '']'', whose plot also involves ancient conspiracies and treasure hunts, he wrote: "I should read a potboiler like ''The Da Vinci Code'' every once in a while, just to remind myself that life is too short to read books like ''The Da Vinci Code''."<ref name = "Ebert" /> | |||
] said during a lecture, "Do not start me on ''The Da Vinci Code''. A novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/oct/07/famed_author_takes_kansas/?city_local |title=Famed author takes on Kansas |newspaper=LJWorld |date=October 7, 2005 |access-date=2011-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830024742/http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/oct/07/famed_author_takes_kansas/?city_local |archive-date=August 30, 2009 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> ] has referred to Brown's writings as "complete loose stool-water" and "arse gravy of the worst kind".<ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.qitranscripts.com/transcripts/3x12 | contribution = 3x12 | type = episode transcript | title = ] }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> In a live chat on June 14, 2006, he clarified, "I just loathe all those book about the ] and Masons and Catholic conspiracies and all that botty-dribble. I mean, there's so much more that's interesting and exciting in art and in history. It plays to the worst and laziest in humanity, the desire to think the worst of the past and the desire to feel superior to it in some fatuous way."<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.douglasadams.se/forum/viewtopic.php?p=175185#175185 | title= Interview with Douglas Adams Continuum | publisher= Douglas Adams | place= ] | access-date= 2011-01-04 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110519064736/http://www.douglasadams.se/forum/viewtopic.php?p=175185#175185 | archive-date= May 19, 2011 | df= mdy-all }}</ref> ], reviewing the movie based on the book for '']'', called the book "Dan Brown's best-selling primer on how not to write an English sentence".<ref name="NewYorkTimes">{{cite news|last=Scott |first=A.O. |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/movies/18code.html |title = Movie Review: A 'Da Vinci Code' That Takes Longer to Watch Than Read|newspaper=]|date= May 18, 2006 |access-date=2011-01-04}}</ref> '']'' reviewer ] refers to it as "unmitigated junk" and decries "the crumbling coarseness of the style".<ref name="NewYorker" /> Linguist ] and others posted several entries critical of Brown's writing, at ], calling Brown one of the "worst prose stylists in the history of literature" and saying Brown's "writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad".<ref>{{Citation | title = ] | contribution-url = http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html | contribution = The Dan Brown code | publisher = University of Pennsylvania}} (also follow other links at the bottom of that page)</ref> | |||
===Lawsuits=== | ===Lawsuits=== | ||
Author ] alleged that Brown plagiarized |
Author ] alleged that Brown plagiarized two of his novels, ''The Da Vinci Legacy'', originally published in 1983, and ''Daughter of God'', originally published in 2000. He sought to block distribution of the book and film. However, ] of the ] ruled against Perdue in 2005, saying that "A reasonable average lay observer would not conclude that ''The Da Vinci Code'' is substantially similar to ''Daughter of God''" and that "Any slightly similar elements are on the level of generalized or otherwise unprotectable ideas."<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128175257/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4126710.stm |date=November 28, 2016 }}, ], August 6, 2005</ref> Perdue appealed; the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the original decision, saying Mr. Perdue's arguments were "without merit".<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406233626/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4929550.stm |date=April 6, 2016 }}, ], April 21, 2006</ref> | ||
In early 2006, Baigent and Leigh filed suit against Brown's |
In early 2006, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh filed suit against Brown's publisher, Random House. They alleged that significant portions of ''The Da Vinci Code'' were plagiarized from '']'', violating their copyright.<ref name=TrialBBC>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4949488.stm |title=Judge creates own Da Vinci code |work=BBC News |date=April 27, 2006 |access-date=2009-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905211028/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4949488.stm |archive-date=September 5, 2007 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Brown confirmed during the court case that he named the principal Grail expert of his story Leigh Teabing, an anagram of "Baigent Leigh", after the two plaintiffs. In reply to the suggestion that ] was also referred to in the book, since he has medical problems resulting in a severe limp, like the character of Leigh Teabing, Brown stated he was unaware of Lincoln's illness and the correspondence was a coincidence.<ref name=TrialWashPost>{{Cite web|url=http://nyakornel.blogspot.com/2007/05/pros-and-cons-of-da-vinci-code-to.html|title= Authors who lost 'Da Vinci Code' copying case to mount legal appeal|access-date=July 12, 2006}}</ref> Since Baigent and Leigh had presented their conclusions as historical research, not as fiction, ], who presided over the trial, deemed that a novelist must be free to use these ideas in a fictional context, and ruled against Baigent and Leigh. Smith also hid ] in his written judgment, in the form of seemingly random italicized letters in the 71-page document, which apparently spell out a message. Smith indicated he would confirm the code if someone broke it.<ref name=TrialMSNBC>{{cite web | url = https://www.today.com/popculture/judge-rejects-claims-da-vinci-suit-wbna12202180 | title = Judge rejects claims in 'Da Vinci' suit | work = Today.com | publisher = MSN | date = April 7, 2006 | access-date = 2009-02-03 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> After losing before the ] on July 12, 2006, Baigent and Leigh appealed to the ], unsuccessfully.<ref name="TrialWashPost"/><ref name="TrialMSNBC"/> | ||
In April 2006 Mikhail Anikin, a Russian scientist and art historian working as a senior researcher at the ] in St Petersburg, stated the intention to bring a lawsuit against Brown, maintaining that he was the one who coined the phrase used as the book's title and one of the ideas regarding the ''Mona Lisa'' used in its plot. Anikin interprets the ''Mona Lisa'' to be a Christian allegory consisting of two images, one of Jesus Christ that comprises the image's right half, and one of the Virgin Mary that forms its left half. According to Anikin, he expressed this idea to a group of experts from the Museum of Houston during a 1988 ] exhibit at the Hermitage, and when one of the Americans requested permission to pass it along to a friend Anikin granted the request on condition that he be credited in any book using his interpretation. Anikin eventually compiled his research into ''Leonardo da Vinci or Theology on Canvas'', a book published in 2000, but ''The Da Vinci Code'', published three years later, makes no mention of Anikin and instead asserts that the idea in question is a "well-known opinion of a number of scientists".<ref>Page, Jeremy. "Now Russian sues Brown over his Da Vinski Code", '']'', April 12, 2006</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Grachev | first = Guerman | url = http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/13-04-2006/79125-danbrown-0/ | title = Russian scientist to sue best-selling author Dan Brown over 'Da Vinci Code' plagiarism | date = 13 April 2006 | newspaper = Pravda | place = ] | access-date = May 13, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121007082243/http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/13-04-2006/79125-danbrown-0/ | archive-date = October 7, 2012 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> | |||
Because Baigent and Leigh had presented their conclusions as historical research, not as fiction, Justice Peter Smith, who presided over the trial, deemed that a novelist must be free to use these ideas in a fictional context, and ruled against Baigent and Leigh. Smith also hid ] in his written judgement, in the form of seemingly random italicized letters in the 71-page document, which apparently spell out a message. Smith indicated he would confirm the code if someone broke it.<ref name = TrialMSNBC>{{cite web | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12202180/| title= Judge rejects claims in ‘Da Vinci’ suit | work = MSNBC | publisher = MSN |date= April 7, 2006|accessdate=2009-02-03}}</ref> Baigent and Leigh appealed, unsuccessfully, to the ].<ref name=TrialWashPost/> | |||
Brown has been sued twice in U.S. Federal courts by the author Jack Dunn who claims Brown copied a huge part of his book ''The Vatican Boys'' to write ''The Da Vinci Code'' and ''Angels & Demons''. Neither lawsuit was allowed to go to a jury trial. In 2017, in London, another claim was begun against Brown by Jack Dunn who claimed that justice was not served in the U.S. lawsuits.<ref name="Dunn">{{Cite web |last=Teodorczuk |first=Tom |date=2017-12-14 |title=Dan Brown faces possible new plagiarism lawsuit over 'The Da Vinci Code' |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dan-brown-faces-possible-new-plagiarism-lawsuit-over-the-da-vinci-code-2017-10-18 |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=MarketWatch}}</ref> Possibly the largest reaction occurred in ], India, where a group of around 25 protesters "stormed" Crossword bookstore, pulled copies of the book from the racks, and threw them to the ground. On the same day, a group of 50–60 protesters successfully made the ] on Park Street decide to stop selling the book "until the controversy sparked by the film's release was resolved".<ref>{{Cite web|url =http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060518/asp/calcutta/story_6236447.asp |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160827001915/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060518/asp/calcutta/story_6236447.asp |url-status =dead |archive-date =August 27, 2016 |title = Novel earns vandal wrath - Code controversy deepens with warning from protesters |date =May 18, 2006 |work =The Telegraph|location=India }}</ref> Thus in 2006, seven ] (], ], ], ], ]) banned the release or exhibition of the ] movie '']'' (as well as the book).<ref>"" on the ground that it outraged the religious feeling of Christians. Roman Catholic Bishop Marampudi Joji, based in Andhra Pradesh's capital Hyderabad, welcomed the ban. ''BBC News'', 3 June 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2006.</ref> Later, two states, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, lifted the ban under high court order.<ref>{{Cite web |agency=TNN|date=Jun 22, 2006 |title=HC quashes ban on Da Vinci Code {{!}} Hyderabad News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/hc-quashes-ban-on-da-vinci-code/articleshow/1669485.cms |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=HC allows Da Vinci Code screening in TN |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/08tn.htm |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=www.rediff.com}}</ref> | |||
In April 2006 Mikhail Anikin, a Russian scientist and art historian working as a senior researcher at the ] in St Petersburg, stated the intention to bring a lawsuit against Dan Brown, maintaining that he was the one who coined the phrase used as the book's title and one of the ideas regarding the Mona Lisa used in its plot. Anikin interprets the Mona Lisa to be an Christian allegory consisting of two images, one of Jesus Christ that comprises the image's right half, one of the Virgin Mary that forms its left half. According to Anikin, he expressed this idea to a group of experts from the Museum of Houston during a 1988 ] exhibit at the Hermitage, and when one of the Americans requested permission to pass it along to a friend Anikin granted the request on condition that he be credited in any book using his interpretation. Anikin eventually compiled his research into ''Leonardo da Vinci or Theology on Canvas'', a book published in 2000, but ''The Da Vinci Code'', published three years later, makes no mention of Anikin and instead asserts that the idea in question is a "well-known opinion of a number of scientists."<ref>Page, Jeremy. "Now Russian sues Brown over his Da Vinski Code", '']'', April 12, 2006</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Grachev | first = Guerman | url = http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/13-04-2006/79125-danbrown-0/ | title = Russian scientist to sue best-selling author Dan Brown over 'Da Vinci Code' plagiarism | date = 13 April 2006 | newspaper = Pravda | place = ]}}.</ref> | |||
==Parodies== | |||
*The book was parodied by ] and Toby Clements with the books '']'', and '']'', respectively, both in 2005. | |||
*A 2005 ] spin-off of the Australian television series '']'' parodied the film version as '']'' in 2005. | |||
*The 2006 ] program '']'' parodied ''The Da Vinci Code'', calling it the "Da ] Code". | |||
*South African ] ] published a 2006 book collection of his strips entitled ''Da Zuma Code'', which parodies the former ] ]. | |||
*A 2006 independent film named '']'' parodied the book and film. Instead of that of a curator in the Louvre, the murder is that of a curator at the ] in ]. | |||
*], a 2006, seven-part animated series by ] and Scrapmation. | |||
*The book was parodied in the 2007 '']'' episode "]" and ]'s novel ''The Da-da-de-da-da Code''. | |||
*The characters Lucy and Silas are parodied in the 2007 film '']'', which begins with a scene similar to the opening of ''The Da Vinci Code'', with Silas chasing the orphan Lucy. | |||
*''Szyfr Jana Matejki'' ('']'s Cipher'') is a 2007 Polish parody by ]. A sequel, ''Ko(s)miczna futryna: Szyfr Jana Matejki II'' (''Comic Door-frame: Jan Matejko's Cipher II''), was released in 2008. The main character is inspector Józef Świenty, who tries to solve The Greatest Secret of Mankind (''Największa Tajemnica Ludzkości'') – parentage of ]. | |||
*The book was parodied in the 2008 '']'' episode "Black Mystery Month", in which ] searches for the controversial truth that ] invented peanut butter. | |||
*In 2008, it was parodied in the second series of '']'' as "The Numberwang Code", a trailer for a ] based on ] on the show. | |||
*The book's plot is parodied in "]", an episode of the animated TV series '']''. | |||
*The book was parodied in the '']'' episode "Da Grinchy Code / Duck", in which the greatest movie minds try to solve the mystery of the ]. | |||
*The book's theme of conspiracy theories is parodied in the 2007 ] single "Da Vinci Claude". | |||
==Release details== | ==Release details== | ||
The book has been translated into over |
The book has been translated into over 44 languages, primarily hardcover.<ref>{{Citation | title = Secrets | url = http://www.danbrown.com/secrets/foreign.html | contribution = World editions of The Da Vinci Code | type = official site | publisher = Dan Brown | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060127001617/http://www.danbrown.com/secrets/foreign.html | archive-date = January 27, 2006 | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> Major English-language (hardcover) editions include: | ||
* {{Citation |place=US |title=The Da Vinci Code |date=April 2003 |edition=1st |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=0-385-50420-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/davincicodenove00brow}}. | |||
* {{Citation | title = The Da Vinci Code | edition = spec illustr | date = November 2, 2004 | publisher = Doubleday | isbn = 0-385-51375-5 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/davincicode00brow_0 }} (as of January 2006, has sold 576,000 copies). | |||
In reference to Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent, two of the authors of ''The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail'', Brown named the principal Grail expert of his story "Leigh Teabing", an anagram of "Baigent Leigh". Brown confirmed this during the court case. In reply to the suggestion that Lincoln was also referenced, as he has medical problems resulting in a severe limp, like the character of Leigh Teabing, Brown stated he was unaware of Lincoln's illness and the correspondence was a coincidence. After losing before the ] on July 12, 2006, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh appealed, unsuccessfully, to the ].<ref name="TrialWashPost"/><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12202180/ | title= Judge rejects claims in ‘Da Vinci’ suit | work = MSNBC | publisher = MSN |date= April 7, 2006 |accessdate=2009-02-03}}</ref> | |||
* {{Citation | place = UK | title = The Da Vinci Code | date = April 2004 | publisher = Corgi Adult | isbn = 0-552-14951-9 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/davincicode00danb }}. | |||
* {{Citation | place = UK | title = The Da Vinci Code | edition = illustr | date = October 2, 2004 | publisher = Bantam | isbn = 0-593-05425-3}}. | |||
Following the trial, it was found that the publicity had actually significantly boosted UK sales of '']''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=`Da Vinci Code' Lawsuit Lifts Sales Before Judgment |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQVP7b.oSjXQ&refer=culture |publisher=Bloomberg |author=Megan Murphy |date=April 6, 2006 |deadurl=no |accessdate=2013-10-11}}</ref> | |||
Major English-language (hardcover) editions include: | |||
* {{Citation | place = US | title = The Da Vinci Code |date=April 2003 | edition = 1st | publisher = Doubleday | ISBN = 0-385-50420-9}}. | |||
* {{Citation | title = The Da Vinci Code | edition = spec illustr | date = November 2, 2004 | publisher = Doubleday | ISBN = 0-385-51375-5}} (as of January 2006, has sold 576,000 copies). | |||
* {{Citation | place = UK | title = The Da Vinci Code |date=April 2004 | publisher = Corgi Adult | ISBN = 0-552-14951-9}}. | |||
* {{Citation | place = UK | title = The Da Vinci Code | edition = illustr | date = October 2, 2004 | publisher = Bantam | ISBN = 0-593-05425-3}}. | |||
* {{Citation | place = US/] | title = The Da Vinci Code | type = trade paperback |date=March 2006 | publisher = Anchor}}. | * {{Citation | place = US/] | title = The Da Vinci Code | type = trade paperback |date=March 2006 | publisher = Anchor}}. | ||
* {{Citation | date = March 28, 2006 | title = The da Vinci code | publisher = Anchor | type = paperback}}, 5 million copies. | * {{Citation | date = March 28, 2006 | title = The da Vinci code | publisher = Anchor | type = paperback}}, 5 million copies. | ||
* {{Citation | date = March 28, 2006 | title = The da Vinci code | publisher = Broadway | edition = special illustrated | type = paperback}}, released 200,000 copies. | * {{Citation | date = March 28, 2006 | title = The da Vinci code | publisher = Broadway | edition = special illustrated | type = paperback}}, released 200,000 copies. | ||
* {{Citation | date = May 19, 2006 | publisher = Doubleday, Broadway | title = The Da Vinci Code Illustrated Screenplay: Behind the Scenes of the Major Motion Picture | first = Akiva | last = Goldsman | author-link = Akiva Goldsman | others = Howard, Ron; Brown, Dan introd}}, the day of the film's release. Including film stills, behind-the-scenes photos and the full script. 25,000 copies of the hardcover, and 200,000 of the paperback version.<ref>{{Citation | |
* {{Citation | date = May 19, 2006 | publisher = Doubleday, Broadway | title = The Da Vinci Code Illustrated Screenplay: Behind the Scenes of the Major Motion Picture | first = Akiva | last = Goldsman | author-link = Akiva Goldsman | others = Howard, Ron; Brown, Dan introd}}, the day of the film's release. Including film stills, behind-the-scenes photos and the full script. 25,000 copies of the hardcover, and 200,000 of the paperback version.<ref>{{Citation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013104154/http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/01/09/best-sellers-potter.html | archive-date=2007-10-13| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/harry-potter-still-magic-for-book-sales-1.587812 | contribution = Harry Potter still magic for book sales | publisher = ] | title = Arts | url-status = live | date = January 9, 2006}}.</ref> | ||
==Film== | ==Film== | ||
{{Main |The Da Vinci Code (film)}} | {{Main article |The Da Vinci Code (film)}} | ||
] adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by ], and ] winner ] directing. The film was released on May 19, 2006, and stars ] as ], ] as Sophie Neveu, and Sir ] as Sir Leigh Teabing. During its opening weekend, moviegoers spent an estimated $77 million in America, and $224 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url= |
] adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by ], and ] winner ] directing. The film was released on May 19, 2006, and stars ] as ], ] as Sophie Neveu, and Sir ] as Sir Leigh Teabing. During its opening weekend, moviegoers spent an estimated $77 million in America, and $224 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=davincicode.htm |title=The Da Vinci Code (2006) |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=2006-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513152758/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=davincicode.htm |archive-date=May 13, 2013 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> | ||
The movie received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert in its review wrote that "Ron Howard is a better filmmaker than Dan Brown is a novelist; he follows Brown's formula (exotic location, startling revelation, desperate chase scene, repeat as needed) and elevates it into a superior entertainment, with Tom Hanks as a theo-intellectual Indiana Jones... it's involving, intriguing and constantly seems on the edge of startling revelations."<ref name="Ebert1"/> | |||
==See also== | |||
{{portal |Novels}} | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* '']'' | |||
* ] | |||
* '']'' | |||
The film received two sequels: '']'', released in 2009, and ], released in 2016. Ron Howard returned to direct both sequels. | |||
==Notes== | |||
{{Notelist}} | |||
==See also== | |||
{{Portal|Novels|Religion}} | |||
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<!-- please add a short description ], via {{subst:AnnotatedListOfLinks}} or {{Annotated link}} --> | |||
{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=no}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |Bible conspiracy theory}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |Constantinian shift}} | |||
* ] | |||
* {{Annotated link |Desposyni}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |False title}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |List of best-selling books}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |List of books banned in India}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |Smithy code}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |The Jesus Scroll|''The Jesus Scroll''}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations|''Mona Lisa'' replicas and reinterpretations}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |The Rozabal Line|''The Rozabal Line''}} | |||
* {{Annotated link |The Doomsday Conspiracy|''The Doomsday Conspiracy''}} | |||
{{div col end}} | |||
<!-- alphabetical order please ] --> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{ |
{{Reflist}} | ||
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
* Bock, Darrell L. ''Breaking the da Vinci code: Answers to the questions everyone's asking'' (Thomas Nelson, 2004). | |||
* ] "." | |||
* Ehrman, Bart D. ''Truth and fiction in The Da Vinci Code: a historian reveals what we really know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). | |||
* Schneider-Mayerson, Matthew. | |||
* Easley, Michael J., and John Ankerberg. ''The Da Vinci Code Controversy: 10 Facts You Should Know'' (Moody Publishers, 2006). | |||
* Gale, Cengage Learning. ''A Study Guide for Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code'' (Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015). | |||
* Hawel, Zeineb Sami. "Did Dan Brown Break or Repair the Taboos in the Da Vinci Code? An Analytical Study of His Dialectical Style." ''International Journal of Linguistics and Literature'' (IJLL) 7.4: 5-24. {{dead link|date=November 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} | |||
* Kennedy, Tammie M. "Mary Magdalene and the Politics of Public Memory: Interrogating" The Da Vinci Code"." ''Feminist Formations'' (2012): 120-139. | |||
* Mexal, Stephen J. "Realism, Narrative History, and the Production of the Bestseller: The Da Vinci Code and the Virtual Public Sphere." ''Journal of Popular Culture'' 44.5 (2011): 1085–1101. {{dead link|date=November 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} | |||
* Newheiser, Anna-Kaisa, Miguel Farias, and Nicole Tausch. "The functional nature of conspiracy beliefs: Examining the underpinnings of belief in the Da Vinci Code conspiracy." ''Personality and Individual Differences'' 51.8 (2011): 1007–1011. | |||
* Olson, Carl E., and Sandra Miesel. ''The da Vinci hoax: Exposing the errors in The da Vinci code'' (Ignatius Press, 2004). | |||
* Propp, William H. C. "Is The Da Vinci Code True?." ''Journal of Religion and Popular Culture'' 25.1 (2013): 34–48. | |||
* ] "." (2004) | |||
* Schneider-Mayerson, Matthew. "The Dan Brown phenomenon: conspiracism in post-9/11 popular fiction." ''Radical History Review'' 2011.111 (2011): 194–201. {{dead link|date=November 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} | |||
* Walsh, Richard G. "Passover Plots: From Modern Fictions to Mark and Back Again." ''Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts, Cultural Histories, and Contemporary Contexts'' 3.2-3 (2007): 201–222. | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{wikiquote}} | {{wikiquote}} | ||
* {{Citation | url = |
* {{Citation | url = http://www.danbrown.com/the-davinci-code/ | type = official website | title = The Da Vinci Code | date = January 5, 2013 | publisher = Dan Brown}} | ||
* {{Citation | url = http://www. |
* {{Citation | url = http://www.danbrownofficial.co.uk/danbrownbooks_thedavincicode.asp | type = official website | title = The Da Vinci Code | date = September 19, 2023 | publisher = Dan Brown | place = UK}} | ||
* {{Citation | url = https://sites.google.com/site/mysteriesofrenneslechateau/ | title = Mysteries of Rennes-le-Château | access-date = January 13, 2014 | archive-date = April 14, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150414192610/https://sites.google.com/site/mysteriesofrenneslechateau/ | url-status = dead }} | |||
* {{Citation | url = http://www.danbrownofficial.co.uk/danbrownbooks_thedavincicode.asp | type = official website | title = The da Vinci code | publisher = Dan Brown | place = ]}}. | |||
* {{Citation | url = http://www. |
* {{Citation | url = http://www.rochesterbible.org/video/davinci/davinci.html | title = The Da Vinci Code and Textual Criticism: A Video Response to the Novel | publisher = Rochester Bible | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101212103730/http://www.rochesterbible.org/video/davinci/davinci.html | archive-date = December 12, 2010 | df = mdy-all }} | ||
* {{Citation | url = http://www. |
* {{Citation | url = http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/may2006/dvc-m25.shtml | contribution = The Da Vinci Code, novel and film, and 'countercultural' myth | title = WSWS | type = review | first = David | last = Walsh |date=May 2006}} | ||
* {{Goodreads book|968}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 19:31, 19 December 2024
2003 novel by Dan Brown This article is about the novel. For the 2006 film, see The Da Vinci Code (film). For other uses, see The Da Vinci Code (disambiguation).
The first U.S. edition | |
Author | Dan Brown |
---|---|
Series | Robert Langdon #2 |
Genre | Mystery, detective fiction, conspiracy fiction, thriller |
Publisher | Doubleday (US) |
Publication date | March 18, 2003 |
Publication place | United States |
Pages | 689 (U.S. hardback) 489 (U.S. paperback) |
ISBN | 0-385-50420-9 (US) |
OCLC | 50920659 |
Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 21 |
LC Class | PS3552.R685434 D3 2003 |
Preceded by | Angels & Demons |
Followed by | The Lost Symbol |
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel Angels & Demons. The Da Vinci Code follows symbologist Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu after a murder in the Louvre Museum in Paris entangles them in a dispute between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus and Mary Magdalene having had a child together.
The novel explores an alternative religious history, whose central plot point is that the Merovingian kings of France were descended from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, ideas derived from Clive Prince's The Templar Revelation (1997) and books by Margaret Starbird. The book also refers to The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982), although Brown stated that it was not used as research material.
The Da Vinci Code provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and Mary Magdalene's role in the history of Christianity. The book has been extensively denounced by many Christian denominations as an attack on the Catholic Church, and also consistently criticized by scholars for its historical and scientific inaccuracies. The novel became a massive worldwide bestseller, selling 80 million copies as of 2009, and has been translated into 44 languages. In November 2004, Random House published a Special Illustrated Edition with 160 illustrations. In 2006, a film adaptation was released by Columbia Pictures.
Plot
Louvre curator and Priory of Sion grand master Jacques Saunière is fatally shot one night at the museum by an albino Catholic monk named Silas, who is working on behalf of someone he knows only as the Teacher, who wishes to discover the location of the "keystone", an item crucial in the search for the Holy Grail. After Saunière's body is discovered in the pose of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, the police summon Harvard professor Robert Langdon, who is in town on business. Police captain Bezu Fache tells him that he was summoned to help the police decode the cryptic message Saunière left during the final minutes of his life. The message includes a Fibonacci sequence out of order and an anagram: "O, draconian devil! Oh, lame saint!" Langdon explains to Fache that the pentacle Saunière drew on his chest in his own blood represents an allusion to the goddess and not devil worship, as Fache believes.
Sophie Neveu, a police cryptographer, secretly explains to Langdon that she is Saunière's estranged granddaughter and that Fache thinks Langdon is the murderer because the last line in her grandfather's message, which was meant for Neveu, said "P.S. Find Robert Langdon", which Fache had erased prior to Langdon's arrival. However, "P.S." does not refer to "postscript", but rather to Sophie — the nickname given to her by her grandfather was "Princess Sophie". She understands that her grandfather intended Langdon to decipher the code, which leads to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, which in turn leads to his painting Madonna of the Rocks. They find a pendant that holds the address of the Paris branch of the Depository Bank of Zurich.
Neveu and Langdon escape from the police and visit the bank. In the safe deposit box, which is unlocked with the Fibonacci sequence, they find a box containing the keystone: a cryptex, a cylindrical, hand-held vault with five concentric, rotating dials labeled with letters. When they are lined up correctly, they unlock the device, but if the cryptex is forced open, an enclosed vial of vinegar breaks and dissolves the message inside the cryptex, which was written on papyrus. The box containing the cryptex contains clues to its password.
Langdon and Neveu take the keystone to the home of Langdon's friend, Sir Leigh Teabing, an expert on the Holy Grail, the legend of which is heavily connected to the Priory. There, Teabing explains that the Grail is not a cup but connected to Mary Magdalene, and that she was Jesus Christ's wife and is the person to his right in The Last Supper. The trio then flee the country on Teabing's private plane, on which they conclude that the proper combination of letters spells out Neveu's given name, Sofia. Opening the cryptex, they discover a smaller cryptex inside it, along with another riddle that ultimately leads the group to the tomb of Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey.
During the flight to Britain, Neveu reveals the source of her estrangement from her grandfather ten years earlier: arriving home unexpectedly from university, Neveu secretly witnessed a spring fertility rite conducted in the secret basement of her grandfather's country estate. From her hiding place, she was shocked to see her grandfather with a woman at the center of a ritual attended by men and women who were wearing masks and chanting praise to the goddess. She fled the house and broke off all contact with Saunière. Langdon explains that what she witnessed was an ancient ceremony known as hieros gamos or "sacred marriage".
By the time they arrive at Westminster Abbey, Teabing is revealed to be the Teacher for whom Silas is working. Teabing wishes to use the Holy Grail, which he believes is a series of documents establishing that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and fathered children, in order to ruin the Vatican. He compels Langdon at gunpoint to solve the second cryptex's password, which Langdon realizes is "apple". Langdon secretly opens the cryptex and removes its contents before tossing the empty cryptex in the air. Teabing is arrested by Fache, who by now realizes that Langdon is innocent. Bishop Aringarosa, head of religious sect Opus Dei and Silas' mentor, realizing that Silas has been used to murder innocent people, rushes to help the police find him. When the police find Silas hiding in an Opus Dei Center, Silas assumes that they are there to kill him and he rushes out, accidentally shooting Bishop Aringarosa. Bishop Aringarosa survives but is informed that Silas was found dead later from a gunshot wound.
The final message inside the second keystone leads Neveu and Langdon to Rosslyn Chapel, whose docent turns out to be Neveu's long-lost brother, whom Neveu had been told died as a child in the car accident that killed her parents. The guardian of Rosslyn Chapel, Marie Chauvel Saint Clair, is Neveu's long-lost grandmother and Saunière's wife who was the woman who participated with him in the "sacred marriage". It is revealed that Neveu and her brother are descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The Priory of Sion hid her identity to protect her from possible threats to her life. The real meaning of the last message is that the Grail is buried beneath the small pyramid directly below La Pyramide Inversée, the inverted glass pyramid of the Louvre. It also lies beneath the "Rose Line", an allusion to "Rosslyn". Langdon figures out this final piece to the puzzle; he follows the Rose Line (prime meridian) to La Pyramide Inversée, where he kneels to pray before the hidden sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene, as the Templar knights did before.
Characters
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Reaction
Sales
The Da Vinci Code was a major success in 2003, outsold only by J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As of 2016, it had sold 80 million copies worldwide.
Historical inaccuracies
Main article: Criticism of The Da Vinci CodeThe Da Vinci Code generated criticism when it was first published for the fictitious description of the core aspects of Christianity and descriptions of European art, history, and architecture. The book has received negative reviews mostly from Catholic and other Christian communities. Many critics took issue with the level of research Brown did when writing the story. The New York Times writer Laura Miller characterized the novel as "based on a notorious hoax", "rank nonsense", and "bogus", saying the book is heavily based on the fabrications of Pierre Plantard, who is asserted to have created the Priory of Sion in 1956.
Critics accuse Brown of distorting and fabricating history. Theological author Marcia Ford considered that novels should be judged not on their literary merit, but on their conclusions:
Regardless of whether you agree with Brown's conclusions, it's clear that his history is largely fanciful, which means he and his publisher have violated a long-held if unspoken agreement with the reader: Fiction that purports to present historical facts should be researched as carefully as a nonfiction book would be.
Richard Abanes wrote:
The most flagrant aspect ... is not that Dan Brown disagrees with Christianity but that he utterly warps it in order to disagree with it ... to the point of completely rewriting a vast number of historical events. And making the matter worse has been Brown's willingness to pass off his distortions as 'facts' with which innumerable scholars and historians agree.
Much of the controversy generated by The Da Vinci Code was due to the fact that the book was marketed as being historically accurate; the novel opens with a "fact" page that states that "The Priory of Sion—a French secret society founded in 1099—is a real organization", whereas the Priory of Sion is a hoax created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, which Plantard admitted under oath in 1994, well before the publication of The Da Vinci Code. The fact page itself is part of the novel as a fictional piece, but is not presented as such. The page also states that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents ... and secret rituals in this novel are accurate", a claim disputed by numerous academic scholars and experts in numerous areas.
Brown addressed the idea of some of the more controversial aspects being fact on his website, stating that the page at the beginning of the novel mentions only "documents, rituals, organization, artwork and architecture" but not any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters, stating that "Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader". Brown also says, "It is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit" and "the secret behind The Da Vinci Code was too well documented and significant for me to dismiss."
In 2003, while promoting the novel, Brown was asked in interviews what parts of the history in his novel actually happened. He replied "Absolutely all of it." In a 2003 interview with CNN's Martin Savidge he was again asked how much of the historical background was true. He replied, "99% is true... the background is all true". Asked by Elizabeth Vargas in an ABC News special if the book would have been different if he had written it as non-fiction he replied, "I don't think it would have."
In 2005, UK TV personality Tony Robinson edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of Brown and those of Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, who authored the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, in the program The Real Da Vinci Code, shown on British TV Channel 4. The program featured lengthy interviews with many of the main protagonists cited by Brown as "absolute fact" in The Da Vinci Code. Arnaud de Sède, son of Gérard de Sède, stated categorically that his father and Plantard had made up the existence of the Prieuré de Sion, the cornerstone of the Jesus bloodline theory: "frankly, it was piffle", noting that the concept of a descendant of Jesus was also an element of the 1999 Kevin Smith film Dogma.
The earliest appearance of this theory is due to the 13th-century Cistercian monk and chronicler Peter of Vaux de Cernay who reported that Cathars believed that the 'evil' and 'earthly' Jesus Christ had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, described as his concubine (and that the 'good Christ' was incorporeal and existed spiritually in the body of Paul). The program The Real Da Vinci Code also cast doubt on the Rosslyn Chapel association with the Grail and on other related stories, such as the alleged landing of Mary Magdalene in France.
According to The Da Vinci Code, the Roman Emperor Constantine I suppressed Gnosticism because it portrayed Jesus as purely human. The novel portrays Constantine as wanting Christianity to act as a unifying religion for the Roman Empire, thinking that Christianity would appeal to pagans only if it featured a demigod similar to pagan heroes. According to the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus was merely a human prophet, not a demigod. Therefore, to change Jesus' image, Constantine destroyed the Gnostic Gospels and promoted the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which portray Jesus as divine or semi-divine; however, most scholars agree that all Gnostic writings depict Christ as purely divine, his human body being a mere illusion (docetism). Gnostic sects saw Christ this way because they regarded matter as evil, and therefore believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body.
Literary criticism
The book received both positive and negative reviews from critics, and it has been the subject of negative appraisals concerning its portrayal of history. Its writing and historical accuracy were reviewed negatively by The New Yorker, Salon.com, and Maclean's. On the May/June 2003 issue of Bookmarks, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary stating, "Overall, this breezy, entertaining thriller will take you on an ingeniously conceived ride through history."
Positive
Janet Maslin of The New York Times said that one word "concisely conveys the kind of extreme enthusiasm with which this riddle-filled, code-breaking, exhilaratingly brainy thriller can be recommended. That word is wow. The author is Dan Brown (a name you will want to remember). In this gleefully erudite suspense novel, Mr. Brown takes the format he has been developing through three earlier novels and fine-tunes it to blockbuster perfection." David Lazarus of The San Francisco Chronicle said, "This story has so many twists—all satisfying, most unexpected—that it would be a sin to reveal too much of the plot in advance. Let's just say that if this novel doesn't get your pulse racing, you need to check your meds." The book appeared at number 43 on a 2010 list of 101 best books ever written, which was derived from a survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers.
Disparaging
Stephen King likened Brown's work to "Jokes for the John", calling such literature the "intellectual equivalent of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese". Roger Ebert described it as a "potboiler written with little grace and style", although he added it did "supply an intriguing plot". In his review of the film National Treasure, whose plot also involves ancient conspiracies and treasure hunts, he wrote: "I should read a potboiler like The Da Vinci Code every once in a while, just to remind myself that life is too short to read books like The Da Vinci Code." While interviewing Umberto Eco in a 2008 issue of The Paris Review, Lila Azam Zanganeh characterized The Da Vinci Code as "a bizarre little offshoot" of Eco's novel, Foucault's Pendulum. In response, Eco remarked, "Dan Brown is a character from Foucault's Pendulum! I invented him. He shares my characters' fascinations—the world conspiracy of Rosicrucians, Masons, and Jesuits. The role of the Knights Templar. The hermetic secret. The principle that everything is connected. I suspect Dan Brown might not even exist."
Negative
Salman Rushdie said during a lecture, "Do not start me on The Da Vinci Code. A novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name." Stephen Fry has referred to Brown's writings as "complete loose stool-water" and "arse gravy of the worst kind". In a live chat on June 14, 2006, he clarified, "I just loathe all those book about the Holy Grail and Masons and Catholic conspiracies and all that botty-dribble. I mean, there's so much more that's interesting and exciting in art and in history. It plays to the worst and laziest in humanity, the desire to think the worst of the past and the desire to feel superior to it in some fatuous way." A. O. Scott, reviewing the movie based on the book for The New York Times, called the book "Dan Brown's best-selling primer on how not to write an English sentence". The New Yorker reviewer Anthony Lane refers to it as "unmitigated junk" and decries "the crumbling coarseness of the style". Linguist Geoffrey Pullum and others posted several entries critical of Brown's writing, at Language Log, calling Brown one of the "worst prose stylists in the history of literature" and saying Brown's "writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad".
Lawsuits
Author Lewis Perdue alleged that Brown plagiarized two of his novels, The Da Vinci Legacy, originally published in 1983, and Daughter of God, originally published in 2000. He sought to block distribution of the book and film. However, Judge George Daniels of the US District Court in New York ruled against Perdue in 2005, saying that "A reasonable average lay observer would not conclude that The Da Vinci Code is substantially similar to Daughter of God" and that "Any slightly similar elements are on the level of generalized or otherwise unprotectable ideas." Perdue appealed; the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the original decision, saying Mr. Perdue's arguments were "without merit".
In early 2006, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh filed suit against Brown's publisher, Random House. They alleged that significant portions of The Da Vinci Code were plagiarized from The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, violating their copyright. Brown confirmed during the court case that he named the principal Grail expert of his story Leigh Teabing, an anagram of "Baigent Leigh", after the two plaintiffs. In reply to the suggestion that Henry Lincoln was also referred to in the book, since he has medical problems resulting in a severe limp, like the character of Leigh Teabing, Brown stated he was unaware of Lincoln's illness and the correspondence was a coincidence. Since Baigent and Leigh had presented their conclusions as historical research, not as fiction, Mr Justice Peter Smith, who presided over the trial, deemed that a novelist must be free to use these ideas in a fictional context, and ruled against Baigent and Leigh. Smith also hid his own secret code in his written judgment, in the form of seemingly random italicized letters in the 71-page document, which apparently spell out a message. Smith indicated he would confirm the code if someone broke it. After losing before the High Court on July 12, 2006, Baigent and Leigh appealed to the Court of Appeal, unsuccessfully.
In April 2006 Mikhail Anikin, a Russian scientist and art historian working as a senior researcher at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, stated the intention to bring a lawsuit against Brown, maintaining that he was the one who coined the phrase used as the book's title and one of the ideas regarding the Mona Lisa used in its plot. Anikin interprets the Mona Lisa to be a Christian allegory consisting of two images, one of Jesus Christ that comprises the image's right half, and one of the Virgin Mary that forms its left half. According to Anikin, he expressed this idea to a group of experts from the Museum of Houston during a 1988 René Magritte exhibit at the Hermitage, and when one of the Americans requested permission to pass it along to a friend Anikin granted the request on condition that he be credited in any book using his interpretation. Anikin eventually compiled his research into Leonardo da Vinci or Theology on Canvas, a book published in 2000, but The Da Vinci Code, published three years later, makes no mention of Anikin and instead asserts that the idea in question is a "well-known opinion of a number of scientists".
Brown has been sued twice in U.S. Federal courts by the author Jack Dunn who claims Brown copied a huge part of his book The Vatican Boys to write The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. Neither lawsuit was allowed to go to a jury trial. In 2017, in London, another claim was begun against Brown by Jack Dunn who claimed that justice was not served in the U.S. lawsuits. Possibly the largest reaction occurred in Kolkata, India, where a group of around 25 protesters "stormed" Crossword bookstore, pulled copies of the book from the racks, and threw them to the ground. On the same day, a group of 50–60 protesters successfully made the Oxford Bookstore on Park Street decide to stop selling the book "until the controversy sparked by the film's release was resolved". Thus in 2006, seven Indian states (Nagaland, Punjab, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh) banned the release or exhibition of the Hollywood movie The Da Vinci Code (as well as the book). Later, two states, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, lifted the ban under high court order.
Release details
The book has been translated into over 44 languages, primarily hardcover. Major English-language (hardcover) editions include:
- The Da Vinci Code (1st ed.), US: Doubleday, April 2003, ISBN 0-385-50420-9.
- The Da Vinci Code (spec illustr ed.), Doubleday, November 2, 2004, ISBN 0-385-51375-5 (as of January 2006, has sold 576,000 copies).
- The Da Vinci Code, UK: Corgi Adult, April 2004, ISBN 0-552-14951-9.
- The Da Vinci Code (illustr ed.), UK: Bantam, October 2, 2004, ISBN 0-593-05425-3.
- The Da Vinci Code (trade paperback), US/CA: Anchor, March 2006.
- The da Vinci code (paperback), Anchor, March 28, 2006, 5 million copies.
- The da Vinci code (paperback) (special illustrated ed.), Broadway, March 28, 2006, released 200,000 copies.
- Goldsman, Akiva (May 19, 2006), The Da Vinci Code Illustrated Screenplay: Behind the Scenes of the Major Motion Picture, Howard, Ron; Brown, Dan introd, Doubleday, Broadway, the day of the film's release. Including film stills, behind-the-scenes photos and the full script. 25,000 copies of the hardcover, and 200,000 of the paperback version.
Film
Main article: The Da Vinci Code (film)Columbia Pictures adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman, and Academy Award winner Ron Howard directing. The film was released on May 19, 2006, and stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, and Sir Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing. During its opening weekend, moviegoers spent an estimated $77 million in America, and $224 million worldwide.
The movie received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert in its review wrote that "Ron Howard is a better filmmaker than Dan Brown is a novelist; he follows Brown's formula (exotic location, startling revelation, desperate chase scene, repeat as needed) and elevates it into a superior entertainment, with Tom Hanks as a theo-intellectual Indiana Jones... it's involving, intriguing and constantly seems on the edge of startling revelations."
The film received two sequels: Angels & Demons, released in 2009, and Inferno, released in 2016. Ron Howard returned to direct both sequels.
See also
- Bible conspiracy theory
- Constantinian shift – Political and theological changes
- Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci
- Desposyni – Biblical figures described as brothers of JesusPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
- False title – Grammatical construct in English
- List of best-selling books
- List of books banned in India
- Smithy code – Private amusement embedded in a court judgement in the DaVinci Code
- The Jesus Scroll – 1972 book by Donovan Joyce
- Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations
- The Rozabal Line – Novel by Ashwin Sanghi
- The Doomsday Conspiracy – 1991 novel by Sidney Sheldon
References
- "How Good Is Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol?". Time. September 15, 2009.
- Suthersanen, Uma (June 2006). "Copyright in the Courts: The Da Vinci Code". WIPO Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
- Wyat, Edward (November 4, 2005). "'Da Vinci Code' Losing Best-Seller Status" Archived October 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times.
- "New novel from Dan Brown due this fall". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- Minzesheimer, Bob (December 11, 2003). "'Code' deciphers interest in religious history". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- Heller, Karen (December 29, 2016). "Meet the elite group of authors who sell 100 million books – or 350 million". Independent. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- Miller, Laura (February 22, 2004). "THE LAST WORD; The Da Vinci Con". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
- ^ Ford, Marcia. "Da Vinci Debunkers: Spawns of Dan Brown's Bestseller". FaithfulReader. Archived from the original on May 27, 2004. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- "Affaire Pelat: Le Rapport du Juge", Le Point, no. 1112 (8–14 January 1994), p. 11.
- "History vs The Da Vinci Code". Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- Kelleher, Ken; Kelleher, Carolyn (April 24, 2006). "The Da Vinci Code" (FAQs). Dan Brown. Archived from the original on March 25, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
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- The Real Da Vinci Code. Channel 4.
- Sibly, WA; Sibly, MD (1998), The History of the Albigensian Crusade: Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay's "Historia Albigensis", Boydell, ISBN 0-85115-658-4,
Further, in their secret meetings they said that the Christ who was born in the earthly and visible Bethlehem and crucified at Jerusalem was 'evil', and that Mary Magdalene was his concubine – and that she was the woman taken in adultery who is referred to in the Scriptures; the 'good' Christ, they said, neither ate nor drank nor assumed the true flesh and was never in this world, except spiritually in the body of Paul. I have used the term 'the earthly and visible Bethlehem' because the heretics believed there is a different and invisible earth in which – according to some of them – the 'good' Christ was born and crucified.
- O'Neill, Tim (2006), "55. Early Christianity and Political Power", History versus the Da Vinci Code, archived from the original on May 15, 2009, retrieved February 16, 2009.
- Arendzen, John Peter (1913). "Docetae". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton.
The idea of the unreality of Christ's human nature was held by the oldest Gnostic sects ... Docetism, as far as at present known, always an accompaniment of Gnosticism or later of Manichaeism.
- O'Neill, Tim (2006). "55. Nag Hammadi and the Dead Sea Scrolls". History versus the Da Vinci Code. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
- ^ Lane, Anthony (May 29, 2006). "Heaven Can Wait" Archived October 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. The New Yorker.
- Miller, Laura (December 29, 2004). "The Da Vinci crock" Archived September 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Salon.com. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- Steyn, Mark (May 10, 2006) "The Da Vinci Code: bad writing for Biblical illiterates" Archived June 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Maclean's.
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- "Bookmarks Selections". Bookmarks Magazine. Archived from the original on July 8, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- "The Da Vinci Code". Critics (in Greek). Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- Maslin, Janet (March 17, 2003). "Spinning a Thriller From a Gallery at the Louvre" Archived April 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
- Lazarus, David (April 6, 2003). "'Da Vinci Code' a heart-racing thriller". San Francisco Chronicle.
- Yeoman, William (June 30, 2010), "Vampires trump wizards as readers pick their best", The West Australian, retrieved March 24, 2011List (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2011.
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- ^ Ebert, Roger (May 18, 2006), "Veni, Vidi, Da Vinci", RogerEbert.com
- Ebert, Roger (November 18, 2004), "Clueless caper just fool's gold", RogerEbert.com
- Zanganeh, Lila Azam. "Umberto Eco, The Art of Fiction No. 197" Archived October 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Paris Review. Summer 2008, Number 185. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- "Famed author takes on Kansas". LJWorld. October 7, 2005. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- "3x12", QI (episode transcript).
- "Interview with Douglas Adams Continuum". SE: Douglas Adams. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- Scott, A.O. (May 18, 2006). "Movie Review: A 'Da Vinci Code' That Takes Longer to Watch Than Read". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- "The Dan Brown code", Language Log, University of Pennsylvania (also follow other links at the bottom of that page)
- "Author Brown 'did not plagiarise'" Archived November 28, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, August 6, 2005
- "Delays to latest Dan Brown novel" Archived April 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, April 21, 2006
- "Judge creates own Da Vinci code". BBC News. April 27, 2006. Archived from the original on September 5, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
- ^ "Authors who lost 'Da Vinci Code' copying case to mount legal appeal". Retrieved July 12, 2006.
- ^ "Judge rejects claims in 'Da Vinci' suit". Today.com. MSN. April 7, 2006. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- Page, Jeremy. "Now Russian sues Brown over his Da Vinski Code", The Sunday Times, April 12, 2006
- Grachev, Guerman (April 13, 2006), "Russian scientist to sue best-selling author Dan Brown over 'Da Vinci Code' plagiarism", Pravda, RU, archived from the original on October 7, 2012, retrieved May 13, 2011.
- Teodorczuk, Tom (December 14, 2017). "Dan Brown faces possible new plagiarism lawsuit over 'The Da Vinci Code'". MarketWatch. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- "Novel earns vandal wrath - Code controversy deepens with warning from protesters". The Telegraph. India. May 18, 2006. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016.
- "India extends Da Vinci Code ban" on the ground that it outraged the religious feeling of Christians. Roman Catholic Bishop Marampudi Joji, based in Andhra Pradesh's capital Hyderabad, welcomed the ban. BBC News, 3 June 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2006.
- "HC quashes ban on Da Vinci Code | Hyderabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. June 22, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- "HC allows Da Vinci Code screening in TN". www.rediff.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
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Further reading
- Bock, Darrell L. Breaking the da Vinci code: Answers to the questions everyone's asking (Thomas Nelson, 2004).
- Ehrman, Bart D. Truth and fiction in The Da Vinci Code: a historian reveals what we really know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine (Oxford University Press, 2004).
- Easley, Michael J., and John Ankerberg. The Da Vinci Code Controversy: 10 Facts You Should Know (Moody Publishers, 2006).
- Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015).
- Hawel, Zeineb Sami. "Did Dan Brown Break or Repair the Taboos in the Da Vinci Code? An Analytical Study of His Dialectical Style." International Journal of Linguistics and Literature (IJLL) 7.4: 5-24. online
- Kennedy, Tammie M. "Mary Magdalene and the Politics of Public Memory: Interrogating" The Da Vinci Code"." Feminist Formations (2012): 120-139. online
- Mexal, Stephen J. "Realism, Narrative History, and the Production of the Bestseller: The Da Vinci Code and the Virtual Public Sphere." Journal of Popular Culture 44.5 (2011): 1085–1101. online
- Newheiser, Anna-Kaisa, Miguel Farias, and Nicole Tausch. "The functional nature of conspiracy beliefs: Examining the underpinnings of belief in the Da Vinci Code conspiracy." Personality and Individual Differences 51.8 (2011): 1007–1011. online
- Olson, Carl E., and Sandra Miesel. The da Vinci hoax: Exposing the errors in The da Vinci code (Ignatius Press, 2004).
- Propp, William H. C. "Is The Da Vinci Code True?." Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 25.1 (2013): 34–48.
- Pullum, Geoffrey K. "The Dan Brown code." (2004)
- Schneider-Mayerson, Matthew. "The Dan Brown phenomenon: conspiracism in post-9/11 popular fiction." Radical History Review 2011.111 (2011): 194–201. online
- Walsh, Richard G. "Passover Plots: From Modern Fictions to Mark and Back Again." Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts, Cultural Histories, and Contemporary Contexts 3.2-3 (2007): 201–222. online
External links
- The Da Vinci Code (official website), Dan Brown, January 5, 2013
- The Da Vinci Code (official website), UK: Dan Brown, September 19, 2023
- Mysteries of Rennes-le-Château, archived from the original on April 14, 2015, retrieved January 13, 2014
- The Da Vinci Code and Textual Criticism: A Video Response to the Novel, Rochester Bible, archived from the original on December 12, 2010
- Walsh, David (May 2006), "The Da Vinci Code, novel and film, and 'countercultural' myth", WSWS (review)
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