The Da Vinci Code is a novel by Dan Brown. It was published in 2003 and became a bestseller. The novel is set in the present day and revolves around the search for the Holy Grail.
Story is about Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of symbology. He is called to help solve a murder at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. When he arrives, he finds that the police believe that the murder was committed by an albino Catholic monk named Silas who has recently escaped from prison. Langdon’s investigations lead him to discover that there are forces within Opus Dei, a secret society within the Catholic Church, who are trying to keep secret information about Jesus and his wife Mary Magdalene hidden from the public.
This novel has also been adapted into two films: The Da Vinci Code (2006) and Inferno (2016).
Book has been controversial, with some people claiming that it is anti-Catholic. The Catholic Church has condemned the novel; religious leaders have argued that Brown’s depiction of Jesus Christ as secretly married to Mary Magdalene is heretical; and some critics have accused Brown of distorting facts about art history for dramatic effect.
The Catholic Church banned the book from its schools in Boston in 2004 as part of a campaign against offensive material on school grounds; Cardinal Archbishop Sean O’Malley said “Hollywood movies are not more important than faith formation.” In 2006, the Vatican asked Catholics around the world to ignore The Da Vinci Code movie because it could “distort” the faith.
The sequel to The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, was published in 2005. Dan Brown has also written The Lost Symbol, which was published in 2009.
