Dan Brown's thriller The Da Vinci Code has created an extraordinary Christian controversy, with its sub-plots of the feminine in religion, the bloodline of Christ, the legend of the Holy Grail, and the role of sects like Opus Dei within the church. This Rough Guide explores and explains the context of the novel, including: How the early Christian Church edited' The Bible, and adopted earlier religions. What art historians make of Leonardo Da Vinci's symbolism in the Last Supper and other works. The true history of the Holy Grail, the Priory of Sion, Opus Dei, and the debate on the bloodline of Christ. Location guides to Da Vinci Code sites in Paris, Rome, Jerusalem, New York, London and Edinburgh. Reviews of Da Vinci Code sources and a glossary of everything from the Templars to the Fibonaccci Sequence. Whatever you think of Dan Brown's novel, this Rough Guide has the key to understanding the worlds it inhabits.
Michael Haag, who lives in London, is a biographer and historian. He has written widely on the Egyptian, Classical and Medieval worlds; and on the Mediterranean and the Middle East. He has also broadcast for the BBC.
For more information visit his website at: www.michaelhaag.com
And his blog at: http://michaelhaag.blogspot.com
