The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery and thriller novel written by Dan Brown. It is one of the most successful American novels of all time.

This is Brown’s second book to feature the character Robert Langdon. The first was his 2000 novel Angels & Demons. The Da Vinci Code follows Langdon, a symbologist, and Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist, after a murder at the Louvre Museum in Paris draws them into a disagreement between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei about whether Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child together.

The novel presents an alternative view of religious history. Its main story point is that the Merovingian kings of France were descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. These ideas come from books by Clive Prince, The Templar Revelation (1997), and Margaret Starbird. The book also mentions Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln (1982), though Brown said he did not use it as research.

The Da Vinci Code increased public interest in theories about the Holy Grail legend and Mary Magdalene’s role in Christian history. Many Christian groups strongly criticized the book, calling it an attack on the Catholic Church. Scholars also criticized it for its unrealistic historical story. The novel became a worldwide bestseller, selling 80 million copies by 2009. It has been translated into 44 languages. In November 2004, Random House released a Special Illustrated Edition with 160 illustrations. In 2006, a film version was made 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. Silas works for someone called the Teacher, who wants to find the location of the "keystone," an important item in the search for the Holy Grail. After Saunière's body is found in the pose of the Vitruvian Man, a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, the police call Harvard professor Robert Langdon, who is in town for work. Police captain Bezu Fache tells Langdon he was asked to help decode a secret message Saunière left before his death. The message includes a Fibonacci sequence that is 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 blood refers to a goddess, not devil worship, as Fache believes.

Sophie Neveu, a police cryptographer, secretly tells Langdon that she is Saunière's estranged granddaughter. She explains that Fache thinks Langdon is the murderer because the last line of Saunière's message, meant for Neveu, said "P.S. Find Robert Langdon." Fache erased this line before Langdon arrived. However, "P.S." does not mean "postscript" but refers to Sophie, whose grandfather called her "Princess Sophie." Sophie realizes her grandfather wanted Langdon to solve the code, which leads to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and then to his painting Madonna of the Rocks. They find a pendant with the address of the Paris branch of the Depository Bank of Zurich.

Neveu and Langdon escape the police and visit the bank. Using the Fibonacci sequence, they unlock a safe deposit box and find a cryptex, a cylindrical, hand-held vault with five rotating dials labeled with letters. When the dials are correctly aligned, the cryptex opens. If forced open, a vial of vinegar inside breaks and destroys the message written on papyrus. The box with the cryptex contains clues to its password.

Langdon and Neveu take the cryptex to Sir Leigh Teabing, a friend of Langdon and an expert on the Holy Grail. Teabing explains that the Grail is not a cup but is connected to Mary Magdalene, who was Jesus Christ's wife and is shown to his right in The Last Supper. The group then leaves the country on Teabing's private plane, where they discover the cryptex's password spells "Sofia," Neveu's given name. Inside the cryptex, they find a smaller cryptex and a riddle that leads them to the tomb of Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey.

During the flight, Neveu explains she stopped speaking to her grandfather ten years earlier after witnessing a secret ritual at his estate. She saw him with a woman during a ceremony involving masks and chanting. She ran away and cut off contact with him. Langdon explains this was an ancient ceremony called "hieros gamos," or "sacred marriage."

When they arrive at Westminster Abbey, Teabing is revealed to be the Teacher Silas works for. Teabing wants to use the Holy Grail, which he believes contains documents proving Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children, to harm the Vatican. He forces Langdon to solve the second cryptex's password, which Langdon discovers is "apple." Langdon secretly removes the contents and throws the empty cryptex away. Teabing is arrested by Fache, who now knows Langdon is innocent. Bishop Aringarosa, Silas' mentor, helps the police find Silas. When Silas is found hiding in an Opus Dei Center, he assumes the police want to kill him and accidentally shoots Bishop Aringarosa. The bishop survives, but Silas is later found dead from a gunshot wound.

The final message inside the second cryptex leads Neveu and Langdon to Rosslyn Chapel, where they meet Neveu's long-lost brother, who was believed to have died in a car accident. The chapel's guardian, Marie Chauvel Saint Clair, is Neveu's grandmother and Saunière's wife, who participated in the "sacred marriage" with him. It is revealed Neveu and her brother are descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The Priory of Sion hid their identity to protect them. The message also reveals the Grail is buried beneath a small pyramid near La Pyramide Inversée, the Louvre's inverted glass pyramid, and under the "Rose Line," a reference to Rosslyn. Langdon follows the Rose Line, which is the prime meridian, to the pyramid, where he kneels to pray before the hidden sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene, as the Templar knights once did.

Reaction

The Da Vinci Code was a very popular book in 2003. It sold more copies than J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. By 2016, the book had sold 80 million copies worldwide.

The book faced criticism when it was first published. It described parts of Christianity and European art, history, and architecture in ways that many people believed were not true. Many critics, especially from Catholic and other Christian groups, said the book was not accurate. Some critics questioned how much research the author, Dan Brown, did before writing the story. A writer from The New York Times, Laura Miller, called the book "based on a notorious hoax" and said it was "bogus." She claimed the book relied heavily on made-up information about a man named Pierre Plantard, who supposedly created the Priory of Sion in 1956.

Some critics said Brown changed or made up parts of history. A theological author named Marcia Ford said that novels should not be judged only on their literary quality but also on their conclusions.

A writer named Richard Abanes said much of the controversy came from the book being marketed as historically accurate. The book’s opening "fact" page claimed that the Priory of Sion was a real organization founded in 1099. This claim was disputed by experts. The page also said that all descriptions of artwork, architecture, and rituals in the book were accurate, but scholars disagreed.

Brown explained on his website that the "fact" page only mentioned documents, rituals, artwork, and architecture, not the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters in the book. He said interpreting those theories was up to the reader. Brown also said he believed some of the theories in the book might have some truth. He added that the secrets in the book were too well documented to ignore.

In 2003, Brown was asked in interviews if the history in his book was true. He said, "Absolutely all of it." He later told a reporter that "99% is true" and that the background of the story was accurate. When asked if the book would have been different if written as non-fiction, he said, "I don’t think it would have."

In 2005, a TV program called The Real Da Vinci Code on British Channel 4 challenged the claims in the book. The program interviewed people Brown cited as "absolute fact" in his novel. One person, Arnaud de Sède, said his father and Pierre Plantard made up the Priory of Sion. He called the idea of a Jesus bloodline "piffle," a term meaning nonsense. The program also questioned other claims, such as the connection between the Rosslyn Chapel and the Holy Grail.

The book’s portrayal of history was criticized by some reviewers. The New Yorker, Salon.com, and Maclean’s all wrote negative reviews about the book’s historical accuracy.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the book "exhilaratingly brainy" and said it was "a blockbuster." David Lazarus of The San Francisco Chronicle said the book had many exciting twists and was worth reading. The book was listed at number 43 on a 2010 list of the best books ever written, based on a survey of over 15,000 readers.

Other critics had harsher opinions. Stephen King compared Brown’s work to "jokes for the John," saying it was simple and not special. Roger Ebert called the book a "potboiler" with little style but an intriguing plot. Stephen Fry said Brown’s books were "arse gravy of the worst kind." A. O. Scott called the book "Dan Brown’s best-selling primer on how not to write an English sentence." Anthony Lane of The New Yorker called it "unmitigated junk."

Release details

The book has been translated into more than 44 languages, mostly hardcover editions. Major English-language (hardcover) editions include:

• The Da Vinci Code (1st edition), United States: Doubleday, April 2003, ISBN 0-385-50420-9.
• The Da Vinci Code (special illustrated edition), Doubleday, November 2, 2004, ISBN 0-385-51375-5 (as of January 2006, sold 576,000 copies).
• The Da Vinci Code, United Kingdom: Corgi Adult, April 2004, ISBN 0-552-14951-9.
• The Da Vinci Code (illustrated edition), United Kingdom: Bantam, October 2, 2004, ISBN 0-593-05425-3.
• The Da Vinci Code (trade paperback), United States and Canada: Anchor, March 2006.
• The Da Vinci Code (paperback), Anchor, March 28, 2006, 5 million copies sold.
• The Da Vinci Code (paperback) (special illustrated edition), Broadway, March 28, 2006, released 200,000 copies.
• The Da Vinci Code Illustrated Screenplay: Behind the Scenes of the Major Motion Picture, by Goldsman, Akiva (with Howard, Ron; Brown, Dan introduction), Doubleday, Broadway, on the day the movie was released. Includes film stills, behind-the-scenes photos, and the full script. Sold 25,000 hardcover copies and 200,000 paperback copies.

Film

Columbia Pictures made a movie based on a novel. Akiva Goldsman wrote the screenplay, and Ron Howard, an Academy Award winner, directed the film. The movie was released on May 19, 2006. It features Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, and Sir Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing. During its first weekend in theaters, audiences in the United States spent about $77 million, and worldwide spending reached approximately $224 million.

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Roger Ebert wrote that Ron Howard is a better filmmaker than Dan Brown is a novelist. He said Howard followed Brown's story pattern—such as exciting locations, surprising discoveries, and fast-paced scenes—and improved it into a more enjoyable experience. Ebert described the movie as engaging, interesting, and full of suspenseful moments.

The film had two follow-up movies: Angels & Demons, released in 2009, and Inferno, released in 2016. Ron Howard directed both sequels.