ROUGH GUIDE TO THE DA VINCI CODE

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 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.