Can I learn about art, history or theology by reading the book?
Most experts say that’s like trying to learn science from watching Star Trek. As the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.” And Mr. Brown gets plenty of facts wrong. For instance? The Priory of Sion is the novel’s secret society. Mr. Brown says it’s a real organization founded in 1099. Last month, 60 Minutes stacked up the evidence that the Priory was a hoax invented in the 1950s by an anti-Semitic Frenchman. Mr. Brown’s characters say Leonardo’s Last Supper includes Mary Magdalene. If so, Leonardo left out one apostle. Most art historians say the beardless, long-haired, youthful figure to Jesus’ right is not Mary Magdalene, but the apostle John — who shows up in Last Supper paintings by other artists, before and after Leonardo, as … a beardless, long-haired youth. Art historians also snicker at Mr. Brown’s repeated references to “Da Vinci.” That would be like referring to “Fred from New York” as “from New York
