His irises were pink with dark red pupils.
WORDS OF WONDER LEVEL 68 WALKTHROUGH SKIN
He was broad and tall, with ghostpale skin and thinning white hair. Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly.
He crawled out from under the canvas and scanned the cavernous space for someplace to hide.Ī voice spoke, chillingly close. The curator lay a moment, gasping for breath, taking stock. Grabbing the gilded frame, the seventysixyearold man heaved the masterpiece toward himself until it tore from the wall and Saunière collapsed backward in a heap beneath the canvas.Īs he had anticipated, a thundering iron gate fell nearby, barricading the entrance to the suite. He lunged for the nearest painting he could see, a Caravaggio. Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum’s Grand Gallery.
The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic sect that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as “corporal mortification.” Opus Dei has just completed construction of a $47 million World Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City.Īll descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate. In 1975 Paris’s Bibliothèque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci. The Priory of Sion-a European secret society founded in 1099-is a real organization. And my wife, Blythe-art historian, painter, frontline editor, and without a doubt the most astonishingly talented woman I have ever known.
First, my mother, Connie Brown-fellow scribe, nurturer, musician, and role model. My gratitude also to Water Street Bookstore for tracking down so many of my research books, my father Richard Brown-mathematics teacher and author-for his assistance with the Divine Proportion and the Fibonacci Sequence, Stan Planton, Sylvie Baudeloque, Peter McGuigan, Francis McInerney, Margie Wachtel, Andre Vernet, Ken Kelleher at Anchorball Web Media, Cara Sottak, Karyn Popham, Esther Sung, Miriam Abramowitz, William TunstallPedoe, and Griffin Wooden Brown.Īnd finally, in a novel drawing so heavily on the sacred feminine, I would be remiss if I did not mention the two extraordinary women who have touched my life. My thanks also to the initial core of early inhouse supporters, headed by Michael Palgon, Suzanne Herz, Janelle Moburg, Jackie Everly, and Adrienne Sparks, as well as to the talented people of Doubleday’s sales force.įor their generous assistance in the research of the book, I would like to acknowledge the Louvre Museum, the French Ministry of Culture, Project Gutenberg, Bibliothèque Nationale, the Gnostic Society Library, the Department of Paintings Study and Documentation Service at the Louvre, Catholic World News, Royal Observatory Greenwich, London Record Society, the Muniment Collection at Westminster Abbey, John Pike and the Federation of American Scientists, and the five members of Opus Dei (three active, two former) who recounted their stories, both positive and negative, regarding their experiences inside Opus Dei. Thank you especially to Bill Thomas and Steve Rubin, who believed in this book from the start. I cannot fully express my gratitude to the exceptional team at Doubleday, for their generosity, faith, and superb guidance. And to the incomparable Heide Lange-tireless champion of The Da Vinci Code, agent extraordinaire, and trusted friend. First and foremost, to my friend and editor, Jason Kaufman, for working so hard on this project and for truly understanding what this book is all about.
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