Regards, Ivan
Posted on 04/11/2006 10:34:50 PM PDT by MadIvan
A RUSSIAN art historian has accused Dan Brown of plagiarism in The Da Vinci Code, just four days after a British Court rejected a similar claim.
Mikhail Anikin, a Leonardo da Vinci expert in the Hermitage museum’s Western European art department, said he would give Mr Brown one month to apologise and give up half his revenues from the book or he would take him to court in Russia and the US to seek all his earnings from the novel.
“When I read the book, I was shocked at its poor quality and because it used my ideas,” Dr Anikin said. “This book tells lies about the Church which upset me morally.”
Dr Anikin said he had written a book called Leonardo da Vinci: Theology In Paint in 2000, in which he argued that the Mona Lisa was an allegory for the Christian Church.
Two years ealier, he said, he had shared his views on the painting with some visiting specialists from the Menil Collection of Houston, Texas, who helped to organise an exhibition at the Hermitage. One, he said, had asked if could pass on the ideas to Brown, describing him as “a friend who wrote detective novels”.
Dr Anikin said that he agreed and even gave his theory the name, The Da Vinci Code, but insisted that he should be credited in any book.He never heard back, he said.
The Da Vinci Code was published in 2003 and soon became a global blockbuster.
On Friday, the High Court in London rejected a claim that Brown had plagiarised the 1982 book Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln and Richard Leigh. Dr Anikin said he had heard about that result, but was nonetheless confident of his case. He said he had not spoken out earlier because he had an agreement with a Russian magazine giving it exclusive rights to his story.
Clare Harrington, a spokeswoman for Random House, which published The Da Vinci Code, said the company did not want to comment on “unsubstantiated threats”.
“We would suggest that anyone making claims with regard to The Da Vinci Code reads the judgement following the trial at the High Court,” she added.
There was no response from Brown.
BLOCKBUSTER
The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 40 million copies and been translated into 44 languages
Another 5 million copies have been printed in the US in preparation for the film version, which will premiere at Cannes next month
Forbes magazine ranked Brown as the world’s sixth best-paid celebrity, earning $76.5 million (£43.8 m) between June 2004 and June 2005
When the book was first published The Times described it as “littered with misconceptions, howlers and location descriptions straight out of tourist guide books”.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Am I the only person who hasn't read this book?
:/
I promise I will. Just finished State of Fear, so this will be a fitting follow-up.
I haven't read it either. I'm not interested.
Regards, Ivan
I agree that it is not a coincidence that Dan Brown is having troubles. People like money, and he has a lot of it. And they think they see a way to cash in on his success.
State of Fear is well worth the read.
Nevermind my last comment...
Far too many people are laying claim to this very poorly researched book. Well, one thing is for sure: it ain't for its contribution to art history.
I somehow think academic purity is not the aim here.
LOL....sure, God wants some Russian art historian and a bunch of lawyers to have half of Dan Brown's money.
"Am I the only person who hasn't read this book?
:/
I promise I will. Just finished State of Fear, so this will be a fitting follow-up."
Don't bother, it's a lousy book, a pure hack job, what should have been a fluff for-the-beach book. It's an insult to the Catholic Church, art history, and detective novels.
The Rosicrucian/Holy Grail field has some really odd people writing in it, but if it entertains you, like it does me, go to the sources Dan Brown ripped off: "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" (A truly monumental conspiracy theory book, completely insane and poorly written, logic is used sparingly, but entertaining none the less), or, go read a truly well written and entertaining book, "Foucault's Pendulum", by Emberto Ecco, or "Name Of The Rose".
For a more humorous take on the subject matter, try the Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea and Robert Wilson, who roll up Ayn Rand, Rosicrucian/Masons conspiracy theory and everything else into one book (actually three, but i've only seen the combined volume). Hilarious stuff, very well written.
The theory that Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene is just plausable enough to wrap a murder story around it.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Which do you want answered? The commotion, or the results?
I haven't read it either. I'm not interested.
Regards, Ivan
Come on Ivan give it a shot. It is a great FICTIONAL read. As a christian who has read the bible and believe it. I can distinguish fact from fiction and I KNOW you can to.
As a Catholic for my entire life, the book did not get me into a tizzy because I am a better Catholic than that. I recently went to my Catholic high school gathering about (150 our of 209 were there not including wives) and we all thought the book was pretty good and Oh My God, We are all still Catholic. I think weak minded Catholics and Christians are the ones having problems. Probably the Catholics in Name Only are having tizzy fits.
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