The Da Vinci Code
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is jolted awake in Paris by a late-night call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body arranged in a strange pose and ringed by baffling ciphers. Police summon Langdon as an expert, but he quickly realizes he is himself a suspect. With the help of cryptologist Sophie Neveu—the dead man's estranged granddaughter—he flees into the Paris night, following a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
What begins as a murder investigation opens onto a far older secret. The pair chase a chain of riddles that leads through art, history, and the coded traditions of a shadowy brotherhood, pursued both by the French police and by a devout, self-punishing assassin acting on orders he believes are holy. As the clues accumulate, Langdon and Sophie edge toward a revelation that a powerful institution has spent two thousand years trying to bury—one that could reshape how millions understand faith and history.
A breathless overnight chase across Paris and London, The Da Vinci Code weaves cryptography, symbology, and religious history into a puzzle-driven thriller. It is the second novel featuring Robert Langdon and the book that made Dan Brown a global phenomenon.
A French cryptologist and the murdered curator's estranged granddaughter.
Harvard professor of religious symbology, drawn into a murder investigation.
The Louvre curator whose murder sets the story in motion.
The relentless French police captain pursuing Langdon.
The novel weaves a fictional narrative around real historical figures, religious organizations, and art, leading many readers to question the line between fact and fiction. While the core plot is invented, it draws heavily on theories and historical elements that have been debated for centuries.
A major film adaptation starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon was released, directed by Ron Howard. It generally follows the book's storyline, bringing the puzzles and chases to the screen.
This book introduces the character of Robert Langdon and can be read as a standalone story. While Langdon appears in other novels by the author, The Da Vinci Code provides all necessary context within its own narrative.