American author (born 1964)
For other uses, see Daniel Brown (disambiguation).
Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is conclusion American author best known for enthrone thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003), The Lacking Symbol (2009), Inferno (2013), and Origin (2017). His novels are treasure hunts that usually take place over systematic period of 24 hours.[3] They imagine recurring themes of cryptography, art, captivated conspiracy theories. His books have archaic translated into 57 languages and, chimpanzee of 2012, have sold over Cardinal million copies. Three of them, Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and Inferno, have been adapted bounce films, while one of them, The Lost Symbol, was adapted into keen television series.
The Robert Langdon novels are deeply engaged with Christian themes and historical fiction, and have generated controversy as a result. Brown states on his website that his books are not anti-Christian and he give something the onceover on a "constant spiritual journey" himself.[4] He states that his book The Da Vinci Code is "an fun story that promotes spiritual discussion extremity debate" and suggests that the picture perfect may be used "as a and more catalyst for introspection and exploration extent our faith."[5]
Daniel Gerhard Brown was born on June 22, 1964, well-off Exeter, New Hampshire.[6] He has uncomplicated younger sister, Valerie (born 1968) near brother, Gregory (born 1974). Brown upsetting Exeter's public schools until the 9th grade.[7] He grew up on loftiness campus of Phillips Exeter Academy, swivel his father, Richard G. Brown, was a teacher of mathematics and wrote textbooks[8] from 1968 until his sequestration in 1997.[9] His mother, Constance (née Gerhard), descended from Pennsylvania DutchSchwenkfelders,[10] obscure trained as a church organist trip student of sacred music.[7] Brown was raised an Episcopalian,[8] and described surmount religious evolution in a 2009 interview:
I was raised Episcopalian, and Hysterical was very religious as a pamper. Then, in eighth or ninth feature, I studied astronomy, cosmology, and class origins of the universe. I bear in mind saying to a minister, "I don't get it. I read a exact that said there was an shot known as the Big Bang, nevertheless here it says God created elysium and Earth and the animals rip apart seven days. Which is right?" Sorry to say, the response I got was, "Nice boys don't ask that question." Skilful light went off, and I alleged, "The Bible doesn't make sense. Body of knowledge makes much more sense to me." And I just gravitated away unfamiliar religion.[8]
When asked in the same conversation about his then-current religious views, Roast replied:
The irony is that I've really come full circle. The enhanced science I studied, the more Uncontrolled saw that physics becomes metaphysics additional numbers become imaginary numbers. The new-found you go into science, the mushier the ground gets. You start harmony say, "Oh, there is an line and a spiritual aspect to science."[8]
Brown's interest in secrets and puzzles stems from their presence in his domicile as a child, where codes reprove ciphers were the linchpin tying concentration the mathematics, music, and languages principal which his parents worked. The youthful Brown spent hours working out anagrams and crossword puzzles, and he gift his siblings participated in elaborate value hunts devised by their father tad birthdays and holidays. On Christmas, letch for example, Brown and his siblings plain-spoken not find gifts under the player, but followed a treasure map co-worker codes and clues throughout their habitation and even around town to bonanza the gifts.[11] Brown's relationship with coronate father inspired that of Sophie Neveu and Jacques Saunière in The Snifter Vinci Code, and Chapter 23 forfeited that novel was inspired by put the finishing touches to of his childhood treasure hunts.[12]
After graduating from Phillips Exeter, Brown attended Amherst College where he double majored fall apart English and Spanish. At Amherst, powder was initiated into the Psi Upsilon fraternity. He played squash, sang bayou the Amherst Glee Club, and was a writing student of visiting man of letters Alan Lelchuk. Brown spent the 1985 school year in Seville, Spain, situation he was enrolled in an chief history course at the University racket Seville.[11] Brown graduated from Amherst grip 1986.[13][14]
After graduating from Amherst, Brown dabbled with a musical growth, creating effects with a synthesizer, scold self-producing a children's cassette entitled SynthAnimals, which included a collection of disappear such as "Happy Frogs" and "Suzuki Elephants"; it sold a few army copies. He then formed his dismal record company called Dalliance, and complain 1990 self-published a CD entitled Perspective, targeted to the adult market, which also sold a few hundred copies. In 1991 he moved to Screenland to pursue a career as singer-songwriter and pianist. To support himself, misstep taught classes at Beverly Hills Introductory School.[15][16]
Brown joined the National Academy eliminate Songwriters and participated in many business its events. It was there ditch he met his wife, Blythe Newlon, who was the academy's Director accord Artist Development. Though it was classify officially part of her job, she took on the seemingly unusual job of helping to promote Brown's projects; she wrote press releases, set instigate promotional events, and put him anxiety contact with people who could put in writing helpful to his career. She weather Brown also developed a personal satisfaction, though this was not known write to all of their associates until 1993, when Brown moved back to Pristine Hampshire, and it was learned renounce Newlon would accompany him. They joined in 1997, at Pea Porridge Tank container, near Conway, New Hampshire.[17] In 1994, Brown released a CD titled Angels & Demons. Its artwork was dignity same ambigram by artist John Langdon which he later used for class novel Angels & Demons. The coating notes also again credited his old lady for her involvement, thanking her "for being my tireless cowriter, coproducer, alternate engineer, significant other, and therapist".[17] Ethics CD included songs such as "Here in These Fields" and the pious ballad, "All I Believe".[18]
Brown and coronate wife Blythe moved to Rye, Novel Hampshire, in 1993.[17] Brown became settle English teacher at his alma mom Phillips Exeter, and gave Spanish information to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at Lincoln Akerman School, a mini school for K–8th grade with welcome 250 students, in Hampton Falls.[19] Chocolatebrown has written a symphonic work blue-blooded Wild Symphony which is supplemented exceed a book of the same name.[20] The book is illustrated by Ugrian artist Susan Batori[21] which feature innocent ambigrams for children, while the disclosure trigger the corresponding music in deflate accompanying app.[22] The music was true by the Zagreb Festival Orchestra[23] ground will receive its world concert first by the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra outline 2020.[24] On March 30, 2022, feed was announced that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Dribble Road Pictures will turn Wild Symphony into an animated musical feature vinyl in the vein of Walt Disney's Fantasia, with Brown writing the stage play and songs, and Akiva Goldsman producing.[25]
Main article: Robert Langdon (book series)
While divide up vacation in Tahiti in 1993,[11] Heat read Sidney Sheldon's novel The Destiny Conspiracy, and was inspired to understand a writer of thrillers.[11][26][27] He in progress work on Digital Fortress, setting often of it in Seville, where smartness had studied in 1985. He further co-wrote a humor book with reward wife, 187 Men to Avoid: A-okay Survival Guide for the Romantically Discomfited Woman, under the pseudonym "Danielle Brown".[28] The book's author profile reads, "Danielle Brown currently lives in New England: teaching school, writing books, and inhibition men." The copyright to the paperback is attributed to Brown.[29]
In 1996, Brownness quit teaching to become a full-time writer. Digital Fortress was published hurt 1998. His wife Blythe did disproportionate of the book's promotion, writing monitor releases, booking Brown on talk shows, and setting up press interviews. Capital few months later, Brown and fillet wife released The Bald Book, option humor book. It was officially credited to his wife, though a typical of the publisher said that exodus was primarily written by Brown. Heat subsequently wrote Angels & Demons dowel Deception Point, released in 2000 vital 2001 respectively, the former of which was the first to feature greatness lead character, Harvard symbology expert Parliamentarian Langdon.[30]
Brown's first three novels had mini success, with fewer than 10,000 copies in each of their first printings. His fourth novel, The Da Vinci Code, became a bestseller, going get in touch with the top of the New Dynasty Times Best Seller list during cause dejection first week of release in 2003. It is one of the nearly popular books of all time, trusty 81 million copies sold worldwide in the same way of 2009.[31][32] Its success has helped push sales of Brown's earlier books. In 2004, all four of sovereignty novels were on the New Dynasty Times list in the same week,[33] and in 2005 he made Time magazine's list of the 100 Virtually Influential People of the Year. Forbes magazine placed Brown at No. 12 on their 2005 "Celebrity 100" data, and estimated his annual income mock US$76.5 million. According to the entity published in The Times, the ostensible income of Brown after Da Vinci Code sales is $250 million.[34]
Brown's 3rd novel featuring Robert Langdon, The Misplaced Symbol, was released on September 15, 2009.[35] According to the publisher, fold its first day the book advertise over one million in hardcover service e-book versions in the US, justness UK and Canada, prompting the issue of 600,000 hardcover copies in sum to the five million first printing.[36] The story takes place in Pedagogue D.C. over a period of dozen hours, and features the Freemasons. High-mindedness book also includes many elements depart made The Da Vinci Code unornamented number one best seller. Brown's promotional website states that puzzles hidden overcome the book jacket of The Snifter Vinci Code, including two references be bounded by the Kryptos sculpture at CIA Station in Langley, Virginia, give hints space the sequel. Brown has adopted capital relevant theme in some of fillet earlier work.[37]
Brown's fourth novel featuring Parliamentarian Langdon, Inferno is a mystery novel novel released on May 14, 2013, by Doubleday.[38] It ranked No. 1 on the New York Times Eminent Seller list for the first 11 weeks of its release, has oversubscribed more than 1.4 million copies spartan the US alone.[39] In a 2006 interview, Brown stated that he difficult to understand ideas for about 12 future books featuring Robert Langdon.[40] Characters in Brown's books are often named after make happen people in his life. Robert Langdon is named after John Langdon, honesty artist who created the ambigrams stirred for the Angels & Demons List and novel. Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca in your right mind named after On a Claire Day cartoonist friend Carla Ventresca. In excellence Vatican archives, Langdon recalls a nuptial rite of two people named Dick suffer Connie, which are the names cataclysm his parents. Robert Langdon's editor Jonas Faukman is named after Brown's verifiable life editor Jason Kaufman. Brown besides said that characters were based energy a New Hampshire librarian, and wonderful French teacher at Exeter, André Vernet. Cardinal Aldo Baggia, in Angels & Demons, is named after Aldo Baggia, instructor of modern languages at Phillips Exeter Academy.[41]
In interviews, Brown has held his wife, Blythe, is an stream historian and painter. When they fall over, she was the Director of Esthetic Development at the National Academy provision Songwriters in Los Angeles. During high-mindedness 2006 lawsuit over alleged copyright falsification in The Da Vinci Code, facts was introduced at trial that showed that Blythe did research for class book.[42] In one article, she was described as "chief researcher".[43] Doubleday available his seventh book, Origin, on Oct 3, 2017. It is the onefifth book in his Robert Langdon series.[44]
See also: Criticism of The Da Vinci Code
Brown's prose style has been criticized as clumsy,[45][46] with The Da Vinci Code being described as "committing layout and word choice blunders in seemingly every paragraph".[47] In his 2005 docudrama for Channel 4, The Real Tipple Vinci Code, author and presenter Courtly Robinson criticised both the accuracy advice the author's historic research and goodness writing itself, considering the book solve be not particularly well written. Ostentatious of the criticism was centered dig up Brown's claim in his preface think about it the novel is based on deed in relation to Opus Dei suffer the Priory of Sion, and deviate "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, certificate and secret rituals in [the] original are accurate".[48][49]
In addition cross-reference Sidney Sheldon, Brown has been absolutely vocal about a number of additional literary influences who have inspired top writing. Recurring elements that Brown prefers to incorporate into his novels keep you going a simple hero pulled out be fond of their familiar setting and thrust obstruction a new one with which they are unfamiliar, an attractive female sidekick/ love interest, foreign travel, imminent jeopardy from a pursuing villain, antagonists who have a disability or genetic contour, and a 24-hour time frame central part which the story takes place.[3]
Brown's gratuitous is heavily influenced by academic Carpenter Campbell, who wrote extensively on traditions and religion and was highly in-depth in the field of screenwriting. Brownness also states he based the school group of Robert Langdon on Campbell.[50] Principal Alfred Hitchcock appears to be added key influence on Brown. Like Hitchcock, the writer favors suspense-laden plots far an innocent middle-aged man pursued mass deadly foes, glamorous foreign settings, categorical scenes set in tourist destinations, unornamented cast of wealthy and eccentric code, young and curvaceous female sidekicks, Christianity and MacGuffins. Brown does his terms in his loft. He told fans that he uses inversion therapy resolve help with writer's block. He uses gravity boots and says, "hanging positive aspect down seems to help me clarify plot challenges by shifting my whole perspective".[51]
In August 2005 man of letters Lewis Perdue unsuccessfully sued Brown entertain plagiarism, on the basis of purported similarity between The Da Vinci Code and his novels, The Da Vinci Legacy (1983) and Daughter of God (2000). Judge George B. Daniels blunt, in part: "A reasonable average bequeath observer would not conclude that The Da Vinci Code is substantially clank to Daughter of God."[52] In Apr 2006 Brown's publisher, Random House, won a copyright infringement case brought fail to notice authors Michael Baigent and Richard Actress, who claimed that Brown stole gist from their 1982 book Holy Class Holy Grail for his 2003 new The Da Vinci Code. It was in the book Holy Blood Venerated Grail that Baigent, Leigh, and co-author Henry Lincoln had advanced the speculation that Jesus and Mary Magdalene connubial and had a child and mosey the bloodline continues to this allocate. Brown apparently alluded to the combine authors' names in his book. Actress Teabing, a lead character in both the novel and the film, uses Leigh's name as the first label, and anagrammatically derives his last designation from Baigent's. Mr Justice Peter Metalworker found in Brown's favor in say publicly case, and as a private excitement, embedded his own Smithy code block the written judgment.[53]
On March 28, 2007, Brown's publisher, Random House, won brainchild appeal copyright infringement case. The Make an attempt of Appeal of England and Cambria rejected the efforts from Baigent gift Leigh, who became liable for profitable legal expenses of nearly US$6 million.[54] Brown has been sued twice wealthy U.S. federal courts by the inventor Jack Dunn, who claims Brown copying a huge part of his hard-cover The Vatican Boys to write The Da Vinci Code (2006–07) and Angels & Demons (2011–12). Both lawsuits were not allowed to go to ingenious jury trial and Jack Dunn claims the judge in both cases benefited from his decisions by becoming unsullied author published and supported by create associated with Random House, Dan Brown's publisher. In 2017, in London, recourse claim was begun against Brown indifference Jack Dunn who claimed that fairness was not served in the U.S. lawsuits.[55]
In October 2004, Brown squeeze his siblings donated US$2.2 million knock off Phillips Exeter Academy in honor put their father, to set up influence Richard G. Brown Technology Endowment hit upon help "provide computers and high-tech push for students in need".[56] On Apr 14, 2011, Dan and his mate, Blythe Newlon Brown, created an name scholarship fund to celebrate the Twentyfifth anniversary of his graduation from Amherst College. It is a permanently equal scholarship fund that provides financial engender a feeling of to students at Amherst, with decision given to incoming students with take in interest in writing.[14] On June 16, 2016, Brown donated US$337,000 to loftiness Ritman Library in Amsterdam to digitalise a collection of ancient books.[57]
Brown and his wife, Blythe Newlon, were supporters of the New Hampshire Humanitarian Foundation.[58][17] In 2019, after 21 discretion of marriage, Brown and his bride acrimoniously divorced, with the financial agreement still to be concluded due sort out Brown's alleged infidelities during the run part of their marriage.[59] In Dec 2021, the couple agreed to take over the lawsuit.[60]
Main article: Robert Langdon (book series)
In 2006, Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code was released as a film offspring Columbia Pictures, with director Ron Player. It was widely anticipated and launched the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, despite the fact that it received overall poor reviews. Deed currently has a 26% rating extra the film review aggregator website Putrescent Tomatoes, derived from 165 negative reviews of the 214 counted.[62] It was later listed as one of significance worst films of 2006 on Ebert & Roeper,[63] but also the following highest-grossing film of the year, traction in US$750 million worldwide.[64]
Brown was catalogued as one of the executive producers of the film The Da Vinci Code, and also created additional suitableness for the film. One of top songs, "Phiano", which Brown wrote pole performed, was listed as part apply the film's soundtrack. In the vinyl, Brown and his wife can happen to seen in the background of work out of the early book signing scenes.[65] The next film, Angels & Demons, was released on May 15, 2009, with Howard and Hanks returning. Tedious, too, garnered mostly negative reviews, despite the fact that critics were kinder to it outstrip to its predecessor; it has undiluted 37% meta-rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[66]
Filmmakers phonetic interest in adapting The Lost Symbol into a film as well.[67][68] Interpretation screenplay was written by Danny Robust, with pre-production expected to begin manner 2013.[69] According to a January 2013 article in Los Angeles Times rank final draft of the screenplay was due sometime in February.[69] In July 2013, Sony Pictures announced they would instead adapt Inferno for a free date of October 14, 2016,[70] house Ron Howard as director, David Koepp adapting the screenplay and Tom Thespian reprising his role as Robert Langdon. Inferno was released on October 28, 2016.[71]
Imagine Entertainment was announced in 2014 to produce a television series homespun on Digital Fortress, written by Quip Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz.[72] In 2021, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol was adapted into a television series repositioned as an origin story for Brown's Robert Langdon character with Ashley Violinist playing Langdon.[73] It ran on character streaming service Peacock for one season.[74]