The folks at Opus Dei sent me these interesting bytes about DVC – my, my, my….

Jason Kaufman, editor of the novel, quoted in the New York Daily News, Sept. 4, 2003: “Nothing is made up in Dan’s research,” he says. “He’s a student of this stuff.”

Jason Kaufman quoted in the Boston Globe, May 8, 2004:
“This is a novel based on an interesting idea. It’s not a textbook.”

On his web site, the author asks himself the question, how much of the novel is based on fact. Here is how the answer evolves (see http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/faqs.html):

Early version:

HOW MUCH OF THIS NOVEL IS BASED ON FACT?

All of it. The paintings, locations, historical documents, and organizations described in the novel all exist. Photos of the paintings and locations can be viewed in art books or on my website.

A somewhat later version:

HOW MUCH OF THIS NOVEL IS BASED ON FACT?

The paintings, locations, historical documents, and organizations described in the novel all exist. Photos of the paintings and locations can be viewed in art books or on my website.

Most recent version:

HOW MUCH OF THIS NOVEL IS TRUE?

The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction. While the book’s characters and their actions are obviously not real, the artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals depicted in this novel all
exist (for example, Leonardo Da Vinci’s paintings, the Louvre pyramid, the Gnostic Gospels, Hieros Gamos, etc.). These real elements are interpretted and debated by fictional characters. While it is my belief that the
theories discussed by these characters have merit, each individual reader must explore these characters’ viewpoints and come to his or her own interpretations. My hope in writing this novel was that the story would serve as a catalyst and a springboard for people to discuss the important topics of faith, religion, and history.