claim: Dan Brown wrote his first novel in 2006.
evidence: The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel by Dan Brown .. Dan Brown. Dan Brown. mystery. Mystery ( fiction ). detective. Detective fiction. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu after a murder in the Louvre Museum in Paris , when they become involved in a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus Christ having been a companion to Mary Magdalene .. Robert Langdon. Robert Langdon. Sophie Neveu. List of The Da Vinci Code characters#Sophie Neveu Saint-Clair. Louvre Museum. Louvre Museum. Priory of Sion. Priory of Sion. Opus Dei. Opus Dei. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene. The title of the novel refers , among other things , to the finding of the first murder victim in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre , naked and posed similar to Leonardo da Vinci 's famous drawing , the Vitruvian Man , with a cryptic message written beside his body and a pentacle drawn on his chest in his own blood .. Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci. Vitruvian Man. Vitruvian Man. pentacle. pentacle. The novel explores an alternative religious history , whose central plot point is that the Merovingian kings of France were descended from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene , ideas derived from Clive Prince 's The Templar Revelation -LRB- 1997 -RRB- and books by Margaret Starbird .. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene. Merovingian. Merovingian dynasty. kings of France. List of French monarchs. the bloodline of Jesus Christ. Jesus bloodline. The Templar Revelation. The Templar Revelation. The book also refers to The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail -LRB- 1982 -RRB- though Dan Brown has stated that it was not used as research material .. Dan Brown. Dan Brown. The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Holy Grail. Holy Grail. The Da Vinci Code provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and Mary Magdalene 's role in the history of Christianity .. Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene. Holy Grail. Holy Grail. history of Christianity. history of Christianity. The book has , however , been extensively denounced by many Christian denominations as an attack on the Roman Catholic Church , and consistently criticized for its historical and scientific inaccuracies .. Christian denominations. List of Christian denominations. its historical and scientific inaccuracies. Criticism of The Da Vinci Code. The novel nonetheless became a worldwide bestseller that sold 80 million copies and has been translated into 44 languages .. bestseller. List of best-selling books. Combining the detective , thriller and conspiracy fiction genres , it is Brown 's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon  : the first was his 2000 novel Angels & Demons .. Robert Langdon. Robert Langdon. Angels & Demons. Angels & Demons. detective. Detective fiction. thriller. Thriller ( genre ). conspiracy fiction. conspiracy fiction. In November 2004 , Random House published a Special Illustrated Edition with 160 illustrations .. Random House. Random House. In 2006 , a film adaptation was released by Columbia Pictures .. film adaptation. The Da Vinci Code ( film ). Columbia Pictures. Columbia Pictures