Dan Brown, best-selling author of the blockbuster thriller "The Da Vinci Code," sends his character Robert Langdon to Washington D.C. in his latest thriller, "The Lost Symbol."
In "The Lost Symbol," Langdon investigates the secret order of the freemasons, a fraternity whose origins date back to the 1400s in Britain.
D.C. tourism officials hope that "The Lost Symbol," which has already sold more than 2 million copies in its first week will do for Washington what Dan Brown's other books have done for cities like London and Paris.
In this video, NewsHour correspondent Jeffrey Brown looks at how Dan Brown's latest novel reinterprets already famous Washington D.C. landmarks.
Quotes
"The exposes are as much wrong as they're right. But it's good fiction. I mean, you have to keep in mind that Dan Brown is not an historian, writing an accurate history. He is a storyteller telling a darn-ripping good tale." S. Brent Morris, managing editor, The Scottish Rite Journal
"Serious literature tells you life is mysterious, but at the end of the novel, it's still mysterious. It's even worse, OK? [In Brown's novels], it's mysterious, and things get solved in a very satisfying way." Margaret Soltan, George Washington University literature professor
Warm Up Questions
1. What kind of books do you like read? What is your favorite book?
2. Have you heard of "The Da Vinci Code?" Did you read it? If so, what did you think?
Discussion Questions
1. Name other books or stories that you have read that use historical facts to compose a fictional story. Do you think this kind of story telling could ever have negative effects? Why or why not?
2. What kinds of books do you read for school? Are any of them bestsellers? What does that say to you?
3. Name some of today's bestsellers. What do you think can make a novel a bestseller? Do you think that also makes it good literature?
Extra Credit: Do research about the history of your own city or town and write a short story about it. You can write it as historic fiction or non-fiction.
Additional Resources
