The Guardian has a very interesting article about The
Da Vinci Code
phenomenon.

Search for holy grail enters new chapter

Among the learned texts on history and religion that line the shelves of the small Rosslyn chapel shop sits a fat paperback with a flashy cover. The Da Vinci Code, by the American author Dan Brown, seems out of place in the medieval Midlothian church. Until Stuart Beattie of the Rosslyn Trust pulls up the latest visitor numbers on his computer.

In the last four weeks, more than 6,000 people have trooped through Rosslyn chapel, a 56% increase on last year. Beattie has no doubts that The Da Vinci Code, which features the 15th century church as one of its key locations, has helped draw the crowds.

“We had a coachload of American students from Michigan who were on their way from Edinburgh to Abbotsford [the home of Sir Walter Scott],” he said. “When they realised where they were passing, they effectively hijacked the coach and brought it here because they had all read the book.”

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