The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail

In 1891, a priest in the tiny French village of Rennes-le-Château uncovered something that made him extraordinarily wealthy almost overnight. What did he find? Who knew? And what has been hidden — for how long, by whom, and at what cost — in the churches, libraries, and bloodlines of medieval Europe?

Beginning with this real historical mystery and following the evidence through the Knights Templar, the Cathars, the Merovingian dynasty, and the secret society known as the Priory of Sion, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail builds to an extraordinary conclusion: that Jesus Christ survived the crucifixion, married Mary Magdalene, and that his bloodline has been protected and perpetuated in Europe for two thousand years.

Published in 1982 and the direct inspiration for Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, this landmark work of historical investigation blends meticulous research with compulsive storytelling. Whether you accept its conclusions or not, it is one of the most gripping and thought-provoking works of popular history ever written — a book that has launched a thousand debates and never lost its power to astonish. Published by Arrow.