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Is there no help for the Widow's Son? The Davinci Code Code





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SECRETS OF THE CODE Decodes Da Vinci Dust Jacket Mystery ... and Novelist Dan Brown's Next Move

Tuesday May 4, 2004

NEW YORK, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Hidden within the dust cover of the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code is a cryptic message that may suggest the direction novelist Dan Brown will take in his widely awaited sequel. The code within the dust jacket is only one of dozens of mysteries revealed in the just-published book, SECRETS OF THE CODE: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code, edited by Dan Burstein (CDS Books, April 2004, $21.95 hardcover).

"Look closely at the text of The Da Vinci Code's dust jacket and you will find select letters that stand out in very slightly bolded type," says Burstein, whose SECRETS OF THE CODE is the most comprehensive, and the only secular guidebook available to The Da Vinci Code. "You have to look carefully and you may not see it at first. In fact, you may need a magnifying glass. But once you find these slightly bolded letters and string them together, they clearly spell out an intriguing question: 'Is there no help for the widow's son?'

"This question is tinged with allusions and meanings. It is a reference to the Book of Enoch, one of the most unusual of the Apocrypha. It is also a reference to Mormon traditions, Masonic traditions, and to science fiction writer Robert Anton Wilson, whose Illuminati series includes a novel entitled, Widow's Son."

Among the more than 50 commentaries in SECRETS OF THE CODE, investigative journalist David Shugarts analyzes the dust cover mystery as well as dozens of other intriguing plot details and plot flaws within the Da Vinci Code. Reports Shugarts:

"'Is there no help for the widow's son?' was the title of a now famous talk given before a Mormon audience in 1974 that sought to establish a connection between Freemasonry and the founder of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, Joseph Smith. The talk was secretly tape-recorded and has been widely circulated, much to the chagrin of many in the Mormon Church. Many Masonic lodges have 'widow's son' events to this day. Mormon temples are often decorated with Masonic symbology. I believe the sequel to The Da Vinci Code will involve a Mormon-Mason treasure hunt through the U.S., with Robert Langdon back to lead us through the interpretation of all these symbols."

Dan Burstein further notes, "Seven million people have bought The Da Vinci Code and looked at its dust jacket, yet very few have found this hidden message. Anyone who enjoyed the experience of reading The Da Vinci Code will enjoy David Shugarts's analysis of the dust cover mystery, as well as all the other work by theologians, historians, philosophers, and art experts that we have brought together in SECRETS OF THE CODE."

In addition to this revealing discussion of the message embedded in the jacket of The Da Vinci Code, SECRETS OF THE CODE explores a vast range of provocative issues raised in the novel. World-renowned scholars tackle questions such as the true identity of Mary Magdalene and feminine influences in the early days of Christianity, the nature of the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the meaning of the search for the Holy Grail in history, the facts concerning the secret societies discussed in The Da Vinci Code, and much more.


Additional articles about the Davinci Code by Brown, Holy Blood Holy Grail by Baigent, and National Treasure by Bruckheimer can be found in,

Further Reading:

In Focus (Bro. Tom Hanks, etc.)

The F.�.W.�. 'Tyler'