Comprehensive information and links about Dan Brown

Dan Brown

Early years

Brown was born and raised in Exeter, New Hampshire, the oldest of three children.

His mother Constance (Connie) was a professional musician, playing organ at church. Brown's father Richard G. Brown taught high school mathematics at Phillips Exeter Academy from 1962 until his retirement in 1997. Richard was a prominent mathematician -- he wrote the bestselling mathematics textbook and had been offered a job to work at the National Security Agency, but declined because he did not want to move his family out of New Hampshire. Richard was also chosen by President George H.W. Bush to receive the "Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching". [1]

Phillips Exeter Academy is an exclusive boarding school, which required new teachers to live on campus for several years, so Brown and his siblings were literally raised at the school. The social environment was mostly Christian. Brown sang in the church choir, attended Sunday school, and spent summers at church camp.[2] His own schooling was at public schools in Exeter until the 9th grade, at which time he enrolled in Phillips Exeter, as did his younger siblings Valerie and Gregory when it became their turn.

College

After graduating from Phillips Exeter in 1982, Brown attended Amherst College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon Fraternity. During his Junior year at Amherst, Brown went to Europe to study art history at the University of Seville in Spain, which is where he first began seriously studying the works of Leonardo da Vinci.[3]

Songwriter

He graduated from Amherst in 1986, and then played around with music for awhile, creating effects with synthesizer music, and self-producing a cassette entitled which included a collection of tracks such as "Happy Frogs" and "Suzuki Elephants." He formed his own (vanity) record company called Dalliance, and in 1990 self-published a CD entitled , targeted to the adult market, which sold a few hundred copies.

In 1991 he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career as singer-songwriter and pianist. To support himself, he taught Spanish classes at Beverly Hills Preparatory School.

While in Los Angeles he joined the National Academy of Songwriters, and participated in many of its events. It was there that he met Blythe Newlon, a woman 12 years his senior, who was the Academy's director of artistic development. Though not officially part of her job, she took on the seemingly unusual task of helping to promote Brown's projects -- she wrote press releases, set up promotional events, and put him in contact with individuals who could be helpful to his career. She and Brown also developed a personal relationship, though this was not known to all of their associates until 1993, when Brown moved back to New Hampshire, and it was learned that Blythe would be accompanying him. They later married, at a location near North Conway, New Hampshire. (Rogak, 2005)

Along with helping his singing career, Blythe has also been a major influence on Brown's career as an author, as she assists with much of the promotion involved with his books. She co-wrote both of his early "humor" books, which were written under pseudonyms, and there is speculation that she may have helped with other books as well. In the Acknowledgement for , Brown thanked "Blythe Brown for her tireless research and creative input." In interviews, Brown says that his wife is an "art historian" and "painter", though there is no record of her having worked professionally in this capacity, aside from her assistance with the book research.

In 1993, Brown released the self-titled CD

New Hampshire teacher

Brown and Blythe moved to his hometown in New Hampshire in 1993. Brown became an English teacher at his alma mater Phillips Exeter, and gave Spanish classes to 7th graders at Lincoln Akerman School, a small school for K-8th grade with about 250 students, in Hampton Falls[4].

In 1994, Brown released a CD entitled . The liner notes also again credited his wife for her involvement, thanking her "for being my tireless cowriter, coproducer, second engineer, significant other, and therapist."

Also in 1994, while on holiday in Tahiti, he read Sidney Sheldon's novel under the pseudonym "Danielle Brown" (one of the 187 items in the book was "Men who write self-help books for women"). The author deion on the book said, "Danielle Brown currently lives in New England: teaching school, writing books, and avoiding men." The copyright, however, is listed as "Dan Brown". It sold a few thousand copies before going out of print.

was published in 1998. Blythe did much of the book's promotion, writing press releases, booking Brown on talk shows, and setting up press interviews. A few months later, Brown and his wife released , another humor book. It was officially credited to his wife, though a representative of the publisher said that it was primarily written by Brown.

Bestselling author

In 1996, Brown quit teaching to become a full-time writer. His first three novels had mediocre success, but the fourth novel, Best Seller list during its first week of release in 2003. It is now credited with being one of the most popular books of all time, and as of 2005, has sold more than 25 million copies (mostly in hardcover) around the world.[6] Its success has helped push sales of Brown's earlier books. In 2004, all four of his novels were on the magazine placed Brown at #12 on their 2005 "Celebrity 100" list, and estimated his annual income at $76.5 million USD.

"Brown and his family at the ceremony presenting the endowment to the Phillips Exeter Academy. From left to right: Blythe, Richard, Dan, Gregory, Valerie, and Connie" Brown and his family at the ceremony presenting the endowment to the Phillips Exeter Academy. From left to right: Blythe, Richard, Dan, Gregory, Valerie, and Connie

In October 2004, Brown and his siblings donated $2.2 million USD to Phillips Exeter Academy in honor of their father, to set up the "Richard G. Brown Technology Endowment", to help "provide computers and high-tech equipment for students in need." (As a side note, Exeter currently has the largest endowment of any secondary school in the United States, with a market value of $706 million USD as of 2005. This makes a per-student endowment of $660,000 USD, higher than the per-student endowments at most universities).

Brown is interested in cryptography, keys, and codes, which are a recurring theme in his stories. He is currently the most famous celebrity in New Hampshire, and his novels have been translated into more than 40 languages.[8]

is currently being adapted into a film by Columbia Pictures, with renowned director Ron Howard; the film will star Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, and Sir Ian McKellen as Leigh Teabing. It is scheduled for release in May 2006., which will reportedly take place in Washington DC, and feature the secret society of the Freemasons. Exact release date has not been announced, but the most common media speculation says late 2006 or sometime in 2007. Brown's promotional website states that puzzles hidden in the bookjacket of (including two referring to the Kryptos sculpture at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia) give hints about the subject of the next novel. This repeats a theme from some of Brown's earlier work. For example, a puzzle at the end of the book , which would include songs that he both wrote and sang, as a charity project which would send its proceeds to Families First.He says that he currently has outlines for at least 12 future books, one of which involves a famous composer's "all factual" associations with a secret society. Speculation is that this may mean Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was also a Freemason., 1995, Berkley Publishing Group (co-written with his wife under the pseudonym Danielle Brown). ISBN 0425147835 was his first hit and became the first to be adapted into a film. However, it is actually the second book in which Robert Langdon appears. The first is The fictional Langdon's alma mater is Phillips Exeter Academy, the same school that Brown attended. Exeter has produced many notable individuals - Senators, several United States Cabinet members, a President, and many well-known authors. Many books and films, especially if by Exeter alumni, feature a reference to the school (see: Phillips Exeter Academy#Notable alumni and Phillips Exeter Academy#Books or movies with portrayals of Exeter alumni, students, or staff).Characters in Brown's books are often named after real people in his life. Robert Langdon is named after John Langdon, the artist who created the ambigrams used for the CD and novel. Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca is named after friend Carla Ventresca. Robert Langdon's editor Jonas Faukman, is named after Brown's real life editor Jason Kaufman.Brown plays tennis, and does his writing in his loft, often getting up at 4 a.m. to work. He keeps an antique hourglass on his desk, to remind himself to take breaks. - lists comparative sales figures between a few bestselling books in North America, including two of Brown's books, the latest Harry Potter book, and