Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author most famous for writing thriller novels. His most well-known works include the Robert Langdon series: Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003), The Lost Symbol (2009), Inferno (2013), Origin (2017), and The Secret of Secrets (2025). These books often involve puzzles and challenges that take place within a single day, focusing on topics like codes, art, and theories about hidden secrets.
Brown’s books have been translated into 57 languages and sold more than 200 million copies by 2012. Three of his novels—Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and Inferno—have been made into movies. Another book, The Lost Symbol, was adapted into a television series in 2021.
The Robert Langdon series explores Christian themes and historical events. These books have sparked debate and discussion. Brown explains on his website that his works are not anti-Christian and that he is personally committed to exploring spiritual questions. He describes The Da Vinci Code as a story that encourages people to think about and discuss spiritual ideas, and he believes the book can help readers reflect on and explore their own faith.
Early life
Daniel Gerhard Brown was born on June 22, 1964, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He has a younger sister, Valerie (born in 1968) and a younger brother, Gregory (born in 1974). Brown attended public schools in Exeter until the ninth grade. He grew up on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy, where his father, Richard G. Brown, taught mathematics and wrote textbooks from 1968 until his retirement in 1997. His mother, Constance (née Gerhard), came from a group called the Pennsylvania Dutch Schwenkfelders and trained as a church organist and studied sacred music. Brown was raised as an Episcopalian, and in a 2009 interview, he described his religious journey:
"I was raised Episcopalian and was very religious as a child. Then, in eighth or ninth grade, I studied astronomy, cosmology, and the origins of the universe. I remember asking a minister, 'I don’t understand. A book said there was an explosion called the Big Bang, but here it says God created heaven and Earth and the animals in seven days. Which is correct?' Unfortunately, the response I got was, 'Nice boys don’t ask that question.' I realized then that the Bible didn’t make sense to me, but science did. I moved away from religion."
When asked about his current religious views in the same interview, Brown said:
"The irony is that I’ve really come full circle. The more science I studied, the more I saw that physics starts to touch on things that are more philosophical, and numbers become imaginary numbers. The further you go into science, the less clear things become. You begin to think, 'There is an order and a spiritual aspect to science.'"
Brown’s interest in secrets and puzzles began in his childhood, where codes and ciphers were an important part that connected the mathematics, music, and languages his parents worked with. As a child, he spent hours solving anagrams and crossword puzzles. He and his siblings took part in complicated treasure hunts created by their father on birthdays and holidays. For example, on Christmas, Brown and his siblings did not find gifts under the tree but followed a treasure map with codes and clues throughout their house and even around town to find the gifts. His relationship with his father inspired the connection between Sophie Neveu and Jacques Saunière in The Da Vinci Code, and Chapter 23 of that novel was inspired by one of his childhood treasure hunts.
In 1980, he spent the summer learning Spanish in Gijón, Spain, while living with a Spanish family. After graduating from Phillips Exeter, Brown attended Amherst College, where he studied both English and Spanish. At Amherst, he joined the Psi Upsilon fraternity, along with Harlan Coben. He played squash, sang in the Amherst Glee Club, and had a writing teacher who was a visiting novelist, Alan Lelchuk. Brown spent the 1985 school year in Seville, Spain, where he took an art history course at the University of Seville. He graduated from Amherst in 1986.
Career
After graduating from Amherst, Brown tried working in music. He used a synthesizer to create sounds and made a children's cassette called SynthAnimals, which included songs like "Happy Frogs" and "Suzuki Elephants." It sold a few hundred copies. Later, he started his own record company named Dalliance and released a CD called Perspective in 1990. This CD was for adults and also sold a few hundred copies. In 1991, Brown moved to Hollywood to work as a singer, songwriter, and pianist. To earn money, he taught classes at Beverly Hills Preparatory School.
Brown joined the National Academy of Songwriters and took part in its events. There, he met his wife, Blythe Newlon, who was the academy's Director of Artist Development. Although this was not part of her job, she helped promote Brown's work by writing press releases, organizing events, and connecting him with people who could help his career. Brown and Blythe also became close friends, but others did not know they were together until 1993, when Brown moved back to New Hampshire and Blythe joined him. They married in 1997 at Pea Porridge Pond in New Hampshire.
In 1994, Brown released a CD called Angels & Demons. The cover art was an ambigram by artist John Langdon, which he later used for the novel Angels & Demons. The CD included songs like "Here in These Fields" and "All I Believe." The liner notes thanked Blythe for her help with writing, producing, and supporting Brown's work.
In 1993, Brown and Blythe moved to Rye, New Hampshire. Brown became an English teacher at Phillips Exeter, his old school, and taught Spanish to students at Lincoln Akerman School in Hampton Falls. Brown also wrote a musical piece called Wild Symphony, which is paired with a book of the same name. The book includes simple ambigrams drawn by artist Susan Batori and is linked to an app that plays music. The music was performed by the Zagreb Festival Orchestra and will be played by the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra in 2020. In 2022, it was announced that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Weed Road Pictures would turn Wild Symphony into an animated film inspired by Walt Disney's Fantasia. Brown would write the screenplay and songs, and Akiva Goldsman would produce the film.
In 1993, while on vacation in Tahiti, Brown read Sidney Sheldon's novel The Doomsday Conspiracy and decided to write thrillers. He began working on Digital Fortress, which he set in Seville, a city he had visited in 1985. He also co-wrote a humor book with Blythe titled 187 Men to Avoid: A Survival Guide for the Romantically Frustrated Woman, using the name "Danielle Brown." The book's copyright is attributed to Brown.
In 1996, Brown stopped teaching to focus on writing. Digital Fortress was published in 1998. Blythe helped promote the book by writing press releases, arranging interviews, and booking Brown on talk shows. A few months later, Brown and Blythe released another humor book, The Bald Book, which was officially credited to Blythe, though the publisher said Brown wrote it. Brown later wrote Angels & Demons and Deception Point, published in 2000 and 2001. Angels & Demons introduced the character Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbology expert.
Brown's first three novels sold fewer than 10,000 copies each. His fourth novel, The Da Vinci Code, became a bestseller in 2003, reaching the top of the New York Times Best Seller list. It sold 81 million copies worldwide by 2009. Its success increased sales of Brown's earlier books. In 2004, all four of his novels were on the New York Times list at the same time. In 2005, Brown was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People and ranked No. 12 on Forbes magazine's "Celebrity 100" list, with an estimated income of $76.5 million.
Brown's third Robert Langdon novel, The Lost Symbol, was released on September 15, 2009. It sold over one million copies in its first day, leading to a large print run. The story takes place in Washington D.C. and includes references to the Freemasons. The book shares similarities with The Da Vinci Code. Brown's website mentions that puzzles in The Da Vinci Code hint at the sequel.
Brown's fourth Robert Langdon novel, Inferno, was published on May 14, 2013. It reached No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list for 11 weeks and sold over 1.4 million copies in the U.S. Brown said he had ideas for about 12 more books in the series. Characters in his books are often named after real people. Robert Langdon is named after John Langdon, the artist who created the ambigrams for Angels & Demons. Other characters are named after friends, family members, and teachers.
Brown's wife, Blythe, is an art historian and painter. She worked as the Director of Artist Development at the National Academy of Songwriters when they met. During a 2006 copyright lawsuit over The Da Vinci Code, Blythe was described as the book's "chief researcher." Brown's seventh book, Origin, was published on October 3, 2017, and is the fifth in the Robert Langdon series.
Some critics say Brown's writing style is not very smooth, with The Da Vinci Code being criticized for poor word choices and writing. In a 2005 documentary, Tony Robinson said the book's historical research and writing were not well done. Much of the criticism focused on Brown's claim that the book is based on real facts about Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion.
Charity work
In October 2004, Brown and his siblings gave US$2.2 million to Phillips Exeter Academy in honor of their father. This money was used to create the Richard G. Brown Technology Endowment, which helps provide computers and high-tech equipment to students who need them. On April 14, 2011, Dan and his wife, Blythe Newlon Brown, established a scholarship fund named after him to mark the 25th anniversary of his graduation from Amherst College. This scholarship fund is permanent and offers financial help to students at Amherst College, with a focus on incoming students interested in writing. On June 16, 2016, Brown donated US$337,000 to the Ritman Library in Amsterdam to help digitize a collection of ancient books.
Personal life
Brown and his wife, Blythe Newlon, supported the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. In 2019, after 22 years of marriage, Brown and his wife divorced in a difficult and unpleasant way due to his alleged unfaithfulness during the later years of their marriage. This led to a legal case brought by Newlon. After several delays, the couple reached an agreement to end the legal case in December 2021. In the acknowledgments section of his 2025 novel The Secret of Secrets, Brown refers to Dutch equestrian Judith Pietersen as his fiancée.
Adaptations
In 2006, Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code was made into a movie by Columbia Pictures. The film was directed by Ron Howard and starred Tom Hanks. Many people were excited about the movie, and it was shown at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. However, the film received mostly negative reviews. It has a 26% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes, which is based on 165 negative reviews out of 214 total. The movie was listed as one of the worst films of 2006 by Ebert & Roeper, but it was also the second highest-grossing film of the year, earning US$750 million worldwide.
Brown helped produce the film The Da Vinci Code and created some of the codes used in the movie. One of his songs, "Phiano," which he wrote and performed, was included in the film's soundtrack. In the movie, Brown and his wife appear briefly in the background during an early scene showing a book signing. The next film, Angels & Demons, was released on May 15, 2009, with Ron Howard and Tom Hanks returning. This film also received mostly negative reviews, though some critics were more positive than those who reviewed The Da Vinci Code. It has a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Filmmakers wanted to make a movie based on The Lost Symbol as well. The screenplay was written by Danny Strong, and production was expected to start in 2013. A January 2013 article in Los Angeles Times said the final version of the screenplay was due by February. In July 2013, Sony Pictures announced they would instead make a movie based on Inferno, with a planned release date of October 14, 2016. Ron Howard would direct, and David Koepp would write the screenplay. Tom Hanks would again play Robert Langdon. Inferno was released on October 28, 2016.
In 2014, Imagine Entertainment announced plans to produce a TV series based on Digital Fortress, written by Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz. In 2021, The Lost Symbol was adapted into a TV series that reimagined the story as the origin of Brown's character Robert Langdon. Ashley Zukerman played Langdon in the series, which aired on the streaming service Peacock for one season.