Tom Egeland

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Tom Egeland (born 8 July 1959 in Oslo) is a Norwegian author. His novels are published in 17 languages. Egeland's most famous novel is "Circle's end", which deals with several of the same topics as The Da Vinci Code. Egeland's book was published in 2001, two years before The Da Vinci Code.

European readers and critics quickly noted some striking similarities between the "Da Vinci Code" and "Sirkelens ende" ("Circle's End"). Like the "Da Vinci Code", "Circle's End" involves an ancient mystery and a worldwide conspiracy, the discovery that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and an albino as one of the central characters. In both novels, the main female character turns out to be the last living descendant of Christ and Mary Magdalene, and the daughter/granddaughter of the last grand master of a secret order.

Many European readers have speculated that Dan Brown had plagiarized Tom Egeland's book. Since the Norwegian novel has not been translated into English, it is generally assumed today that the similarities between the two books, although striking, are coincidental.

The author himself, Tom Egeland, has in numerous interviews in European media dismissed the claim of Brown's novel plagiarizing his own novel, stating that the similarities just show that he and Brown more or less have done the same research and found the same sources.

Egeland's latest novel, "Guardians of the Covenant", and the 2001 bestseller "Circle's End" have been acquired by the British publishing house John Murray and are scheduled for publication in English from 2009.