The Lost Symbol
The Lost Symbol Dan Brown's follow-up to the Da Vinci Code has sold more copies in its first 36 hours of UK release than any other adult hardback novel, say Transworld publishers
The Lost Symbol, which went on sale on Tuesday, has sold more than 300,000 copies in the UK, the previous best-selling adult hardback, Thomas Harris' Hannibal, had sold 298,000 copies since it was published in 1999.
Like The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol features Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, and had a UK first print run of a million.
Brown's Da Vinci Code has sold 81 million copies around the world and is the UK's biggest-selling paperback of all time.
Transworld though has warned it was on the lookout for websites offering pirated copies of the new novel, after reports that two sites had already posted material from the book.
A spokeswoman said: "We have a very vigilant team who are constantly scanning the web to investigate potential piracy issues.
"If and when they do find any rogue material out there we will issue 'take down' notices."
Six years in the writing, The Lost Symbol is Dan Brown's extraordinary sequel to his internationally bestselling Robert Langdon thrillers, Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code.
Nothing is ever what it first appears in a Dan Brown novel. Set over a breathtaking 12 hour time span, the book's narrative takes the reader on an exhilarating journey through a masterful and unexpected landscape as Professor of Symbology, Robert Langdon, is once again called into action.
Expertly researched and written with breakneck pace, The Lost Symbol once again demonstrates why Dan Brown is the world's bestselling thriller writer.
Author Dan Brown is the bestselling author of Digital Fortress, Deception Point, Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he has taught English and creative writing. He lives in New England.