Da Vinci Code is claptrap, says man who claims to know Gospel truth
TWENTY five years of research by a Uttoxeter historian is set to hit the big screen after a film of his book trilogy was snapped up by Warner Brothers.
Millions of readers have proved tales about the descendants of Jesus, the line of Mary Magdalene and the Knights Templar make for a good story.
-
Historian Dr Hugh Montgomery with copies of his new book, The God Kings of Outremer.
But Professor Hugh Montgomery, of Brooklands Close, Uttoxeter, has dismissed Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code as "a load of claptrap" and is mystified why "people actually believe that the nonsense is true".
Instead, the Uttoxeter town councillor - who is fluent in Latin - claims his own recently-completed trilogy is the truth rather than the 57-million copy-selling novel.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
The 69-year-old prof has turned down earlier overtures from Hollywood citing concerns about glamorisation.
But now the work has been transformed into a documentary, produced by UK-based Reality and distributed by Warner Brothers.
And he has made sure he will have final editorial say over the feature. He said: "I've seen the director's cut and it's alright but there are plenty of suggestions to be made.
"My name will be associated with this work so I need to make sure everything is perfect.
"Luckily, the director Philip Gardiner is a friend of mine so everything is going well.
"Hopefully it should be ready for release towards the end of this year."
Movie-goers in Uttoxeter, however, may not get a chance to watch the documentary because it has been shot in digital, not the 35mm film required for this country's cinemas.
But the author admits it is in the United States where he has developed the main market for his work.
He said: "I will probably sell around 1,000 copies of my book in Britain, compared with 20,000 across the Atlantic."
Mr Montgomery arrived in Uttoxeter in 2003 after retiring as president of the Megatrend University of Applied Sciences in Belgrade, Serbia, where he lectured on history, politics and economics – a move which gave him more time to focus on his books.
He released the God-Kings of Europe in 2006, the God-Kings of England in 2007 and has recently finished the God-Kings of Outremer.
Across 538 pages Mr Montgomery traces 2,000 years of heritage from once-believed Norse god Odin, through Jesus – who he claims was married and a father – up to the final installment, Outremer.
He said: "Much to my wife's annoyance I was working in the evenings and weekends.
"Now I am able to treat writing as almost a full-time job.
"Still, to compress everything I have researched into three books has been a real struggle."
The God-Kings of Outremer starts with the Pope telling the descendants of Jesus they are to be written out of the Gospels and ends with details of the First Crusade.
The book is available now on amazon.co.uk and is set to hit the bookshelves after a full-scale launch by publishers Nucleus Agency next month.
Comments