Golding returns and the Da Vinci Code's legal battle

More than a decade after his death, the work of Nobel laureate William Golding has become unlikely hot property in Hollywood. Book Notes rejoices at the news that The Spire, Golding's sublime allegorical novel about a demented dean and his obsessional quest to complete his church, is to be filmed later this year. Golding, best known for that favourite of schoolteachers the world over, The Lord of the Flies, was regarded by many as the foremost British novelist of the Twentieth Century.

The Spire has not dated a day since it was first published in 1964. It tells the story of a misguided group of people and their efforts to build a towering spire at the heart of their community while the surrounding countryside falls into decay. Book Notes can only hope that cigar-chewing movie producer-types see the film potential in some of Golding's other works, most notably the powerful, timeless novels Free Fall and Darkness Visible, which deal with evil and the loss of free will.

The second coming

Just when Book Notes thought it had heard the last of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, the whole farrago is about to begin again. Even though the High Court in Britain found in Brown's favour in the plagiarism case taken against him by two 'historians' earlier this year, the author of the world's most successful work of fiction ever has not escaped them entirely.

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (the book alleged to be the raw material for Brown's blockbuster), are now appealing the judge's decision. Both are set to appear in court on 7 January to explain again how Brown ruthlessly desecrated what they claim to be a superb work of sound religious scholarship for his own ends.

Regardless of the fact that the previous court case ended with them being ordered to pay 85 per cent of the £1m legal costs, Baigent and Leigh feel confident that justice will prevail this time. Even if it does not, Book Notes has found out that they have recently signed a lucrative contract with Harper Collins to write a book along the same lines as their previous effort, so when their duel with Brown is over they will not be left in total penury.

Edward O'Hare is taking the place of regular Book Notes columnist Ronan Browne, who is on leave