He says that in actual fact he didn't look at THE HOLY BLOOD AND THE HOLY GRAIL until very late on in writing his novel, and he says he still hasn't read the whole book. KATHERINE RUSTON (Reporter, Book Seller Magazine): Well, he defended his claim. He finally got a chance to speak for himself. Katherine, Dan Brown has been sitting in this courtroom watching all this. She was at the court today when Dan Brown took the stand, and she joins us now. Katherine Rushton is a reporter from Book Seller Magazine. Since the court case began, both books have been flying off the shelves here and abroad. Both books explore the controversial theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and produced a child whose bloodlines survive to this day. They claim Brown, an American, stole the central theme for his religious thriller from their 1982 book, THE HOLY BLOOD AND THE HOLY GRAIL. Two British authors, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, are suing THE DA VINCI CODE publisher, Random House, for copyright infringement. In London's high court today, Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown took the stand for the first time to defend his work and his reputation.
