There’s a new name in Rennes-le-Château research; Patrice Chaplin.

City of Secrets, Chaplin’s controversial new book unveils an entirely new twist to the conventional mystery and in the process delivers the most refreshing work in the genre in years. Oh, and it’s a love story.

Patrice Chaplin’s provocative new book

In City of Secrets, Chaplin draws on a life time of esoteric experience, research and associations, including friendships with Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí and Umberto Eco, to offer new insights into old enigmas. Chaplin’s research reveals:

• The Spanish city that is effectively twinned with Rennes-le-Château, providing Father Bigou and Saunière with a hiding place for documents and relics.
• The person who acted as the source of information for Gérard de Sède’s ground breaking 1967 work 1967, L’Or de Rennes; a book that launched the mystery in the first place.
• The location in Spain where the earlier Rennes-le-Château priest, Father Bigou, fled during the revolution, and why he really left.
• The original Spanish tower that inspired Bérenger Saunière to construct the Tour Magdela in Rennes-le-Château, along with its purpose.
• The true nature of the Grail, as known by Saunière.

In support of her revelations, Chaplin provides copies of previously unreleased letters, written by Saunière, along with other evidence.

No less intriguing is Chaplin’s romantic and lucid writing style, which has often been compared to Beat Generation legend Jack Kerouac, amongst others. No other Rennes-le-Château book reads quite like it. This is a love story, spanning half a century, and Rennes-le-Château is simply the milieu for Chaplin’s revelations, which unfold late in the novel, but are worth the wait.

Patrice Chaplin is a novelist, writer and playwright, with dozens of works to her credit. Her books include Albany Park and Siesta, which was made into a film staring Jodi Foster and Isabella Rossellini. Part of the Bohemian scene of the 50’s and 60’s, she was married to Charlie Chaplin’s son and lived in Hollywood. Chaplin stared in a Cocteau film and was friends with Lauren Bacall and other Hollywood icons.

City of Secrets will be in stores from the 23rd of May, 2007 and Arcadia rates it 4.5 Parchments out of 5. Read it!