geography of chasms, abysses, mountains, ice, and storms is accompanied by
significant moral and emotional consequences, even if one survives Inferno to progress
through Purgatory to Paradise. Along this path to Dante’s hell, conceptualized in the
novel as global anarchy through untreated, ignored, and unresolved overpopulation, the
(re-) popularization of key verses, historical and political contexts, and the classic art
and architecture, is viewed within a 21st century lens—technology, digital humanities,
environmental apocalyptism, global politics, and compressed time.
Although Brown has significantly contributed to the (re-) popularization of Dante,
it is also important to recognize that the great author has become more alive and more
popular through academic web sites, “Digital Dante” projects, and new translations of
his epic work. One could argue that his increased familiarity and popularity has been
shared by both academics and popular culture enthusiasts. In fact, the last
acknowledgment that Dan Brown makes in the acknowledgements is to “the superb
online resources of the Princeton Dante Project, Digital Dante at Columbia University,
and the World of Dante.” (Brown x).
Works Cited and Consulted
Acocella, Joan. “What the Hell.” New Yorker 27 May 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno: Trans. John Ciardi. New York: New American
Library/Mentor Books, 1954. Print.
Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno. Trans. Robert Pinsky. New York: Farrar, Straus, and
Giroux, 1994. Print.
Brown, Dan. Inferno. New York: Doubleday, 2013. Print.
Bush, Harold K. “In review: Travels with Dan Brown.” Christian Century. September 18,
2013, 36-38. Print.
Coleman, Ashley; Rebecca Milzoff; Max Thorn, Alexa Tsoulis-Rey, and Alex Yarblon.
“The Nine Circles of Dan Brown.” New York 6 May 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
Freccero, John. Foreword. The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation by Robert
Pinskey. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 1994. ix-xvii. Print.
Kolbert, Elizabeth. “Head Count.” New Yorker 21 October 2013, 96-99. Print.
---. “Kindle Sales Drives Dan Brown’s Inferno to Top of Best Sellers in 2013.”
Digital Book Wire 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
MacAllister, Archibald, T. Introduction. The Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: New
American Library—Mentor Books, 1954. xiii-xxvi. Print.
Maslin, Janet. “On a Scavenger Hunt to Save Most Humans: ‘Inferno’ by Dan Brown.”
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