Book 83: "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco

[kittiwake]

They had no idea of the pandemonium they were unleashing. Andreae spent the rest of his life swearing he hadn't written the manifestoes, which he claimed were a lusus, a ludibrium, a prank. It cost him his academic reputation. He grew angry, said that the Rosicrucians, if indeed they existed, were all impostors. But that didn't help. Once the manifestoes appeared, it was as if people had been waiting for them. Learned men from all over Europe actually wrote to the Rosicrucians, and since there was no address, they sent open letters, pamphlets, printed volumes.

Casaubon, Belbo and Diotallevi are editors working on a series of esoteric books for a Milan publisher. As a game, they decide to create their own Templar mystery, basing it on bits and pieces from the manuscripts that have been submitted to the publisher, but when someone starts taking their theory seriously, they are in big trouble.

My favourite part was when Casaubon's wife Lia presented him with her prosaic interpretation of the document that started it all off!

Nottingham Round the World Reading Challenge - ITALY - MILAN