Dig Into the Real Tunnels, Codes, and Crypts that Lead to The Most Terrifying Secret in Human History
In the fall of 2000., Noah Greaves arrives at The College of William & Mary carrying little more than a scholarship, a gift for mathematics, and a determination to escape the limits of his small-town life. What begins as an ordinary semester quickly becomes something far stranger when a Shakespeare professor discovers Noah’s uncanny ability to recognize hidden patterns buried within centuries-old texts.
Drawn into a secret world of cryptographers, historians, intelligence operatives, and occult seekers, Noah finds himself at the center of a mystery stretching back more than three hundred years. Beneath Williamsburg’s colonial streets lie forgotten tunnels, hidden chambers, and clues pointing to a legendary vault said to contain something that will change history.
As rival factions race to uncover the truth, Noah and his enigmatic classmate Amanda become entangled in a deadly struggle involving Sir Francis Bacon, coded messages concealed within Shakespeare’s works, a graveyard full of mysterious anagrams, and a conspiracy reaching from colonial-era Virginia to modern intelligence agencies. Each discovery raises a deeper question: what if everything we thought we knew about human history and our destiny—was a lie?
Blending historical mystery, real locations, symbols, tunnels, and designs, espionage, horror, and speculative science-fiction, Michael Holtzman’s The Temple Keep takes readers from candlelit archives and ancient church grounds to a revelation that challenges everything we believe. Fans of The DaVinci Code, Dark Matter, The Secret History, and National Treasure will find a thrilling adventure where cryptography, hidden-history, and cutting-edge science converge.
Some secrets can change the world.
One secret could end it.
The Photo Vault
A Mysterious Map
Visit Colonial Williamsburg and be sure to bring a copy of the mysterious piece of cartography known as “The Frenchman”s Map.” Did Thomas Jefferson himself have a hand in its design? Do the scribbles in the margins–long dismissed by historians as drunken “graffiti”–actually involve sacred geometry that links Williamsburg to another revolutionary city? Bonus: Note on the far left side of the image the clear symbol of Freemasonry–the compass and the square–encompassing the entire old campus of The College of William and Mary.
Decode the Cipher
Sir Francis Bacon developed an ingenious “bi-literal” cipher, in which “anything could be made to say anything.” Were the works of Shakespeare embedded with such code? Use Bacon’s cipher key to create a code of your own. Bonus: “The Temple Keep” has bi-literal code embedded in it. Can you break it?”
About the Author
Michael Holtzman is a graduate of The College of William & Mary, where much of The Temple Keep is set. He served on the Board of Advisors for the College’s Reves Center for International Studies, and was the chief creative officer at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He served as a senior advisor in the U.S. Department of State and in the Executive Office of the President of the United States. He is a published author of acclaimed fiction and non-fiction, and a musician with the rock group Bad Penny. He resides in Westchester County, New York with his wife, Abigail.
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