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The Secret Supper

novel by Javier Sierra

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ3655933 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Secret Supper is a thriller novel written by Javier Sierra. The original Spanish title is La Cena Secreta, winner of the 2004 Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja literary award, one of the richest literary prizes in the world. The English translation by Alberto Manguel was published in 2006.

Plot summary

It is set while Leonardo da Vinci is painting The Last Supper. The story is told in Agostino Leyre's words, as mysterious letters come in to Rome. He is a chief inquisitor, and so he decides to investigate who had sent these mysterious letters, hinting at heresy. He goes to Santa Maria delle Grazie, where he meets various monks, priests and nuns. But while he is there, various suspicious deaths and rumours takes him into a search for truth- the meaning of The Last Supper. Intrigued, he finds yet another mystery - a blue leather-bound book, portrayed in tarot cards left by the killer of several pilgrims, known as 'The Soothsayer'.

Main characters

Agostino Leyre- Chief Inquisitor at Rome, called to investigate The Soothsayer

Beatrice d'Este- Duchess, died along with her newborn baby

Leonardo da Vinci- Artist, inventor and author, painter of the Last Supper and Maesta

Father Alessandro- Librarian who helps Agostino with his search

Brother Benedetto- A one-eyed monk who is not what he seems...

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “The Secret Supper” as novel by Javier Sierra. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Secret, Supper and novel.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2004, 2006—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Secret, Supper and novel providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Secret Supper”, the useful work is to connect “novel by Javier Sierra” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3655933. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2004 and 2006.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Secret Supper”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Secret Supper primary sources, The Secret Supper archive and Secret research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Secret Supper”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “The Secret Supper” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.