His last book The Lost Symbol sold 550, 000 copies in the UK in its first week on sale in 2009.

BBC: Dan Brown: Inferno book covers revealed

Details of his 2009 novel "The Lost Symbol" emerged thanks to reports that Brown, whose dimpled chin and sandy-colored hair are known to many, had been spending time in Washington, D.

WSJ: Dan Brown returns to Europe for 'Inferno'

Their comments do not appear to have put readers off buying the book, which has already become this year's best-selling hardback fiction title, and the fastest selling since 2009's Dan Brown hardback The Lost Symbol, which topped 550, 000 in its first week.

BBC: JK Rowling novel tops fiction chart

The loss of a commissioner became a symbol of lost influence during the referendum campaign.

ECONOMIST: But will anybody listen to them?

Roya, which means dream in Farsi, was the daughter of Afghanistan, the symbol of a perennial struggle, of lost dreams.

FORBES: Writer Grieves for One of Afghanistan's Lost Women

One enduring symbol of the lives that have been lost is the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

WHITEHOUSE: AIDS Memorial Quilt in the White House