Richard C McNeff
Author
welcome
Richard C McNeff was born on Hampstead Heath in 1953. He is the author of Aleister Crowley MI5 (first published as Sybarite among the Shadows), and its recent follow-up, Aleister Crowley MI6: The Hess Solution. He also wrote With Barry Flanagan: Travels through Time and Spain, a memoir of the late sculptor, as well as The Dream of Boris: Deceived Kingdom, a Brexit satire. He is a contributor to The Guardian, Fortean Times, Wormwood and Boulevard Magenta.
“McNeff’s novel is so different from anything you’d normally find on a bookshelf that it should perhaps be a compulsory purchase.” – The Independent on Sunday (on Aleister Crowley MI5)
“An author of such a literary invention…” – La Repubblica
Latest blog post: ‘The Names of the Hare: An Appreciation of Barry Flanagan’ – Click here
New Release: Italian edition of ACMI5 published in Rome by Edizioni Atlantide.
“An irresistible intrigue” – Vanity Fair Italy
“We are in the presence of a novel of great fascination” – Il Manifesto
“Exhilarating, extravagant…a poetic Art Deco thriller” – La Repubblica
(Isbn: 9781914153204)
You can pluck someone like an instrument if you know the way to tune their heart.
May 1941, Ian Fleming of Naval Intelligence recruits Aleister Crowley to crack the recently captured Rudolf Hess by exploiting their mutual fascination with the occult. To fill in the background to Hess’s disastrous flight, Fleming provides the diary of Albrecht Haushofer, the deputy Führer’s assistant. 1945 finds Crowley in a boarding house in Hastings where he tutors Will, a fledgling priest, in Latin. The victim of a Soviet honey trap, Will steals a file that reveals the devastating consequences of Crowley’s mission and discovers the true identities of the Reception Committee waiting for Hess in Scotland. Is the file genuine or a black-ops fake concocted by British Intelligence? Can a crazed rocket scientist in California supply the answer, or ‘M’, the Beast’s controller? Featuring Dion Fortune, Anthony Blunt, Hitler, Jack Parsons, and the Beatles, Aleister Crowley MI6 is a riveting spy thriller anchored in fact.
It’s a fun ride.
Fortean Times
A brilliantly researched and engrossing novel. Aleister Crowley is superlatively brought to life.
Eamonn Shanahan
A highly recommended (and highly unusual) irreverent romp through our recent past.
Robert Nurden (author of I Always Wanted To Be A Dad)
Aleister Crowley as himself in all his occult and charismatic glory – a manipulative, overbearing, bizarre yet compelling character. Fiction could hardly have invented him: he is a gift of a character to any novelist & Richard C McNeff has accepted him, unwrapped the parcel and given him his head. —Martin Booth (author of Crowley biography A Magick Life – on Aleister Crowley MI5).
WORKS
(click on image for information)
MEDIA
Interview with Diane Hinds on Chocolate Radio about my life, writing, and the influence of Aleister Crowley on musicians, with tracks by Joe Meek, Graham Bond, Jimmy Page, David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ab-Soul.
LISTEN BELOW
Neil Haley and Kim Sorelle interview Richard about Aleister Crowley MI6: The Hess Solution:
Neil Haley Show Interview
Write on! (Pen to Print) interview below. Click on image to read.
COLLABORATIONS
