Masks of the Illuminati is a 1981 novel by Robert Anton Wilson

Robert Anton Wilson

Robert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...

, co-author of The Illuminatus! Trilogy

The Illuminatus! Trilogy

The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magick-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both...

and over thirty other influential books. Although not a sequel to the earlier work, it does expand information on many of the topics referred to in the trilogy.

The novel features numerous real-life historical figures in its narrative, including a first person

First-person narrative

First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...

 description of reality by scientist Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...

 and Irish author James Joyce

James Joyce

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...

, while the plot involves English author and occultist Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...

, British nobles, the Loch Ness Monster

Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....

 and mystical experiences.

The plot revolves primarily around the description by a young English gentleman, Sir John Babcock, of his initiation into the Argenteum Astrum

Argenteum Astrum

The A∴A∴ is a magical order that was created in 1907 by Aleister Crowley and George Cecil Jones after they left the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The acronym, A∴A∴, has been assigned many meanings . The order is a Thelemic magical fraternity, the goals of which are the pursuit of light and...

. Ancestors of Sir John are major characters in The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles

The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles

The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles is a series of three novels by Robert Anton Wilson written after his highly successful The Illuminatus! Trilogy and his 1981 "Masks of the Illuminati"...

.