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If you’ve never heard of McCracken, you should know that he’s been described as “Indiana Jones with a Rosary.” Engineer, adventurer, big-game hunter, defeater of nefarious villains . . . and of course husband, father, and devout Catholic.

The world was still a heroic one when McCracken was facing dangers in Portugal, Russia, India, Georgia, the Ivory Coast, Switzerland, and a host of other thrilling places. The villains he faces are communists, members of secret societies, evil industrialists--the types of people who shaped the evils of the modern world. What is the Catholic response to Communism, Nihilism, and other ways of thinking that lived and still live side-by-side with life-giving Catholic theology?

But the focus is on adventure. So come along and dodge the bullets, flee from the Cossacks and head-hunters, jump out of zeppelins, dive to the ocean floor or soar above the clouds in a biplane, because life is an adventure!

The best place to start, of course, is at the beginning, McCracken and the Lost Island; but they are written so you can understand them in any order you want to read them.

Welcome to the adventure!

June 1922. The disappearance of a British expert on radio waves has left the British Government in India baffled. Strange craft move silently through Bombay Harbour by night. Sinister men in blood-red turbans seem determined that McCracken will never learn the truth.

Arriving in India to keep a promise, McCracken and his companions soon discover that every clue leads to a deeper mystery. An ancient map draws them ever closer to the Lost Fortress, but also forces them to face choices that test their courage and their deepest allegiances.

Traveling by submarine, airship, train and elephant, and aided by a courageous young Indian princess and her faithful servant, McCracken follows a trail that stretches from the bustling streets of Bombay to the forgotten forests of Bundelkhand. There, he uncovers a conspiracy rooted in the ancient past—one with the power to reshape the world. . .

Britain, the Island of the Mighty, stands on the brink of war with the Roman Empire. But Excalibur is lost—the sword forged by the gods in the dawn of days and handed down through generations of High Kings. Can Britain survive without it?

Young Prince Emrys, nicknamed Merlin, knows that his destiny is to recover the sword. Gifted with the power to see into the heart of the world, he must face the rebel goddess Morgana, who seeks Excalibur for herself. If she takes it, Britain will fall under her rule. Before Merlin lie two possible futures: darkness and death . . . or the age of Arthur.

The Matter of Britain returns the Arthurian legend to its medieval and Catholic roots. Beginning in a pagan Britain, the first three books explore the country’s conversion to Christianity through stories of adventure, conflict, and supernatural mystery.

At the heart of the series is the coming of the Holy Grail to Britain. Its arrival sets Arthur’s warriors on their great quest; its loss is followed by their disintegration into rival factions. Throughout, the legend unfolds within a vision of the world shaped by orthodox Catholic faith.

N. C. Wyeth, Illustration from The Boys' King Arthur, 1922. Courtesy of Wiki Cmmons.

Essays, research notes, and author dispatches delving into the globe-trotting pulp escapades of McCracken and the mythic heritage of ancient Britain.

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Dispatches and Lore Blog