Piers Vaughan was born in Brighton, England, and following sojourns in Germany and Switzerland, lives just outside New York City. He was educated at Brighton College, Oxford and Cranfield Universities, and holds M.A.s in Psychology and Divinity, and an M.B.A. He worked in banking for most of his life, as a Project Manager and Internal Consultant in IT and Operations, later acting as COO of a small training company based in New Jersey. He has been a Freemason most of his life, and is a member of St. John's Lodge No. 1 in New York, which was founded in 1757, and is the guardian of the George Washington Inaugural Bible. He is a 33rd Degree Mason in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and a Past Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter State of New York, Royal Arch Masons, which he currently serves as Grand Treasurer. He is also a long-standing member of a number of esoteric Orders, having helped to bring a number of these to the United States from England and France. He is also Primate of the Apostolic Church of the Golden & Rosy Cross, a descendent of the Pre-Nicene Church of Richard, Duc de Palatine. He has a particular interest in the Orders, Rituals and protagonists of 18th Century French Masonic and Esoteric Orders, and has built a reputation translating many source documents into English, and lecturing around the world on these topics. M.R. Osborne is a writer, independent researcher and lawyer. He has published books and articles on esoteric subjects including Rosicrucianism, early Masonic organisation and occult symbolism. A member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA) and Director of Studies at Pythagoras College No.26, he edits the College Pamphlet Plus Quam Silentium. In 2018 he won the prestigious Order of the Companions of Christian Rosenkreutz (CCR) Award for a series of papers on 'The Lessons of Lyons of the Elus Coens'. He has written for the SRIA's Metropolitan Study Group, and Watkins Mind, Body and Spirit Magazine.He is best known for his scholarly introductions to Rose Circle's four-volume series of early Martinezist manuscripts. His research focus has centred on the composition of the original Elus Coens as a Catholic mystical fraternity. He contends that the goal of the order in attempting the reinstitution of the theurgy of the kohanim was doctrinally consistent with the Catholic faith to which its members subscribed.He regularly features in online podcasts and interviews, where he introduces his books and discusses the esoteric in general. A selection of the author's blogs are on available to read on Academia.The author first encountered Martinism and Rosicrucianism on a personal journey of Christian spirituality. In them, he discovered a fascinating philosophy of early science and theology maintained by hidden organisations almost entirely unknown to mainstream society. The author aims to shed new light on these topics by writing on Rosicrucianism, Martinezism, and related areas of research-for both newcomers and seasoned experts alike.
""I applaud Michael Osborne for bringing us a book which delves into this formerly obscure link between two religious visionaries."" Piers A. Vaughan