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12th out of 419 books
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400 voters
The Curse of the Pharaohs (Amelia Peabody #2)
The sun rides high over the British Empire, and the light still sparkles brightly in Amelia Peabody's eye as she returns for her second adventure in archaeology and romantic mystery as recounted in her lively journal. Sir Henry is striving to ensure no tomb has been overlooked by the previous expedition. Scarcely have the men started working when their spades uncover a ser...more
320 pages
Published
1999
by Robinson
(first published 1981)
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Luxor Temple, Egypt (Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes).
★★★☆☆ (This is a review of the audiobook.) This one didn’t do it for me. Loved the first one in the series (which I both read and listened to), also narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. However, this one put me to sleep repeatedly - literally! I had to keep starting over and over again. I don’t think it was the narration as much as the storyline. It just didn’t grab me like the first one did. Ms. Rosenblat does a nice job on the various accen...more
★★★☆☆ (This is a review of the audiobook.) This one didn’t do it for me. Loved the first one in the series (which I both read and listened to), also narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. However, this one put me to sleep repeatedly - literally! I had to keep starting over and over again. I don’t think it was the narration as much as the storyline. It just didn’t grab me like the first one did. Ms. Rosenblat does a nice job on the various accen...more
Amelia Peabody Emerson continues to be a woman to be reckoned with and a woman that a mystery always follows. I consider her a younger, even more British version of Miss Marple with a delightfully British "his bark is worse than his bite" husband who is crazy about her and a young son, Ramses who writes notes to his parents in hieroglyphics. A wonderful series for anyone looking for a bit of 1920s Egypt and a good mystery
On this listen of this old favourite I was truly appreciative of Peters' skill as an author. The book is told as if it were Amelia Peabody's journal, but still Peters manages very cleverly to give us several views of all the wild twists and turns in the story. We aren't limited to Amelia's viewpoint because although she is a keen observer she isn't very self aware, and though she is very intelligent she often draws the wrong conclusions. It not only makes for an interesting puzzle it makes for s...more
I am getting into this series. Before I know it I will be speaking Egyptology. I have really not been interested in anything Egyptian. Luckily, it's not a requirement for reading this series. Egypt doesn't get in the way of the mystery to be solved. I really like the H/H and their cast of characters. Also...glad that Elizabeth Peters found her niche. Her other series do not even compare to this one. Really not a spoiler, but as a GR friend mentioned..you will not believe what Amelia and Emerson...more
To be honest, I was expecting to be dissapointed. I was happy to discover that my morose anticipation was groundless.
Within the first chapter, I had already grabbed ahold of the characters (it has been a few weeks since reading the first of the series), laughed with the blatent and humorous description of a new character, and was already imagining the world in which Peabody struts her parasol and balooned trousers.
The mystery remained one till the end and I found that, as is not done in som...more
Within the first chapter, I had already grabbed ahold of the characters (it has been a few weeks since reading the first of the series), laughed with the blatent and humorous description of a new character, and was already imagining the world in which Peabody struts her parasol and balooned trousers.
The mystery remained one till the end and I found that, as is not done in som...more
This is the second Amelia Peabody adventure/mystery, and I enjoyed this story, and Amelia, even more than the first.
The Curse of the Pharaohs takes place five years after the first one. Amelia and Emerson are married, and have a young, precocious yet highly entertaining son, Walter Junior, nicknamed 'Ramses'. Ramses has rather curtailed Amelia and Emerson's archaeological adventures and so the book opens with the Emersons living a rather staid life, vegetating in Kent, where Emerson has made a s...more
The Curse of the Pharaohs takes place five years after the first one. Amelia and Emerson are married, and have a young, precocious yet highly entertaining son, Walter Junior, nicknamed 'Ramses'. Ramses has rather curtailed Amelia and Emerson's archaeological adventures and so the book opens with the Emersons living a rather staid life, vegetating in Kent, where Emerson has made a s...more
I listened to several of these books back when I was driving miles and miles daily (radio can get old after a while). My wife always loved them, even before she came to need the audio versions of books. So whenever she finished a book, or while she was listening to another book, I'd take these to work with me and listen.
As I've mentioned before, these are well written...or maybe I should say "well crafted" mysteries. The characters stay true to form and in most cases "act like themselves". The s...more
As I've mentioned before, these are well written...or maybe I should say "well crafted" mysteries. The characters stay true to form and in most cases "act like themselves". The s...more
Review
Victorian maiden-lady archaeologist Amelia Peabody made a nice little debut in Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975) - but, now wed to scholar-colleague Radcliffe Emerson and the mother of formidable tot Ramses, she's in much better form, starring in a delicious mystery-adventure. The fun begins when Lady Baskerville begs the Emersons to re-open a dig near Luxor where Sir Henry B. died mysteriously - and then his assistant disappeared! So, joining a household near the Egyptian tomb-site, the Em...more
Victorian maiden-lady archaeologist Amelia Peabody made a nice little debut in Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975) - but, now wed to scholar-colleague Radcliffe Emerson and the mother of formidable tot Ramses, she's in much better form, starring in a delicious mystery-adventure. The fun begins when Lady Baskerville begs the Emersons to re-open a dig near Luxor where Sir Henry B. died mysteriously - and then his assistant disappeared! So, joining a household near the Egyptian tomb-site, the Em...more
Another delightful mystery, the second book in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels, Barbara Mertz). The story is worth reading for the first chapter alone with the hilarity of Ramses Emerson's adventures and opinions, Amelia and Radcliffe Emerson's "catastrophically precocious" son. Despite Amelia's acerbic tone when describing Ramses, she has obvious pride in him though her mind yearns for Egyptian escapades. The author has a gift for creating very colourful seco...more
This book picks up a few years after the first; by now, Amelia and her husband have been married for several years and have a young child. Their mutual love for their son has prevented them from returning to Egypt for further excavations, since they are concerned about his health. Ultimately, a young widow of a fellow explorer offers them a chance they cannot resist, and Amelia and Emerson find themselves back in Egypt.
I enjoyed the first book in the series, but if the successive books in this s...more
I enjoyed the first book in the series, but if the successive books in this s...more
I was pretty shocked at Amelia's callousness towards her son. But maternal instincts aside, I enjoyed seeing her and Emerson quarreling away in marital bliss. They take delight in arguing and annoying the hell out of each other. Some things never change.
The fact that she had not yet exterminated her mother proved that she was incapable of violence.
How I love Amelia! I find it hilarious how she is moved to tears at the lamest signs of affection Emerson gives her. They are such staid people! It's...more
The fact that she had not yet exterminated her mother proved that she was incapable of violence.
How I love Amelia! I find it hilarious how she is moved to tears at the lamest signs of affection Emerson gives her. They are such staid people! It's...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Awww, baby Ramses! And this is also one of those infuriating books with a first-person Victorian female narrator, which means every time Amelia and Emerson get up close and personal, we get asterisks in place of actual description. Bother. :)
I thoroughly enjoyed myself while reading this. The dialogue in Elizabeth Peters' books is sometimes rather stilted, especially when she's writing Americans (this particular specimen was given to saying things like "goldurnit!") or anyone who isn't British a...more
I thoroughly enjoyed myself while reading this. The dialogue in Elizabeth Peters' books is sometimes rather stilted, especially when she's writing Americans (this particular specimen was given to saying things like "goldurnit!") or anyone who isn't British a...more
Imagine, if you will, that Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice is reincarnated towards the middle of the nineteenth century as a woman called Amelia Peabody. She develops an interest in archaeology, and marries an Egyptologist who is supposed, I think, to be stirringly alpha male but who is in fact emotionally and physically abusive. She delights in establishing how intelligent and feisty she is by denigrating other women, and spawns an obnoxiously precocious offspring who has a cu...more
Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson are soul mates in archeology and love, Married now they have a infant son, Ramses. Amelia times the birth of her son so that she is recovered and her son is old enough to be left with his uncle Walter and aunt Evelyn while Peabody and Emerson travel to Egypt for the winter season. Upon their return Amelia finds that she has missed her son and the little family is content for some time until the pull of Pyramids and digs leads them to accept an invitation to t...more
Another entertaining adventure featuring Amelia Peabody. Set several years after the first book, The Curse of the Pharaohs begins in England, where we get to see Amelia and her husband, Emerson, in domestic contentment -- if a bit of boredom & longing for Egypt -- with their young son Ramses. Soon, though, an opportunity presents itself, and the couple heads off to Egypt for another archaeological expedition -- and another mystery that they must solve if they're to get any work done.
At times...more
At times...more
The Curse of the Pharaohs is the second installment in Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series... and does anyone else think it's weird that it's only the second book and she's married, thus is no longer named Amelia Peabody? It's Amelia Emerson now, though her husband Radcliffe Emerson (usually just called Emerson) uses "Peabody" as a term of endearment. At the close of The Crocodile on the Sandbank, we knew what was in store for the Emersons -- a few years of happy excavations and the promise...more
I'm burning through the Amelia Peabody mysteries which I had read (up to this point) three (not in order). Elizabeth Peters is a great mystery novelist, and if you're reading this series, don't stop.
I love the character of Ramses, and wish he had been in more of the book. However, all in all, it was pretty standard fare. Peabody and Emerson are working on a dig site, some crazy "paranormal" stuff happens, they fight and have sexy sex. Peabody is hard headed. Emerson is hard headed. More sexy se...more
I love the character of Ramses, and wish he had been in more of the book. However, all in all, it was pretty standard fare. Peabody and Emerson are working on a dig site, some crazy "paranormal" stuff happens, they fight and have sexy sex. Peabody is hard headed. Emerson is hard headed. More sexy se...more
Intrepid Amelia Peabody is at it again. After languishing in bordom comprised of the duties of motherhood and a quiet life in England, Amelia is thrilled when her archeologist husband, Emerson, is asked to come to the aid of the widow of a fellow archeologist. She has requested that he continue the work of her late husband on an important dig. Emerson has agreed that Amelia should come with him.
When thy arrive, they find that not only is Lord Baskerville dead, but his assistant is missing. This...more
When thy arrive, they find that not only is Lord Baskerville dead, but his assistant is missing. This...more
Very enjoyable read. Amelia and Emerson are back in Egypt, now as a married couple, leading a dig sponsored by a wealthy Brit who may have been murdered. The exchanges between these two are as humourous as ever. Amelia hasn't lost any of her confidence and she may be just a bit more snarky in her commentary than she was in the first book in this series. But I do love her ability to re-phrase things so that she's always correct in her analysis. Emerson remains a favourite character of mine - loud...more
The Curse of the Pharaohs is all about voice: Amelia Peabody’s voice. This detective, Egyptologist, and mother of one narrates with wit and humor, puncturing Victorian decorum with her steel-tipped parasol, amazing the reader with her (sometimes stupid) bravery and her unique way of both adoring and defying her Egyptologist husband.
This book came right when I wanted it. Every few months I crave a good mystery- not a bold and modern thriller, something clever but relatively gore-less and blushle...more
This book came right when I wanted it. Every few months I crave a good mystery- not a bold and modern thriller, something clever but relatively gore-less and blushle...more
Five years have passed since Emerson and Amelia were wed. Five years away from Egypt living dutifully in Kent raising their son Ramses. Five years amid the damp and the cold and the rain. It's not that they don't love their son dearly...it's just that he can't really make up for the Egyptian sunrise or the thrill of a freshly unearthed mummy. For weeks the tabloids have been filled with the story of Lord Baskerville who died mysteriously while unearthing a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings, le...more
In this novel we fast-forward a couple of years. Emerson and Amelia are living in Kent in England in some sort of semi-normal domestic bliss that neither relishes. They have agreed to put a stop to their archeological exploits until their son, Walter (nicknamed Ramses) is old enough to accompany them. Egypt is not a place for a young child so Emerson is lecturing at a University. Neither of them fit into their new lifestyle and both long to return to the dusty digs where they met. An opportunity...more
Although settled into her marriage and a mother now, Amelia is no homebody. Still armed with her parasol—and now a knife and revolver too!—Amelia is the same irascible woman she always was. The real change is Emerson, who has such tender affection for his wife and son that he’s almost unrecognizable as the man in Crocodile on the Sandbank. That is, until the Egyptian diggers and absurd personalities tread on his last nerve.
The ode to Sherlock Holmes—in the form of Baskervilles—was a typical Pete...more
The ode to Sherlock Holmes—in the form of Baskervilles—was a typical Pete...more
I must confess: I didn't like Amelia at first. I found her conceited, judgmental, and wordy...
but then I started thinking about the Victorian Age and realized that Amelia is just who she needs to be in order to do what she does/did back then.
If Amelia wasn't be so sure of herself, she'd be no match for Emerson.
If she wouldn't cast judgment so easily, she'd make a lousy detective.
And if she didn't use those stuffy words all of the time, I'd have no vocabulary examples to share with my Honors En...more
but then I started thinking about the Victorian Age and realized that Amelia is just who she needs to be in order to do what she does/did back then.
If Amelia wasn't be so sure of herself, she'd be no match for Emerson.
If she wouldn't cast judgment so easily, she'd make a lousy detective.
And if she didn't use those stuffy words all of the time, I'd have no vocabulary examples to share with my Honors En...more
(Genre:Mystery) Ameila and Emerson are approached by Lady Baskerville, whose's husband died while excavating a newly found tomb near Luxor. Lady Baskerville wants Emerson to take over the excavation project that is struggling due to superstition and unease following Lord Baskerville's sudden and unexplainable death. Soon they find themselves in the middle of danger and intrigue as more problems arise that plague the dig site. Amelia has suspected murder from the beginning, but will she be able t...more
This was quite good, but I felt something was lost in the characters of both Amelia and Emerson. But the thing is, I think it's mostly because they're married and I love their married relationship. Whereas in the last book Amelia found sentimentality and touchiness annoying, she revels in it now and I think maybe it's the fact that she finally has a loving family and friends. Emerson too, while still violent and angry, also shows his gentle side quite often. I loved the introduction of little Ra...more
Oct 04, 2009
BJ Rose
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
cozy-mystery readers
This book was fun, but not as compelling/riveting a read as Crocodile on the Sandbank. The first part was cute, as Amelia discovers what her readers already knew: she is not a happy stay-at-home mom. So off to Egypt they go. I enjoyed the twists and turns that developed in the story, but felt no suspense in the murder mystery - I was pretty sure from the beginning whodunnit and I was right, but I loved the reasoning processes used by both Amelia and Emerson. But Amelia's overbearing arrogance wa...more
In this mystery, Emerson and Amelia return to Egypt at the request of a friend, the recently widowed Mrs. Baskerville. She knows Emerson from many years back and treats him with more affection that Emerson is wholey comfortable with. Mr. Baskerville died while excavating a tomb and left strict instructions that his work should continue in the event of his passing. However, a local reporter has spun the story up with a tale of a curse, causing the local workers to hesitate in assisting the Emerso...more
The Curse of the Pharaohs
is a fast, fun, and humorous second outing with Amelia and her husband Emerson. The first half isn't quite as good as the second, but it quickly picks up and is enjoyable until the end. Amelia's outlook is a joy to read and I love how Elizabeth Peters writes her, which to me, seems like it would be very hard to do in a first person narrative (particularly with a character like Amelia Peabody Emerson!). There are some truly hilarious lines and passages, especially betwe...more
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Elizabeth Peters is a pen name of Barbara Mertz. She also writes as Barbara Michaels as well as her own name. Born and brought up in Illinois, she earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. Mertz was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998. She lives in a historic farmhouse in Fred...more
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Jun 30, 2012 10:02pm