Book Talk :: Amelia Peabody

Eloquence goes out the window when I'm talking about something that I adore. Enthusiasm takes over and I happily blubber. To wit:

I love the Amelia Peabody books! SO funny! So satirical! So amazingly awesome! This is a series of 18 books by Elizabeth Peters, an Egyptologist and incredibly popular author. The books begin near the close of the 19th century as bold and sassy Amelia Peabody decides to take her new fortune and travel to see the antiquities of Egypt.

Her travels bring her new friendships, new enemies, an unexpected passion for archeology and ... could it be the love of her life? Later books chronicle the entanglements of her precocious son, her ever-growing family of Brits and Egyptians and an elusive Master Criminal with excellent taste in women.

These books are best categorized as satirical Adventure/Mystery/Historical Drama/Comedy/Victorian Romance. They are also best described as great fun!

New York Times Book Review said, "Between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it’s Amelia - in wit and daring - by a landslide." Washington Post Book World said, "Peters is the grande dame of historical mystery." I couldn't agree more.

Who wouldn't love a main character who says things like:

"Marriage should be a balanced stalemate between equal adversaries."

"No woman really wants a man to carry her off; she only wants him to want to do it."

"It is difficult to be angry with a gentleman who pays you compliments . . . especially impertinent compliments."

"The trouble with unknown enemies is that they are so difficult to identify."

"I hope I number patience among my virtues, but shilly-shallying, when nothing is to be gained by the delay, is not a virtue."

"When one is striding bravely into the future one cannot watch one's footing."

"There are occasions upon which a candid expression of opinion may not only be rude, but counterproductive."

I read library copies of most of these books and have recently decided that it's time to build up my own library of Amelia Peabody.  Soon I will be able to laugh whenever I want to. I now have the first book, Crocodile on the Sandbank, ready to be lent out to whoever is lucky enough to email me first. :)