Amelia Peabody squee
Nov. 5th, 2007 09:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieI am currently rereading Falcon at the Portal, one of my favorite out of the Amelia Peabody books, a series of adventure-detective-picaresque-romance novels by Elizabeth Peters.
The AP books follow the adventures of the redoubtable Peabody-Emerson clan, from the late 1800s to World War I (well, they continue past that, but I really think ‘He Shall Thunder in the Sky’ should have been the last book. All the stories were tied up). Think those fun Victorian adventure novels, only somewhat tongue in cheek, but still with plenty of angst and action.
The characters are renowned Egyptologists, with a dash of crime-solving, a fair bit of adventuring, a lot of snark, and are, all in all, a family I’d love to be a part of. Not to mention that Ramses (Amelia and Emerson’s son) is one of my huge literary crushes.
So? Interested? Here are the main characters:
Amelia Peabody: our narrator (for most of each book) and heroine. ‘Awesome’ does not even begin to describe her. Decidedly opinionated (some would say ‘very very stubborn’), physically intrepid, and a great deal less observant than she thinks she is, Amelia is a little fond of purple prose, and is quite enthusiastic about (not necessarily in that order) her husband, her family, Egyptology (especially inside dark scary Pyramids), and collaring a criminal or dozen. How can you not love her?
Radcliffe Emerson: Amelia believes he is the most pre-eminent Egyptologist of any age. Emerson (no one calls him by his first name, or there will be LOUDNESS) pretty much shares this opinion. As notorious for his temper and his strength as he is for his discoveries, Emerson is also rather putty in Amelia’s hands and is also, very very secretly, rather sentimental. Think professor Challenger from Conan Doyle’s Lost World (book) only even more so.
Ramses Emerson: MINE!!!! OK, just kidding. Sort of. Ramses (given name Walter, but is never used, as he was nicknamed Ramses for his bossiness and the name stuck) is the only child of Amelia and Emerson. Ramses started out as a hilariously chatty, preciously intellectual and rather knows-it-all kid and grew up into a deliciously intense, rather reserved young man, with a love of Egyptology, occasional stints as a secret agent, a happy (for me) penchant for angsty hurt-comfort, and oh…yeah…biggest monomania in his life: Nefret. Ever since he first saw her when he was 10 (and quite prophetically, for the first time in his life shut up), Ramses has been hopelessly, steadfastly, and secretly in love with Nefret Forth. Who views him as a dear friend and brother. (Yes, she is insane). Pile on delicious angst and one of my favorite OTPs.
Nefret Forth: The Emersons rescued Nefret, at 13, from the land that time forgot (think a take on King Solomon’s Mines) and took her in, where Amelia raised her as her own daughter, which is just as well, as since Nefret spent the first 13 years of her life as a heathen priestess in a stone age culture, she has rather unorthodox notions and finds it hard to fit in. Well, perhaps she’d fit in OK anyway, being blonde, beautiful, and an heiress, if she also wasn’t so reckless, opinionated, and harbored the desire to become a doctor. I confess that while I like Nefret OK, I mainly like her because Ramses wants her, and Ramses should have what he wants. Plus, my favorite scene involves her finally, finally giving in to her feelings in Falcon, and realizing not just his feelings but also that she loves him, and OMG awesomeness, with of course horrendous angst the next morning. Hmmmm, on second thoughts, I think I prefer the scene in Thunder, when they finally get together at the end, and Ramses is all hurt and she kicks Amelia and Emerson out of his bedroom. I still want to know how on earth they manage to do anything, with his back all cut to ribbons. I know he is mad for her, and she is his OTP, and he is very stiff-upper-lip and all, but even if they are really really careful, that’s just…seriously, after a whipping that bad?
Sethos: the mysterious nemesis of the Emersons, he has quite a thing for Amelia. And why not?
David Todros: The Emersons took David in when he was an abused kid, and he soon became Ramses’ brother in all but blood. David is Egyptian, and grandson of Emersons’ head of excavations. He is artistic and nice but I don’t have much interest in him.
So…the order of the books is this way (I am leaving all the books after Thunder out, because I don’t think they are very good):
• Crocodile on the Sandbank
• Curse of the Pharaohs
• The Mummy Case
• Lion in the Valley
• Deeds of the Disturber
• The Last Camel Died at Noon
• The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog
• The Hippopotamus Pool
• Seeing a Large Cat
• The Ape Who Guards the Balance
• The Falcon at the Portal
• He Shall Thunder in the Sky
The AP books follow the adventures of the redoubtable Peabody-Emerson clan, from the late 1800s to World War I (well, they continue past that, but I really think ‘He Shall Thunder in the Sky’ should have been the last book. All the stories were tied up). Think those fun Victorian adventure novels, only somewhat tongue in cheek, but still with plenty of angst and action.
The characters are renowned Egyptologists, with a dash of crime-solving, a fair bit of adventuring, a lot of snark, and are, all in all, a family I’d love to be a part of. Not to mention that Ramses (Amelia and Emerson’s son) is one of my huge literary crushes.
So? Interested? Here are the main characters:
Amelia Peabody: our narrator (for most of each book) and heroine. ‘Awesome’ does not even begin to describe her. Decidedly opinionated (some would say ‘very very stubborn’), physically intrepid, and a great deal less observant than she thinks she is, Amelia is a little fond of purple prose, and is quite enthusiastic about (not necessarily in that order) her husband, her family, Egyptology (especially inside dark scary Pyramids), and collaring a criminal or dozen. How can you not love her?
Radcliffe Emerson: Amelia believes he is the most pre-eminent Egyptologist of any age. Emerson (no one calls him by his first name, or there will be LOUDNESS) pretty much shares this opinion. As notorious for his temper and his strength as he is for his discoveries, Emerson is also rather putty in Amelia’s hands and is also, very very secretly, rather sentimental. Think professor Challenger from Conan Doyle’s Lost World (book) only even more so.
Ramses Emerson: MINE!!!! OK, just kidding. Sort of. Ramses (given name Walter, but is never used, as he was nicknamed Ramses for his bossiness and the name stuck) is the only child of Amelia and Emerson. Ramses started out as a hilariously chatty, preciously intellectual and rather knows-it-all kid and grew up into a deliciously intense, rather reserved young man, with a love of Egyptology, occasional stints as a secret agent, a happy (for me) penchant for angsty hurt-comfort, and oh…yeah…biggest monomania in his life: Nefret. Ever since he first saw her when he was 10 (and quite prophetically, for the first time in his life shut up), Ramses has been hopelessly, steadfastly, and secretly in love with Nefret Forth. Who views him as a dear friend and brother. (Yes, she is insane). Pile on delicious angst and one of my favorite OTPs.
Nefret Forth: The Emersons rescued Nefret, at 13, from the land that time forgot (think a take on King Solomon’s Mines) and took her in, where Amelia raised her as her own daughter, which is just as well, as since Nefret spent the first 13 years of her life as a heathen priestess in a stone age culture, she has rather unorthodox notions and finds it hard to fit in. Well, perhaps she’d fit in OK anyway, being blonde, beautiful, and an heiress, if she also wasn’t so reckless, opinionated, and harbored the desire to become a doctor. I confess that while I like Nefret OK, I mainly like her because Ramses wants her, and Ramses should have what he wants. Plus, my favorite scene involves her finally, finally giving in to her feelings in Falcon, and realizing not just his feelings but also that she loves him, and OMG awesomeness, with of course horrendous angst the next morning. Hmmmm, on second thoughts, I think I prefer the scene in Thunder, when they finally get together at the end, and Ramses is all hurt and she kicks Amelia and Emerson out of his bedroom. I still want to know how on earth they manage to do anything, with his back all cut to ribbons. I know he is mad for her, and she is his OTP, and he is very stiff-upper-lip and all, but even if they are really really careful, that’s just…seriously, after a whipping that bad?
Sethos: the mysterious nemesis of the Emersons, he has quite a thing for Amelia. And why not?
David Todros: The Emersons took David in when he was an abused kid, and he soon became Ramses’ brother in all but blood. David is Egyptian, and grandson of Emersons’ head of excavations. He is artistic and nice but I don’t have much interest in him.
So…the order of the books is this way (I am leaving all the books after Thunder out, because I don’t think they are very good):
• Crocodile on the Sandbank
• Curse of the Pharaohs
• The Mummy Case
• Lion in the Valley
• Deeds of the Disturber
• The Last Camel Died at Noon
• The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog
• The Hippopotamus Pool
• Seeing a Large Cat
• The Ape Who Guards the Balance
• The Falcon at the Portal
• He Shall Thunder in the Sky
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 02:42 am (UTC)Amelia Peabody! I, too, think that Ramses' love story with Nefret is just wonderful. They ought to have wrapped things up with He Shall Thunder in the Sky. That was a great ending!
no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 02:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 02:44 am (UTC)And Nefret was an idiot for taking so long to get a clue about Ramses(and for something else that I won't get into as it's so amazingly spoilery)
I've always loved how Amelia sees herself as so incredibly logical and pragmatic when she's secretly the world's biggest romantic(and she's the rare heroine where I actually get why both men in love with her are so head over heals for her.)
Hmmm...you aren't a big David fan? That's ok, more David for me(Margaret would kill me if I ran off with Sethos, anyway)
So much love for the series...Peters needs to have a new book come out already.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 02:18 pm (UTC)And Nefret was an idiot for taking so long to get a clue about Ramses(and for something else that I won't get into as it's so amazingly spoilery)
Heh. I take it you mean the morning after and the marriage. Oh yeah. I know she was off-kilter and always has been crazily impulsive, but come ON. But then, it gave Ramses buckets of angst, which is always a good thing. And she did get punished horribly.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 04:23 pm (UTC)I probably could have gotten past that part with Nefret pretty easily under other circumstances, but he was raised by his parents and knew him better than anyone else, romance or no romance. It wasn't just that she reacted badly, but that she absolutely believed that the lie was the truth. No doubt, no questioning, just barrelling off based on something that anyone who knew Ramses half as well should have questioned. And yeah, she suffered, but I've never been convinced she deserved to get Ramses back after that.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-07 05:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-07 05:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 02:46 am (UTC)1. Physically there are kinds of pain that just do not put one in a romantic mood.
2. Unless you are a freak, there are some places that you just don't want to get it on.
3. Running from Nazis, monsters, killers, etc is not always the best time to get your freak on.
These are basic rules that somehow tend to get overlooked in fiction.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 01:47 pm (UTC)However, on egregiousness scale, the thing in Thunder is sort of up there.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 06:38 am (UTC)I agree that the most recent books aren't as good, but I adore the early ones.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 01:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 04:25 pm (UTC)(I also think she was told to keep writing the Peabody books and not others because they were what sold best)
no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 12:13 pm (UTC)(Yay! New books!)
no subject
Date: 2007-11-06 01:46 pm (UTC)