Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Lion in the Valley (Elizabeth Peters)


Though not my favorite of the Amelia Peabody series, this ending is not to be missed.

I became interested in this series when, to my embarassmet, I read the back flap of the second installment in the series, The Curse of the Pharaohs. It read, "if Indiana Jones were female, a wife, and a mother who lived in Victorian times, he would be Amelia Peabody." I had to read it.

I have always had an interest in Egyptian stories. Not so much the ones that take place in ancient Egypt, rather the ones like The Mummy, where the late 1800's-early 1900's collide with antiquity. And I must say this author is incredible. The plot and characters are not as strong as other mystery writers, but the way she writes is so fluid and fun.

The main character of these 18 books is Amelia Peabody Emerson, the wife of a boisterous Enlgish archaeologist named Radcliffe Emerson. Their son, Ramses, is a very intelligent child who serves the comic relief alongside his proud father. Peabody, of course, being the rational mind here.

To Peters' credit, she does not simply create a strong female character who totally overshadows the men of her text. She does give great attributes to her heroine, but also leaves some of the more obstinate qualities of men in tact. Her men are manly and quite capable, although constantly derided in the Mrs. Emerson's inner monolugue.

In this tale the family is on another dig riddled with murders and suspsicious individuals. The climax is in the last 20 pages when Peabody comes face to face with her arch rival, the Master Criminal. A psychological dialogue ensues that sets the stage for more of this personality in future books. 4 down, 14 to go.

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