"Amelia Peabody, that indomitable product of the Victorian age, embarks on her debut Egyptian adventure armed with unshakable self-confidence, a journal to record her thoughts, and, of course, a sturdy umbrella. On her way to Cairo, Amelia rescues young Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has been abandoned by her scoundrel lover. Together the two women sail up the Nile to an archeological site run by the Emerson brothers - the irascible but dashing Radcliffe and the amiable Walter. Soon their little party is increased by on - on mummy, that is, and singularly lively example of the species. Strange visitations, suspicious accidents, and a botched kidnapping convince Amelia that there is a plot afoot to harm Evelyn. Now Amelia finds herself up against an unknown enemy - and perilous forces that threaten to make her first Egyptian trip also her last..."

This sounds quite interesting, I have to say. Thank you taavina.

An adventurous trip to Egypt and archeological excavations made by two Englishwomen in the Victorian age - the setting is really nice and enticing. The story is quite straightforward and fast to proceed. Peabody is a woman with strong will whereas Evelyn a little bit weaker type. The latter is more of the image I suspect a Victorian lady is like, but Peabody is a nice character. Without her this kind of adventure to Egypt by two women would be naturally impossible. I waited the Mummy part and was eager to know if there is something paranormal involved or not. Luckily it was not hinted on the back cover of the book as pretty much all the plot was revealed there! Thank you taavina for this read. Hopefully I will find a new reader for this soon.

Happy Birthday, dear Chania!

Thank you so much, this looks like a book that I will enjoy!

What a nice, cozy mystery! Amelia Peabody was such a nice character, independent and practical (even though she wanted to have a piano in their boat, and change the curtains to match her dress!) and other characters were good too. The Egypt in the late 1800's was interesting place for the story.

I just had to put the second part of the series on my wishlist :)

Now sending forward.

Thank you very much for my wishlist book Chania :) I can't wait to sink my teeth into this.

HEPattu :) lukuiloa!

Thank you so much for this book!:)

I received an unregistered copy of this book so I will pass this one onwards.

This wishlist book is on its way to the next reader. Happy reading!

Thank you very much for this Wishlist RABCK!

Amelia Peabody Mysteries book 1. Set in Victorian times amongst the excavation of the pyramids. Totally predictable but despite that this book has wonderful characters, is fast paced, and is a lot of fun to read! Amelia Peabody is delightfully strong-willed and indomitable. Amelia inherits wealth and travels to Egypt with a companion, Evelyn, whom she has rescued from dire circumstances. Soon they meet up with the Emerson brothers - the charming Walter and his irascible older brother Radcliffe - who are engaged in an archeological dig but troubled by a mummy which has mysteriously come back to life. Evelyn's past also keeps coming back to haunt her.  Really enjoyed this and will be looking out for the rest of the series.

Sent to bookfrogster as part of the wishlist tag game. Enjoy!

This has now arrived safely in Edinburgh! Thank you very much for this greenbadger!

I enjoyed Amelia's no-nonsense character and her kindness. I did find the superior attitudes of the Amelia and the other British characters towards anyone from any other country made me wince at times, but I suppose that was the normal way of behaving back then. I thought it was a fun read and will probably go on to read others in the series. Thanks again for sending me this one Greenbadger. :-) I can think of another Edinburgh bookcrosser who might like this one.

Passed on to Cassandra2020 who I think will enjoy this. :-)

Crocodile on The Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters - OK

I normally love my cosy, 'vintage' style, mysteries but I really wasn't sure about this one. It was all a bit too obvious and predictable. That being said, I did finish rather than abandon it, the pace was good and I zipped through it.

Anyway, the story. Our heroine is Amelia Peabody, Victorian old maid (she's 32!!) and heiress of the indomitable variety. Having been her father's mainstay he being a scholar and antiquarian, she has a great knowledge of dead languages and a love of all things classical and ancient. She decides to travel and whilst in Rome happens upon Evelyn Barton-Forbes. She has been seduced and abandoned to her fate but for Amelia's intervention. In need of a companion after her maid falls ill, Evelyn joins Amelia on to Egypt where they meet the Emmerson brothers. They are excavating an archaeological site and the ladies join them whereupon all sorts of strange appearances and occurrences take place. Is there really a mummy walking amongst them or is someone trying to scare them away and if so, why??

Anyway, the story. Our heroine is Amelia Peabody, Victorian old maid (she's 32!!) and heiress of the indomitable variety. Having been her father's mainstay he being a scholar and antiquarian, she has a great knowledge of dead languages and a love of all things classical and ancient. She decides to travel and whilst in Rome happens upon Evelyn Barton-Forbes. She has been seduced and abandoned to her fate but for Amelia's intervention. In need of a companion after her maid falls ill, Evelyn joins Amelia on to Egypt where they meet the Emmerson brothers. They are excavating an archaeological site and the ladies join them whereupon all sorts of strange appearances and occurrences take place. Is there really a mummy walking amongst them or is someone trying to scare them away and if so, why?

The story wraps up neatly and leaves the way clear for further adventures. Not 100% sure if I'll read them, but I might.

(Since writing this, I've been passed a copy of the next book, so... Yes, I will read it at some point and then decide on the rest of the series)

Although this book is registered at www.bookcrossing.com, you don't have to be a member. It's perfectly OK to just take the book and enjoy it. Of course, if you can visit the website and let us know that you've picked it up, that would be even better - you don't even have to join, you can add your comments anonymously - you can also post your review when you've read it, then return it or pass it on to someone else.

If you do join Bookcrossing, you'll be able to see what happens to it afterwards - for ever!

Retrieved from obcz

Bringing to Old Gang Meetup. If not taken it will be left on the OBCZ shelf.

Although this book is registered at www.bookcrossing.com, you don't have to be a member. It's perfectly OK to just take the book and enjoy it. Of course, if you can visit the website and let us know that you've picked it up, that would be even better - you don't even have to join, you can add your comments anonymously - you can also post your review when you've read it, then return it or pass it on to someone else.

If you do join Bookcrossing, you'll be able to see what happens to it afterwards - for ever!

Oh, happy day, and oops …pause… Oh, dear… Confusion got my Elizabeth Peters muddled with my Ellis Peters and also my Amelia Peabody series with my Aurora Teagarden* series, ah. Not paying enough attention, I fear. Well - good news - Cassandra2020 says this is the first in series – Whoop!!!
[*Charlaine Harris]

CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK by ELIZABETH PETERS (1975) | ISBN: 04454065518 | Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group

On reflection enjoyed this hugely. I liked the resourceful Amelia Peabody, appreciated her quick thinking, her unflappability, and especially her pragmatic, problem solving ability. All that governed by a generous thoughtfulness offers a character guaranteed to cause ripples given her indomitable spirit and lively curiosity. It seems in Miss Amelia Peabody the author has encapsulated the formidably complex type of character that contributed to the British Empire being so successful in its run at world domination.

Peters narrative flow follows the various travails of Amelia and Evelyn at a pleasingly steady clip and the venturing into the field of archaeology for Amelia was as unsurprising as it was fascinating. While not exactly a warm nor straightforward read in some senses as the language frequently used is slightly archaic presumably to serve as a window on a past era, this is continuously entertaining. I’ll easily admit there were numerous instances of a predictable quality but as I am a why-done-it rather than a who-done-it fan I was still happy and by the novels end felt the journey had been fun and worth it.

Off on a tangent I especially appreciated the discussion of Petrie’s new methodology having spent many happy hours in the museum and reading of his discoveries. He was indeed very interested in pottery, intact and in shards, and aimed to document all of what was discovered and in proximity to what, aiming to facilitate the dating of artefacts. Though, as I understand it, the preservation of many of the textiles found at his digs and eventually shipped back to Britain seems to owe more to their practical qualities for protecting the pottery, rather to their intrinsic value for telling the story of the culture that produced them.

Hope I get a chance to read the next in sequence. Meanwhile, I shall be passing this onto another BookCrosser who I bet will enjoy this too.