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Author

Elizabeth Peters

26 fiction

Elizabeth Peters was the principal pen name of American author and Egyptologist Barbara Mertz (1927–2013). She earned a doctorate in Egyptology from the University of Chicago and used her academic knowledge to write mysteries combining archaeology, humour and historical adventure. She also published supernatural and Gothic suspense novels as Barbara Michaels, while her non-fiction works on ancient Egypt appeared under her own name.

Peters is best known for the Amelia Peabody series, which begins with Crocodile on the Sandbank and follows an independent Victorian archaeologist, her husband Radcliffe Emerson and their family through excavations, murders and political intrigue in Egypt and the Middle East. Set between the 1880s and the First World War, the novels include The Curse of the Pharaohs, The Mummy Case, The Last Camel Died at Noon and He Shall Thunder in the Sky. Peters also wrote the contemporary archaeological adventures of art historian Vicky Bliss and the Jacqueline Kirby mystery series.

Periods and events

Amarna Periodc. 1353–1336 BCE Armistice and Aftermath of World War I1918–1923 CE Carolingian Empire768–888 CE Edwardian Era1901–1914 CE Edwardian Society1901–1914 CE Egyptology and the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb1922–1923 Interwar Archaeology and Tourism in the Middle East1919–1939 CE Late Ottoman Empire1876–1922 Late Victorian Empire1870–1901 CE Mahdist War1881–1899 Second Intermediate Period of Egyptc. 1650–1550 BCE Victorian Crime1837–1901 Victorian London1837–1901 CE World War I1914–1918 CE World War II1939–1945 CE

Historical fiction

Historical fiction series by Elizabeth Peters (2 series)

Amelia Peabody in Order

by Elizabeth Peters 20 books 4.4(45,607)

The Amelia Peabody mysteries follow an independent Victorian traveller who becomes an Egyptologist, detective and member of a formidable archaeological family. Beginning in 1884 and continuing through the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the novels combine excavation, antiquities crime, murder and imperial politics with the changing relationships…

Vicky Bliss Mysteries in Order

by Elizabeth Peters 6 books 4.3(5,537)

The Vicky Bliss mysteries follow an American art historian working at Munich’s National Museum whose expertise repeatedly draws her into cases involving stolen antiquities, forged masterpieces and missing treasures. Her investigations move through castles, museums, excavation sites and private collections across Europe and Egypt. The continuing relationship between…

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