Elizabeth Peters was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Peters was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998. She lives in a historic farmhouse in western Maryland.
The Amelia Peabody books may or may not be an acquired taste, personally I love them. They are set in Victorian times when there were still very strict rules of etiquette and polite behaviour was the norm. Although most of the books are set in Egypt, in the desert under very trying conditions and extremely hot weather the `English' way of life was still expected to be adhered to, sometimes with quite hilarious consequences.
Amelia Peabody is Elizabeth Peters' best loved and brilliant creation, a thoroughly Victorian feminist who takes the stuffy world of archaeology by storm with her no nonsense dress sense and forthright opinions.
When a masked stranger offers to reveal the whereabouts of an ancient lost tomb, the tomb of an Egyptian queen, Amelia Peabody and her husband are intrigued. Emerson is one of the foremost archaeologists of his time and his professional curiosity is aroused, although he doubts the authenticity of the stranger. The mysterious disappearance of the guide leads the pair to Thebes and there they become entangled in murder, tomb robbing, kidnap and ancient curses. Everything we would expect from an Amelia Peabody novel.
