Review Rating
With the October 2004 review, we began rating the books on the basis of one to four trowels;
one trowel= don’t bother, to four trowels= run right out to your local book store and buy the hard cover!
Golden Oldies - reviewing previously unreviewed books by previously reviewed “greatest hits” authors!
As we celebrate twenty-five years of the MVAC reviews of archaeological fiction, I thought it would be fun to re-visit six of the authors whose works have been reviewed in the past. Three of these authors have sadly passed away since I first reviewed them (Margot Arnold, Lynn Hamilton, and Elizabeth Peters); two have “retired” their archaeologist protagonists, Gideon Oliver (Aaron Elkins), and Emma Fielding (Dana Cameron); and one, (Kate Ellis) continues to put DI Wesley Peterson and his friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, in harm’s way as solve contemporary crimes that have their roots in the distant past. While these authors have been reviewed previously, these books have not.
The Curse of the Pharaohs (Golden Oldie) by Elizabeth Peters
Reviewed on: July 1, 2026
Dodd, Mead & Company: New York
1981 (HC)
Re-printed in 2016 by Constable: London
More than twenty years ago, I reviewed Crocodile on the Sandbank, the first Amelia Peabody archaeological mystery authored by Elizabeth Peters, the pen name of Barbara Mertz. Mertz/Peters was a prolific author of romance/mystery novels, whose first work of fiction was published in 1968. I believe her most enduring works were the nineteen volumes that chronicled the adventures of Victorian Age archaeologist, Amelia Peabody. (There was a twentieth novel published posthumously and co-written/edited by mystery novelist Joan Hess.). Peters brought not only a puckish sense of humor, as well as a great gift of spinning tales of mystery and intrigue, but in the Peabody stories she also drew on her academic background, having earned a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the prestigious University of Chicago in 1952. In this final “throw-back” review, marking twenty-five years of these MVAC essays, I will turn my attention to the second Peabody mystery penned by the inimitable Barbara Mertz aka Elizabeth Peters.
The Curse of the Pharaohs opens some five years after the adventures related in Crocodile on the Sandbank and Amelia Peabody and her archaeologist husband have settled into domestic life in their Georgian home in Kent— “vegetating,” according to Peabody. Emerson is an uninspired lecturer in archaeology—restless and unhappy, as is Peabody. But they have determined that they cannot return to fieldwork until their son, Walter—more aptly known as Ramses due to his “imperious disposition,” according to Emerson, or “bullheaded,” according to his mother—is old and mature enough to travel to the hinterlands of Egypt.
But the intrepid couple change their minds when they are visited by a distraught (and tragically beautiful) Lady Baskerville, the recent widow of the late novice archaeologist, Sir Henry Baskerville. Most recently, Sir Henry and his professional archaeologist assistant, Alan Armadale, made a potentially major discovery in the Valley of the Kings near the city of Luxor, Egypt—steps cut into rock that led to an unbroken royal seal that hinted at the possibility of an unpillaged royal tomb. Sir Henry suffered a series of minor but embarrassing injuries as excavation proceeded and then he was found dead. The yellow press, notably the scurrilous Daily Yell, and its on-the-scene reporter, Kevin O’Connell, writes of avenging spirits, ancient curses, and unholy rites. Rumors of nefarious plots multiply when the assistant, Alan Armadale disappears. Amelia immediately suspects Sir Henry was the victim of a murder plot, while Emerson believes Baskerville to have been a “feeble sort of fellow”—he has a low opinion of all other archaeologists working in Egypt—who died of natural causes. Fearing that her husband’s work will be for naught, Lady Baskerville implores Emerson to come to Egypt to complete the excavation. Concern for Ramses disappears—he is put into the tender, loving care of Emerson’s brother Walter and his unsuspecting young family—and the dauntless husband and wife team head to the Valley of the Kings to do what they most love—to excavate!
What follows is a wildly entertaining narrative of archaeological discovery, unforgettable characters, romance, and a mystery worthy of the imagination of Conan Doyle. Did Sir Henry die of natural causes? Hint: Of course not! But as Peabody comes to discover, virtually everyone involved in the excavation had means, motive and opportunity to knock off the old nobleman—including his young and grieving widow! But what sets the Peabody series apart from all other archaeological thrillers (the Gideon Oliver novels run a close second, but then Barbara Mertz and Aaron Elkins were long-time friends!) is the laugh-out-loud humor that runs throughout this novel and the entire series.
Four trowels (more if they were allowed!) for The Curse of the Pharaohs and the entire Amelia Peabody series!
