History Literature / AmeliaPeabody

* HeroesWantRedheads: Nefret. When her hair isn't described as "golden", most characters seem to agree it's "red-gold".

# 1919-20, ''Children of the Storm'' (2003)

[[folder:''Children of the Storm'' (2003; covers 1919-20)]]

* AvengingTheVillain: This turns out to be the goal of the villain, Justin(e) -- she's out to avenge the death of her mother Bertha, Sethos' old associate, and unwittingly (as she doesn't mention him) that of her father Leopold Vincey, who was the villain of ''The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog''.
* BabysFirstWords: In ''Children of the Storm'', Ramses and Nefret's twins Charlotte and David John's first words (in proper English, at least) are actually sentences. Charlotte asks "Is de lady dead?" revealing how Justine had been scaring her, and David John asks to be called by his full name and asks his mother what subject she would like to discuss. Having dealt with Ramses' lisp and verbosity, Amelia sits down and asks for a drink.
* CutlassBetweenTheTeeth: Discussed when the group is planning their attack on the ''Isis'', and Ramses wonders if they should do this when they arrive. Amelia's reply:
-->"That has always struck me as an impractical procedure," I said. "One would have to have extremely hard teeth and strong jaw muscles, and even then an involuntary movement might easily result in the loss of teeth and jaw."
** Despite her skepticism, Amelia later expresses regret that she ''couldn't'' have a cutlass between her teeth when she boarded the ''Isis''. As she puts it, "Ah, well, one cannot have everything."
* DisguisedInDrag: Throughout much of ''Children of the Storm'', the Emersons meet a boy named Justin. In the last few chapters, it's revealed he's actually a woman, the daughter of Leopold Vincey (the villain from ''The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog'') and Bertha (who was a villain in the same book, along with ''The Hippopotamus Pool'' and ''The Ape Who Guards the Balance''), and older half-sister of Maryam.
* FirstGrayHair: Amelia started discovering her first gray hair, over and over, around about World War I, as discussed in ''Children of the Storm''. Every time she spots one, she dyes it from a little bottle that she keeps dead secret (or did until her brother-in-law needed to make an emergency disguise in a later book).
* INeedAFreakingDrink: This is Amelia's reaction at the very end of the book when Ramses and Nefret's twins Charlotte and David John speak proper English for the first time, in the form of full sentences.
* TakingYouWithMe: In the climax, Justin locks herself in her quarters onboard the ''Isis'' and lights the dynamite that she's rigged the boat with, trying to kill the Emersons and their allies at the cost of her own life.
* WouldHurtAChild: Justin(e) and her henchmen have been holding Maryam's son (and Sethos' grandson) hostage to force her to work with them.

[[/folder]]

# 1897-98, ''The Last Camel Died at Noon'' (1991)

[[folder:''The Last Camel Died at Noon'' (1991; covers 1897-98)]]
* ChildByRape: The Emersons meet Mrs. Forth, who believes herself to the the God's Wife of Amon and wants nothing to do with her English identity. Tarek explains that she tried to kill Nefret twice when she was a baby. Amelia suspects postpartum depression. But Emerson speculates that her loathing of the name Forth and attempts to murder Nefret are the result of her father-in-law raping her, and the reason Willie Forth and his wife ended up on the Lost Oasis where they both rejected their former lives.
* ConvenientEclipse: Subverted; an AffectionateParody of ''Literature/KingSolomonsMines''. The Emersons are in a lost civilization and looking to impress the natives. Amelia asks Emerson if a Convenient Eclipse is coming up by any chance, and his response is essentially, "How the Hell would I know? I'm an archaeologist, not an astronomer."
* DidYouDie: The book starts with Amelia, her husband Emerson, and their son Ramses lost in the Nubian desert, several days away from the Nile, after the death of their last camel. There is then an extended flashback to show how they came to be in this situation, which Amelia assures the reader is not for the purposes of causing any suspense about her survival because "Obviously I could not be writing this if I were in the same state as those poor camels."
* HypocriticalHumor: At one point, Amelia pats herself on the back for nagging her husband into a certain course of action. When it goes badly a few pages later, she notes that if he'd listened to her, he would never have taken that course. Apparently, she forgot to [[{{Retcon}} edit]] the relevant portion of her journal.
* LostWorld: The book sees the Emersons setting out and discovering a hidden civilization.
* ManMadeHouseFlood: Amelia gets home from a trip to London to learn that her son Ramses had been about to take a bath when he'd been distracted by his cat catching a mouse, and had neglected to turn off the water, causing both a flood in the bathroom, and a cascade of water coming down from the ceiling into his father's study. Amelia promptly decides that she doesn't want to know any more details, and tells her maid to just [[INeedAFreakingDrink give Amelia her whiskey and go away]].
[[/folder]]

# 1895-96, ''Lion in the Valley'' (1986)

[[folder:''Lion in the Valley'' (1986; covers 1895-96)]]
* CasualDangerDialogue: Amelia and her husband have some interesting conversations. What do you talk about while crawling through the unstable, half-crumbled passages of an un-excavated pyramid, hoping that your 7 year old son is right when he says he knows a way out? The similarities of construction with other 12th Dynasty pyramids, of course!
* CockFight: Amelia finds watching her husband Emerson fight the 'Master Criminal' Sethos for her to be quite an 'interesting and stimulating sensation'.
* CyanidePill: One of Sethos's men is captured by Amelia, and takes poison (prussic acid) rather than be questioned.
* GoGoEnslavement: Amelia Peabody Emerson is captured by the BigBad and required to dress herself in a sexy harem costume. She keeps her long Victorian underwear on though, meaning the effect is not quite as intended. Even so, Emerson's first words to her are "Put some clothes on!"
* HypocriticalHumor: Two-fer Amelia claims to prefer Creator/HRiderHaggard's romances to Ramses' detective novels because the former are "pure fantasy and don't pretend to be anything else" while complaining that the later arrive at their solutions by "wild guesses that turned out to be correct only because of... plot", instead of true reasoning. A few pages later, she says "I knew I was being observed... with the certain instinct ''described so well by Mr. Haggard''". Also note that Amelia's approach to solving mysteries tends to be "intuitive". At least Ms. Peters plays fair, and lets her be wrong sometimes.
* ItMakesSenseInContext: Amelia uses the following line to explain why Bastet wasn't hungry -- she'd already been fed by the book's villain:
-->'''Amelia''': "Emerson, that villain, that remarkable, clever wretch has seduced our cat!"
* LoveMakesYouDumb: [[spoiler: When Sethos reveals his adoration for Amelia, he lists all the things he's done throughout the novel in order to try and win her regard. They are, to a one, silly, convoluted or both.]]
* NotNowKiddo: Happens to Ramses, often.
* ObliviousToLove: Amelia spends the entire book completely oblivious to the fact that the 'master criminal' she is tracking down is in love with her. Her husband Emerson, however, is ''not'' so clueless, growing incredibly jealous and paranoid as a result, and getting increasingly annoyed at both the criminal and his oblivious wife. HilarityEnsues.
* VillainousCrush: Late in the book, Amelia finds out that the Master Criminal, aka Sethos, has one of these on her; he's even sent her flowers.
[[/folder]]

# 1884-85, ''Crocodile on the Sandbank'' (1975)

[[folder:''Crocodile on the Sandbank'' (1975; covers 1884-85)]]

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove:Emerson, realizing that he might very well die that night, gives Amelia a long, passionate kiss -- even at the risk of living to face the consequences, which turn out to be a long and happy marriage.
* CannotSpitItOut:
** Amelia's companion Evelyn and Emerson's brother Walter. Amelia eventually gets so fed-up with both of them that she spits it out for Evelyn:
--->'''Amelia''': She loves someone else...The one she loves is a poor wretch who won't even declare himself.\\
'''Walter''': You cannot mean...\\
'''Amelia''': Yes, you fool. She loves you. I don't know why, but she does. Now go and claim her.
* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Evelyn Barton-Forbes elopes with her painting tutor and is disinherited, though later re-instated. Her cousin, Luigi is the son of an Italian father, and his mother was disowned for marrying him.
* DisinheritedChild: The Earl of Ellesmere disinherited his daughter for marrying an Italian, and later his granddaughter Evelyn when she fell for an Italian as well and ran off with him (not realizing he was a con artist). [[spoiler: Later subverted in the latter case, as he changed his mind and hand-wrote a new will officially leaving everything to her.]]
* DudeShesLikeInAComa: Amelia comes out of a swoon to feel herself being tenderly held and kissed by her not-yet-husband Emerson with whom she has a SlapSlapKiss relationship going. Not only is she totally fine with it, she shams unconsciousness for a few more minutes to prolong the moment!
* FeeFiFauxPas: Amelia manages a rather large one ''very'' near the beginning of ''Crocodile on the Sandbank''. She claims that what she says upon hearing Evelyn's tearful, angsty, "[[DefiledForever I was seduced]] and now you are going to kick me back out on the street" confession is not what she ''meant'' to say[[note]]Though in the series' timeframe, this is a rather realistic assessment of the probable outcome of this conversation.[[/note]]:
-->'''Amelia:''' Evelyn -- what is it like? Is it pleasant?
-->'''[Despite her own surprise, she decides to roll with it:]'''
-->'''Amelia:''' I have never had the opportunity of inquiring. My sisters in law... speak of [[LieBackAndThinkOfEngland the cross a wife must bear]]... [but] the village girls...
-->'''[Cue starving, borderline-suicidal Evelyn doubled over laughing.]'''
* FlirtingUnderFire: Emerson kisses Amelia right before the final battle, "even at the risk of surviving to face the consequences."
* LostWillAndTestament: The importance of the MacGuffin turns out to be that it has a lost will hidden inside.
* NowOrNeverKiss: Radcliffe Emerson, the dashing Egyptologist whom Amelia thinks merely respects and grudgingly admires her, realizes that either or both of them could be killed within minutes by the villain, and refuses to die without having at least kissed her -- passionately and at length, right on the floor of the tomb where they're hiding -- even at the risk of living to face the consequences. Said consequences turn out to be a long and happy marriage.
* PassedOverInheritance:
** 'Amelia inherited her father's full estate, since she was the only one who shared his interest in ancient history. Her six older brothers, who were all successful merchants and professional men, were not amused to find out they'd missed out on half a million pounds (having not realized that their father was actually wealthy), and multiple attempts were made to claim the sum for themselves, though Amelia and her father's lawyer stopped all of them.
** In the same book, this isn't done intentionally by the Earl of Ellesmere (at least, not at first), but effectively when his son died; his title had to go to the closest male heir (his grandson by his eldest and disinherited daughter) by law, preventing his granddaughter Evelyn from getting everything. He later disinherited her entirely when she fell for an Italian, who turned out to be a con artist. [[spoiler: At least, for a while. He later changed his mind and wrote a new will, giving her everything, before dying.]]
* RaisedByGrandparents: Evelyn was raised by her grandfather, as she explains in book 1, as her parents died when she was a baby.
* ShippingTorpedo: Plays with this with Emerson's attitude toward the developing relationship between his brother Walter and the penniless Evelyn. He's constantly snarking at something or other that they are saying or doing, and Amelia spends most of the book thinking that the reason that he keeps dropping rude or disparaging comments into her conversations with Evelyn and Walter because he disapproves of a match. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, as his disparaging comments, often crossing the line into rude, are calculated to goad his shy little brother into making a decisive stand ''for'' Evelyn.]]
* SlapSlapKiss: Amelia and Emerson's relationship ''started'' with a shouted argument in a museum. This seems to be their primary way of discussing important issues, though they never escalate to the point of actual blows. After a quarter century of this, Emerson even advises Ramses that regular brisk "discussions" are good for the health of a marital relationship; clearing the air and enhancing the mood for post-argument romance.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Amelia and Evelyn fall under this trope. Less so by the time Evelyn reappears as a major character in later books, when it's obvious they did learn from each other -- for instance, Amelia, who was utterly uninterested in all but the most utilitarian clothes at the beginning now can talk fashion with the best of them, and Evelyn is thrilled about wearing bloomers and bicycle dresses.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never hear about Cousin Luigi again
* YouMustBeCold: Played with when Amelia finds a young woman who has fainted in the streets of Rome and is appalled that none of the men nearby have invoked this trope. Amelia proceeds to confiscate the coat of the nearest man (insulting him in the process) and uses it to cover the woman.

[[/folder]]

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: In ''Crocodile on the Sandbank'', Emerson, realizing that he might very well die that night, gives Amelia a long, passionate kiss -- even at the risk of living to face the consequences, which turn out to be a long and happy marriage.

** Amelia's companion Evelyn and Emerson's brother Walter in ''Crocodile on the Sandbank''. Amelia eventually gets so fed-up with both of them that she spits it out for Evelyn:

* DisinheritedChild: As discussed in ''Crocodile on the Sandbank'', the Earl of Ellesmere disinherited his daughter for marrying an Italian, and later his granddaughter Evelyn when she fell for an Italian as well and ran off with him (not realizing he was a con artist). [[spoiler: Later subverted in the latter case, as he changed his mind and hand-wrote a new will officially leaving everything to her.]]
* DudeShesLikeInAComa: In ''Crocodile on a Sandbank'', Amelia comes out of a swoon to feel herself being tenderly held and kissed by her not-yet-husband Emerson with whom she has a SlapSlapKiss relationship going. Not only is she totally fine with it, she shams unconsciousness for a few more minutes to prolong the moment!

* FlirtingUnderFire: In ''Crocodile on the Sandbank'', Emerson kisses Amelia right before the final battle, "even at the risk of surviving to face the consequences."
* LostWillAndTestament: In ''Crocodile on the Sandbank'', the importance of the MacGuffin turns out to be that it has a lost will hidden inside.
* NowOrNeverKiss: In ''Crocodile on the Sandbank'', Radcliffe Emerson, the dashing Egyptologist whom Amelia thinks merely respects and grudgingly admires her, realizes that either or both of them could be killed within minutes by the villain, and refuses to die without having at least kissed her -- passionately and at length, right on the floor of the tomb where they're hiding -- even at the risk of living to face the consequences. Said consequences turn out to be a long and happy marriage.

** ''Crocodile on the Sandbank'' reveals that Amelia inherited her father's full estate, since she was the only one who shared his interest in ancient history. Her six older brothers, who were all successful merchants and professional men, were not amused to find out they'd missed out on half a million pounds (having not realized that their father was actually wealthy), and multiple attempts were made to claim the sum for themselves, though Amelia and her father's lawyer stopped all of them.

* RaisedByGrandparents: Evelyn was raised by her grandfather, as she explains in book 1, her parents having died when she was a baby.
* ShippingTorpedo: ''Crocodile on the Sandbank'' plays with this with Emerson's attitude toward the developing relationship between his brother Walter and the penniless Evelyn. He's constantly snarking at something or other that they are saying or doing, and Amelia spends most of the book thinking that the reason that he keeps dropping rude or disparaging comments into her conversations with Evelyn and Walter because he disapproves of a match. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, as his disparaging comments, often crossing the line into rude, are calculated to goad his shy little brother into making a decisive stand ''for'' Evelyn.]]
* SlapSlapKiss: Amelia and Emerson's relationship ''started'' with a shouted argument in a museum in ''Crocodile on the Sandbank''. This seems to be their primary way of discussing important issues, though they never escalate to the point of actual blows. After a quarter century of this, Emerson even advises Ramses that regular brisk "discussions" are good for the health of a marital relationship; clearing the air and enhancing the mood for post-argument romance.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Amelia and Evelyn fall under this trope in ''Crocodile on the Sandbank''. Less so by the time Evelyn reappears as a major character in later books, when it's obvious they did learn from each other -- for instance, Amelia, who was utterly uninterested in all but the most utilitarian clothes at the beginning now can talk fashion with the best of them, and Evelyn is thrilled about wearing bloomers and bicycle dresses.

* YouMustBeCold: Played with in ''Crocodile on the Sandbank''. Amelia finds a young woman who has fainted in the streets of Rome and is appalled that none of the men nearby have invoked this trope. Amelia proceeds to confiscate the coat of the nearest man (insulting him in the process) and uses it to cover the woman.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: In ''The Curse of the Pharaohs'', Amelia's husband Emerson manages to attract the attentions of Madame Berengeria, a loathsome woman who is convinced that [[ReincarnationRomance she and Emerson were lovers in Ancient Egypt]]. Being Emerson, he's as annoyed by the [[ArtisticLicenseHistory historical inaccuracies in her story of their past lives]] as he is by the lady herself.
* CoveredInMud: In ''The Curse of the Pharaohs'', Amelia's son Ramses interrupts a tea party after having gone digging in the compost heap and getting covered in mud (among other things). Ramses is described as not so much leaving muddy footprints as having a stream of filth trailing behind him.
* IResembleThatRemark: Used in ''Curse of the Pharaohs'', when Emerson is accused of raising his voice, and proceeds to deny doing so... by yelling it at the top of his lungs.

* RidingIntoTheSunset: Invoked and lampshaded in ''The Mummy Case''. When M. de Morgan returns Ramses to his parents after a minor escapade, he deliberately rides off toward the sunset, ''despite having dinner plans in the opposite direction.'' The Emersons dryly agree:

* CasualDangerDialogue: Amelia and her husband have some interesting conversations. As shown in ''Lion in the Valley'', what do you talk about while crawling through the unstable, half-crumbled passages of an un-excavated pyramid, hoping that your 7 year old son is right when he says he knows a way out? The similarities of construction with other 12th Dynasty pyramids, of course!

* CyanidePill: In ''Lion in the Valley'', one of Sethos's men is captured by Amelia, and takes poison (prussic acid) rather than be questioned.
* GoGoEnslavement: Amelia Peabody Emerson is captured by the BigBad in ''Lion in the Valley'' and required to dress herself in a sexy harem costume. She keeps her long Victorian underwear on though, meaning the effect is not quite as intended. Even so, Emerson's first words to her are "Put some clothes on!"
* HypocriticalHumor: Two-fer in ''Lion in The Valley'': Amelia claims to prefer Creator/HRiderHaggard's romances to Ramses' detective novels because the former are "pure fantasy and don't pretend to be anything else" while complaining that the later arrive at their solutions by "wild guesses that turned out to be correct only because of... plot", instead of true reasoning. A few pages later, she says "I knew I was being observed... with the certain instinct ''described so well by Mr. Haggard''". Also note that Amelia's approach to solving mysteries tends to be "intuitive". At least Ms. Peters plays fair, and lets her be wrong sometimes.
* ItMakesSenseInContext: In ''Lion in the Valley'', Amelia uses the following line to explain why Bastet wasn't hungry -- she'd already been fed by the book's villain:

* NotNowKiddo: Happens to Ramses, particularly in ''Lion in the Valley''.
* ObliviousToLove: Amelia spends the entirety of ''Lion in the Valley'' completely oblivious to the fact that the 'master criminal' she is tracking down is in love with her. Her husband Emerson, however, is ''not'' so clueless, growing incredibly jealous and paranoid as a result, and getting increasingly annoyed at both the criminal and his oblivious wife. HilarityEnsues.

* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: In ''The Deeds of the Disturber'', Emerson examines a threatening note and proclaims (in a very Sherlock Holmes-esque way) that he can tell from the handwriting it was written 'by a man of education with a pen that needed mending'. Amelia understandably writes this off as complete nonsense. Enter their son Ramses... who then proceeds to make exactly the same comment, much to Amelia's annoyance.

* ChildByRape: The Emersons meet Mrs. Forth, who believes herself to the the God's Wife of Amon and wants nothing to do with her English identity. Tarek explains that she tried to kill Nefret twice before she was born. Amelia suspects postpartum depression. But Emerson speculates that Nefret her loathing of the name Forth and attempts to murder Nefret are the result of her father-in-law raping her, and the reason Willie Forth and his wife ended up on the Lost Oasis where they both rejected their former lives.
* ConvenientEclipse: Subverted in ''The Last Camel Died At Noon'', an AffectionateParody of ''Literature/KingSolomonsMines''. The Emersons are in a lost civilization and looking to impress the natives. Amelia asks Emerson if a Convenient Eclipse is coming up by any chance, and his response is essentially, "How the Hell would I know? I'm an archaeologist, not an astronomer."
* DidYouDie: ''The Last Camel Died at Noon'' starts with Amelia, her husband Emerson, and their son Ramses lost in the Nubian desert, several days away from the Nile, after the death of their last camel. There is then an extended flashback to show how they came to be in this situation, which Amelia assures the reader is not for the purposes of causing any suspense about her survival because "Obviously I could not be writing this if I were in the same state as those poor camels."
* HypocriticalHumor: At one point in ''The Last Camel Died at Noon'', Amelia pats herself on the back for nagging her husband into a certain course of action. When it goes badly a few pages later, she notes that if he'd listened to her, he would never have taken that course. Apparently, she forgot to [[{{Retcon}} edit]] the relevant portion of her journal.

* ManMadeHouseFlood: In ''The Last Camel Died at Noon'', Amelia gets home from a trip to London to learn that her son Ramses had been about to take a bath when he'd been distracted by his cat catching a mouse, and had neglected to turn off the water, causing both a flood in the bathroom, and a cascade of water coming down from the ceiling into his father's study. Amelia promptly decides that she doesn't want to know any more details, and tells her maid to just [[INeedAFreakingDrink give Amelia her whiskey and go away]].

* AmnesiacLover: ''The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog'' features Amelia's husband Emerson losing his memories of meeting, falling in love with, and marrying her early on. Even after he's recovered, he fakes still having amnesia about his relationship with Amelia until the climax.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Sethos, in the climax of ''The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog'', when he's disguised as Cyrus Vandergelt and shot by Leopold Vincey, the villain of the book. However, his survival is not revealed until the events of ''Seeing a Large Cat''.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Abdullah, who dies TakingTheBullet for Amelia when her enemy Bertha tries to shoot her late in ''The Ape Who Guards the Balance''.]]

* TheUsurper: When the Emersons arrive at the Lost Oasis, they find King Tarek is in exile, with his position usurped by a man named Zekare. [[spoiler:In the climax, Zekare's son Marasen betrays and murders him in an attempt to usurp the throne for himself, but he's defeated and killed, and Tarek reclaims his throne.]]

* TheBusCameBack: Fifteen in-universe years after his last appearance in ''The Deeds of the Disturber'', Percy Peabody reappears in ''The Falcon at the Portal''.

* DownerEnding: Not usually, but ''The Falcon at the Portal'' did [[{{Understatement}} not end]] on a happy note. [[spoiler:Nefret had married Geoffrey Godwin after Ramses briefly denied Sennia was his, out of anger over both the accusation and the denial, but in the climax, Geoffrey turns out to be the book's villain and deliberately lets himself fall to his death, leaving Nefret a widow. To top it off, she suffers a miscarriage -- revealed in ''He Shall Thunder in the Sky'' to have been ''Ramses's'' child, conceived the night before Sennia was brought to the family -- shortly after, falls into depression, and goes off to another country on a doctor's advice.]]

* TemptingFate: In ''The Falcon at the Portal'' Nefret asks Lia in a letter, "What could Percy do to hurt Ramses?" They find out very quickly [[spoiler:when he arranges to have his daughter brought to the family, claiming ''Ramses'' is the girl's father.]]

* AccidentalMisnaming: A cab driver calls Ramses "Brother of Curses" in the first chapter of ''He Shall Thunder in the Sky''.
* ConnectedAllAlong: Sethos is revealed to be Emerson and Walter's paternal half brother very late in ''He Shall Thunder in the Sky'' (conceived by their father and his mistress). The same book introduces Melinda "Molly" Hamilton, who's revealed to be Sethos' illegitimate daughter by his former associate Bertha.

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: ''Lord of the Silent'' reveals that Sethos had done this a second time at the end of ''He Shall Thunder in the Sky''.]] Emerson is ''not'' pleased when he finds out, and at the end of the book makes the following comment:

* AltarDiplomacy: Attempted in ''The Golden One''. While Ramses is in the hands of Ismail Pasha and Sahin Pasha, Sahin attempts to lure Ramses to his side, suggesting that if Ramses betrayed his country and joined them, he could convert to Islam and be given Sahin's daughter Esin for a second bride. Ramses, of course, declines.

* AvengingTheVillain: This turns out to be the goal of the villain, Justin(e), in ''Children of the Storm'' -- she's out to avenge the death of her mother Bertha, Sethos' old associate, and unwittingly (as she doesn't mention him) that of her father Leopold Vincey, who was the villain of ''The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog''.

* CutlassBetweenTheTeeth: Discussed in ''Children of the Storm'' when the group is planning their attack on the ''Isis'', and Ramses wonders if they should do this when they arrive. Amelia's reply:

%%[[folder:''The Serpent on the Crown'' (2005; covers 1922-23)]]

* IAmNotPretty: Amelia rubbishes anyone trying to praise her appearance, constantly emphasising that her height, frame, facial features, complexion and jet black hair clash with late Victorian fashions; she is, in conclusion, not attractive. Several gentleman and ''definitely'' Emerson [[spoiler:plus Sethos]] would beg to disagree.

* ChildByRape: Emerson speculates that Nefret may be this, the result of her paternal grandfather raping her mother, and the reason Willie Forth and his wife eventually ended up on the Lost Oasis.

* Child by Rape: Emerson speculates that Nefret may be this, the result of her paternal grandfather raping her mother, and the reason Willie Forth and his wife eventually ended up on the Lost Oasis.

* PapaWolf: Dr. Radcliffe Emerson, the Egyptologist-detective husband of Amelia Peabody, is always short-tempered and becomes absolutely volcanic at any threat to his family. Since he is regularly described by his narrator-wife as "Herculean" in build, the results are impressive. For that matter, his son Ramses inherits this trait. Shades into OverprotectiveDad with regard to Nefret sometimes; not so much about sex as about shielding her from the world's ugliness. He'll say she shouldn't be permitted to examine a gruesome corpse, ignoring the fact that she's a fully trained doctor ''and'' would politely and lovingly tell him where to stuff his objections. At least once after she and Ramses married, Ramses got a bit irritated by Emerson's attitude effectively implying that Ramses didn't do a proper job of looking after her; he was rather maliciously amused when Emerson became embarrassed to realize Nefret was taking a bath in the next room.

* TheyDo: Amelia's son Ramses and adopted daughter Nefret, after going through several books of misunderstanding one another, finally get married and become another BattleCouple, without repeating the style of Peabody and Emerson (although they do produce yet another generation of alarmingly precocious children).

* TheyDo: Ramses and Nefret, after seventeen years (in-universe) and ten books total (including the three published out of sequence), formally declare their intention to marry at the end of ''He Shall Thunder in the Sky''. The wedding subsequently takes place in the six months between the end of this book and the start of its sequel ''Lord of the Silent''.

* NearAndDearBabyNaming: Walter "Ramses" Emerson is name for his paternal uncle, his and Nefret's twins Charlotte are named for Amelia's mother and David Todros and Ramses's cousin John. Walter and Evelyn's daughter Amelia "Lia" is named after Amelia, and David and Lia's son Abudullah "Dolly" is named for David's grandfather.

* AutoErotica: Slightly unconventional and {{Downplayed}} a bit. Emerson and Amelia make out in the back of a (horse-drawn) cab on the way home from a stressful day. Amelia notes that something about cabs - she's not sure if it's the smell of the leather, the sound of the horses' hoofbeats, or the dark enclosed space - tends to inspire Emerson.

* DirectLineToTheAuthor: The novels are framed as being excerpts from the rather extensive and detailed journals Amelia Peabody Emerson kept over many decades, starting approximately with her initial trip to Egypt in the 1880s, during which she met the man who would become her husband. Later volumes also include excerpts from "Manuscript H", written by Amelia's son Ramses. Elizabeth Peters takes on the role of the editor of these journals in the author's notes, which allows some extensive LampshadeHanging: she often expresses exasperation at the inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the text, such as the signs that the journals were rewritten many years later with an eye towards publication ("Little did I know..."), and Amelia's tendency to put her own opinions in the mouths of her famous contemporaries.

* CasualDangerDialog: Amelia and her husband have some interesting conversations. As shown in ''Lion in the Valley'', what do you talk about while crawling through the unstable, half-crumbled passages of an un-excavated pyramid, hoping that your 7 year old son is right when he says he knows a way out? The similarities of construction with other 12th Dynasty pyramids, of course!

!! Spoiler note: While most troping involves spoilers to a certain degree, this page as it's currently laid out has major mid- to late-series arc spoilers out in the open! If you hate having your mysteries spoiled, stop reading after the next couple of paragraphs. You have been warned!

The Amelia Peabody series starts in UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain but runs through UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and into TheRoaringTwenties, so far. Over this time, she and her husband have founded a BadassFamily and QuirkyHousehold, the Emersons, that is the core of a bi-ethnic (English/Egyptian) example of TheClan. In addition to Peabody and Emerson, the Emerson family includes:

* Abdullah ibn Hassan al Wahhab, the foreman on the digs. His son Selim takes over from him eventually. His brother Daoud is a GentleGiant. His grandson David is taken in by the younger Emersons, becomes a famed illustrator, and marries Walter and Evelyn's eldest daughter Amelia "Lia", which her parents initially object to, but which the rest of the family supports, and they come around. His daughter-in-law Fatima becomes the Emerson's housekeeper. Abdullah's family is the hook on which to hang issues of racism and imperialism, which the Emersons are fiercely against.

* CanonWelding: With Peters' ''Literature/VickyBliss'' series. A fairly early book establishes Amelia as an historical figure, and it turns out that one of the main characters in that series is descended from one of Ramses and Nefret's children -- though we never find out which one (other than that it's a daughter).