History Literature / AmeliaPeabody

They also have a tendency to consider themselves [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight above the law]], although mostly this only means they don't bother to call the police while battling criminals: they're administering justice as they see it, so why waste time talking to the police? (There's also the problem that the British police won't bother about Egyptian matters and the Egyptian police are often incapable.) Amelia, in fact, is generally scornful of cops, ignoring the fact that police must follow rules of evidence she doesn't consider binding on her. She frequently says UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard would solve more cases if a woman ran it -- not talking about getting ''both'' male and female perspectives, but about ''replacing'' the male way of thinking with the female.

* ShippingTorpedo: Played with and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] with Emerson in "Crocodile on the Sandbank." Amelia can't figure out why he keeps dropping rude or disparaging comments into her efforts to encourage an attachment between Evelyn and Walter. She decides that he must disapprove of a match between his brother and a penniless young woman. But when the couple finally confess their feelings for each other, he he seems quite satisfied. He knows his shy little brother much better than she does, and every little dig was calculated to goad Walter into taking a decisive stand.[[note:]]Emerson ''claims'' that the only reason that he supports the match is that Evelyn is a fairly talented artist, and will be useful on an archaeological expedition.[[/note]]

* ShippingTorpedo: Played with and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] with Emerson in "Crocodile on the Sandbank." Amelia spends a good deal of effort encouraging an attachment between Evelyn and Walter, only for many of her initiatives to be met with borderline rude or disparaging comments from Emerson. She can't figure out what his problem is, and thinks that he must disapprove of a match between his brother and a penniless young woman. When the couple finally confess their feelings for each other, he reacts with satisfaction, and she realizes that he knows his shy little brother much better than she does: Every little dig was precisely calculated to nudge Walter into standing up on his own two feet and declaring what he wants. Emerson claims that the only reason that '''he''' supports the match is that Evelyn is a fairly talented artist, and will be useful on an archaeological expedition.

:Cue '''Karl''' stepping over to Mary and putting his arm around her. Mary Snuggles in. [[labelnote:Of course, Amelia being Amelia...]]Within two pages and two and a half months, she's going on about how she ''knew'' that Mary & Arthur would not have been a good match[[/labelnote]]

Amelia Peabody and her husband Radcliffe Emerson are a HappilyMarried BattleCouple who are Victorian Egyptologists. Each is an AdventurerArchaeologist (subverted; they have plenty of adventures, but nothing but scorn for treasure-hunting-style archeology) and an AmateurSleuth. They also exhibit the tropes HugeGuyTinyGirl, SlapSlapKiss (they are sparring partners as well as passionate lovers), MamaBear and PapaWolf, CasualDangerDialog, ParasolOfPain, and DirectLineToTheAuthor (the whole series is supposedly being extracted by an editor from Amelia's private journal and a "Manuscript H" giving a third-person account of the experiences of Ramses and occasionally Nefret; see below).

* AdventureArchaeologist: Both Amelia and Emerson, though in subverted form. They despise the treasure-hunting kind of archaeologist.

* Sethos, [[spoiler:Seth Emerson, who would be an EvilUncle if he were actually evil; he is Emerson's bastard half-brother, starts the series as a professional tomb robber, gets a crush on Amelia, who reforms him, and goes on to become a British secret agent, all before he reveals the relationship to Peabody and Emerson, and]] who has a way of turning up unannounced, to drag in new plot complications.

* Abdullah ibn Hassan al Wahhab, the foreman on the digs. [[spoiler:He eventually dies defending Amelia, but continues to appear to her in dreams, the reality of which cannot be checked.]] 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 a niece of theirs. 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.

* AnimalLover: Amelia is a downplayed version, at least by Victorian standards. One of her BeserkButtons is blatant animal abuse, and she insists on inspecting and doctoring all animals acquired for their digs before they are put to work. One of Abdullah's CatchPhrases in the early years is a resigned, 'Yes, Sitt Hakim, the donkeys have been washed'. At one point, Ramses reminisces one one of his fondest childhood memories: Amelia calmly scrubbing a camel with a long-handled brush while it kicked and bellowed so violently that it took two of the expedition crew to hold it in place.

* CannotSpitItOut: 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:
-->'''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.

* FakingTheDead; [[spoiler: Sethos.]] ''Twice.''
--->'''Emerson''': "If he dies again I am going to kill him!"

* 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.

--->'''Amelia''': "Emerson, that villain, that remarkable, clever wretch has seduced our cat!"

* LamarckWasRight: Ramses inherits his talents at disguise and general sneakiness from [[spoiler: his ''uncle'' Sethos.]] Let's face it, Amelia and Emerson would make a good army just by themselves, but sneakiness isn't exactly among their considerable talents.

* ShoutOut: To Literature/SherlockHolmes -- the second book has characters belonging to a different branch of the Baskerville family, and someone under the pseudonym of Milverton, as well as a direct reference to Holmes, while book four has Amelia meet a detective named Tobias Gregson [[spoiler: who's not actually either of those things]]. There are also references to Creator/HRiderHaggard's stories, in addition to the {{Homage}} mentioned above involving Nefret's backstory.

Amelia Peabody and her husband Radcliffe Emerson are a HappilyMarried BattleCouple who are Victorian Egyptologists. Each is an AdventurerArchaeologist (subverted; they have plenty of adventures, but nothing but scorn for treasure-hunting-style archeology) and an AmateurSleuth. They also exhibit the tropes HugeGuyTinyGirl, SlapSlapKiss (they are sparring partners as well as passionate lovers), MamaBear and PapaWolf, CasualDangerDialog, ParasolOfPain, and LiteraryAgentHypothesis (the whole series is supposedly being extracted by an editor from Amelia's private journal and a "Manuscript H" giving a third-person account of the experiences of Ramses and occasionally Nefret; see below).

* Abdullah ibn Hassan al Wahhab, their foreman on the digs. [[spoiler:He eventually dies defending Amelia, but continues to appear to her in dreams, the reality of which cannot be checked.]] His son Selim takes over from him eventually. His brother Daoud is a GentleGiant. His grandson David is taken in by the Emersons, becomes a famed illustrator, and marries a niece of theirs. 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.

# 1912, [[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062083511/ The Painted Queen (2017, published out of sequence)]]

The twentieth book in the series, "The Painted Queen", was in the editing phase at the time of Peters' death; it was completed by Joan Hess.

* LoveAtFirstPunch: [[spoiler: It's unclear exactly ''when'' Sethos developed his crush on Amelia, but it's quite probable he grew fixated on her after one of his henchmen knocked Ramses into a wall, causing her to subsequently go utterly berserk and stab him with her parasol.]]

* FriendToAnimals: Amelia, at least by Victorian standards. One of her BeserkButtons is blatant animal abuse, and she insists on inspecting and doctoring all animals acquired for their digs before they are put to work. One of Abdullah's CatchPhrases in the early years is a resigned, 'Yes, Sitt Hakim, the donkeys have been washed'. At one point, Ramses reminisces one one of his fondest childhood memories: Amelia calmly scrubbing a camel with a long-handled brush while it kicked and bellowed so violently that it took two of the expedition crew to hold it in place.

* ApronMatron: Amelia's parasol is a weapon feared throughout Egypt (''before'' her husband gave her a sword-cane version), and senior British officials cringe at the thought of her tongue-lashings.

* GeniusBruiser: Emerson, described by his wife as "Herculean" and also as "the greatest archeologist of this or any other age."

* HappilyMarried: Amelia and Emerson.

* MightyWhitey: Both used and subverted. Amelia and her husband, son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren are all white, and regarded with awe, admiration, and dread by the Egyptians they work with, but one of the causes they champion is equal rights for Egyptians, and they cultivate some impressive Egyptian sidekicks (though none in their own league). In ''The Last Camel Died at Noon'', Amelia and family visit a LostWorld, where Amelia is irritated to discover that the heroic native prince believes in the Mighty Whitey trope.

* MasterOfDisguise: Sethos and Ramses both. Ramses, in fact, developed his own skill at disguise while still a young boy, after stealing one of Sethos' rather comprehensive makeup kits; for a while before puberty he was in the habit of disguising himself so convincingly as a girl that the Emersons' servants thought they were being haunted by a child's ghost. [[Spoiler: In one book, Sethos spends most the plot hanging out with Ameilia, disguised as her and Emerson's good friend Cyrus Vandergelt, and she can't tell the difference.]]

* LoyalAnimalCompanion: Bastet, for Ramses. She's also pretty intelligent for a cat.
* MasterOfDisguise: Sethos and Ramses both. Ramses, in fact, developed his own skill at disguise while still a young boy, after stealing one of Sethos' rather comprehensive makeup kits; for a while before puberty he was in the habit of disguising himself so convincingly as a girl that the Emersons' servants thought they were being haunted by a child's ghost.

* DownerEnding: Not usually, but ''Falcon at the Portal'' did [[{{Understatement}}not end]] on a happy note.

The Amelia Peabody books so far, with the dates when they are set, are:

* DownerEnding: Not usually, but ''Falcon at the Portal'' did not end on a happy note.

* CanonWelding: With Peters' Literature/VickyBliss series (one of the characters in that series is descended from one of Ramses and Nefret's children).

* ChildProdigy: Ramses, to an insufferable degree.

** Not to mention [[spoiler:Ramses]], for ''fourteen years''.

# 1912, [[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062083511/ The Painted Queen (2017)]]

* CannotSpitItOut: 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: 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).

* FamilyEyeResemblance: This is what allows Sennia to be passed off as Ramses' child

* MakesSenseInContext
--->'''Amelia''': "Emerson, that villain, that remarkable, clever wretch has seduced our cat!"

* MrSmith: A recurring character is a British spymaster who often goes by "Smith," partly because spies use pseudonyms and partly because it's so much easier than coping with his real name of "the Honorable Algernon Bracegirdle-Boisdragon."

** Not 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.

* TheBusCameBack: The Frasers reappear in "Seeing A Large Cat" and Percy reappears in "The Falcon at the Portal"

* TitleDrop: In several of the novels

* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: Amelia knows Emerson's really angry at her when he calls her "Amelia" rather than the usual "Peabody."
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Violet Peabody is only seen in "Deeds of the Disturber"

# 1912, [[https://www.amazon.com/Painted-Queen-Novel-Elizabeth-Peters/dp/0062083511/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0062083511&pd_rd_r=AKJ97QDTQF6MD3SHPTAA&pd_rd_w=Ut56o&pd_rd_wg=LnAQh&psc=1&refRID=AKJ97QDTQF6MD3SHPTAA The Painted Queen (2017)]]

The twentieth book in the series, "The Painted Queen", which will cover the 1912-3 season was in the editing phase at Peters' death is set to be realized around [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Peabody_series mid-2017]]

* Family Eye Resemblance: This is what allows Sennia to be passed off as Ramses' child

* Foreshadowing: Nefret says that Sethos "treated her like an indulgent uncle" during "He Shall Thunder in the Sky." We find out later in the book that Sethos is Emerson's illegitimate half-brother

* 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 [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis her journal]].

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: Not only are the books presented as being extracts from the journals and letters of the family, the issue is made even blurrier because both Margret Minton and Percy Peabody (secondary characters) write highly colored and distorted "memoirs" of their experiences, and the Emersons are semi-friends with a yellow journalist who writes exaggerated accounts of their own exploits.

* PutOnABus: Percy Emerson, the Frasers, Mary and Karl von Borg

* TasteOfTheLash: Percy does this to Ramses