Sunday, August 11, 2013

Remembering Elizabeth Peters

Image from author's website
I was saddened this week to hear of the passing of author Barbara Mertz who also wrote as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels.

My introduction to the fertile imagination of Ms Mertz was through the Amelia Peabody series of books (written under the name Elizabeth Peters) which featured a feisty Victorian female archaeologist who spent most summers in Egypt ably assisting her very gruff husband Walter Emerson and trying to keep track of her son Ramses. Given that dead bodies turned up nearby with alarming regularity, Amelia also spent time investigating crimes and trying to outwit her nemesis always armed with her trusty parasol which was loaded with every conceivable weapon.

I loved that her books were so full of archaeological detail but were also balanced with a great sense of fun and, yes, a good splash of romance and implied sexiness. There was nothing overt in the way that the scenes were described by the author could quite easily get me to swoon over Emerson initially and then even more so over Ramses.

While I love the series as a whole, there was a four book story arc that started in Seeing a Large Cat and finished with He Shall Thunder in the Sky which is one of my favourite section of the series- just so fabulous to read.

While Amelia Peabody was the star of the longest running series by Peters, it was not the only one of her series that I have read. I did also read the Vicky Bliss series featuring an art historian, a gentleman thief and a whole heap of adventures around many famous cities. I know that for some people Vicky eclipses Amelia as their favourite Peters heroine but for me, Amelia is still tops. I wasn't as enamoured by the last book in the series either which is unfortunate. I haven't yet read the Jacqueline Bliss books, which from memory are harder to get hold of through my library system, which is kind of ironic given that the main character is a librarian who turns into a romance novelist. I did notice that early books in these two series seem to have been rereleased in the last couple of days, which means that their rerelease coincides with the date of her death.

I am sure that the fact that her female characters are so adventurous, so feisty and so intelligent reflects something of her own characteristics, especially when you have a look at her own life experiences. She was an Egyptologist who had published non fiction works on the subject, she wrote a number of books about other topics and I suspect she must have had a wicked sense of humour in real life. Her books were certainly funny.

In a way, I feel like a bit of a fraud writing a post about having enjoyed her writing so much.  I knew that it had been a while since I read an Amelia book, and that I still had more of the series to read, but I was totally shocked when I looked back on my spreadsheet and realised that I hadn't read any of the Amelia Peabody books for more than 4 years, which is an awfully long time. How does that even happen? This is a series I thoroughly enjoy with characters I love and so much more to read and yet the series seems to have fallen off my radar a little bit. I will definitely be rectifying this as soon as I can.

In closing, I would say thank you Barbara Mertz for using your wonderfully fertile imagination to bring your characters to life, for making your readers feel as they were there with you whether it be in the deserts of Egypt or the streets of Rome or anywhere else and for making us laugh and care.

It only seems fitting to give Elizabeth Peters the final words. Here she talks about Amelia and cats and more:


Currently Reading

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, The Tudor Conspiracy by C W Gortner and listening to A Song of Fire and Ice by George R R Martin

Up Next

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell


19 comments:

  1. That's a lovely tribute, Marg. She will be greatly missed - such wonderful, strong women characters (and, of course, all those cats).

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    1. Ah yes, all the cats! Who could forget the cates.

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  2. I have enjoyed so many of her books. Nice tribute.

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  3. Thanks for the tribute, Marg. I loved her Vicki Bliss and Amelia Peabody books, and also her marvellous Gothic novels, written as Barbara Michaels. I must engage in an orgy of re-reading. So sad when the authors you loved when you were younger pass away. I loved her feisty heroines and I really think she was someone who influenced me to start writing, as she started late in life, too.

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    1. It is sad, even if you discovered them only recently because the authors touch you through their books. I haven't read any of her Barbara Michaels books. one day.

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  4. So sorry to hear that she has passed--I had a phase where I read all the Amelia Peabody books up to a certain point, although I know she wrote several later ones that I haven't read yet. I wonder if she had a chance to really put closure on the series? I'll have to make time to finish them sometime.

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    1. I maybe wrong but I got the impression that chronologically the series was finished but that the later books in the series really went back and filled in some gaps that she hadn't told us about previously.

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  5. Thanks so much for this. I was very sad that she died. I have 3 more Amelia book and then plan to read all the rest of her list -- a little at a time. Wonderful post, Marg.

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    1. A little at a time sounds like a perfect way to explore the rest of her backlist. Something to be savoured and enjoyed along the way.

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  6. I read a few of the Amelia Peabody books and should probably pick up that series again, but I'm also intrigued by the other two series that you mentioned and I didn't know about. Thanks!

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    1. I hope you get a chance to read the other series at some point.

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  7. Fantastic post, Marg - I totally agree about THAT four-book arc. I'm thinking I'll have to do a Peabody reread at some point soon.

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    1. I am beginning to think that I might too...but I need to finish the series first.

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  8. Nice tribute Marg. I was a keen follower of the Amelia Peabody series but, like you, it's been a while since I read any of them. I'm not sure how or why I fell out of touch with the series. I did notice that a lot of them are available on audio which I think I might try. I did have a go at the Vicky Bliss books but couldn't get into them...Amelia's the gal for me :)

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    1. Bernadette, the audiobooks are narrated by Barbara Rosenblat who does an amazing job of bring Amelia and co to life! I wish my library had some more of them on audio.

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  9. Very nice piece, Marg. Peters' Amelia Peabody books were the first mystery series I ever picked up because I wanted to read them, not because someone else (usually one of my mystery-loving relatives) was pressing them on me. But then I started reading them and the blend of adventure and mystery and, let's face it, sexy as heck adult Ramses swept me away. I love them and have reread them all many times. This summer, I even took two of the books from that four-book arc with me on holiday (they were the only ones available as ebook from the library when I left; I would have loved to have all four). I've just started reading her non-series books and have loved them too. It is sad to think that she is gone but so wonderful that she left all these books behind as her legacy.

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    1. I need to finish the series before I think about rereading, but I can imagine myself reading those four again in the future, if not the whole series.

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  10. It is sad to hear of anyone's death when they have touched you in some small way.

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