Amelia Peabody charges into life

This first book in the Amelia Peabody stories is a delight, and is beautifully narrated by Barbara Rosenblatt. Her reading is crisp, and it portrays Amelia’s iron will, take charge attitude, and love for adventure. She handles all the voices well, and there are no awkward readings or anything to interfere with my enjoyment of this story.

I’ve had the Elizabeth Peters books on my To Be Read list for a long time, and finding this in an audiobook is a great way to start. I’m new to audiobooks, and am finding it perfect for multitasking. I can knit to the company of a well written and well read story. Having studied Egyptology in my youth, I find the background information about the state of Egyptian archeology in the 1880s and the professional tomb robbers such as Gaston Maspero to be accurate, as is the look at the British Empire attitudes towards the “natives”. The arrogance is well described by Elizabeth Peters and presented as a matter of fact part of the protagonists’ characters.

I’m looking forward to starting the next book in the series, The Curse of the Pharaohs.

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Fabulous start to a great series !

I love this book. Very entertaining! So fun to be transported back to Egypt in 1880s.

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Pretty good story but takes forever to get going

Once the story actually gets going it's fairly entertaining and engaging. But the first third of the book is quite boring.

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it did not disappoint

Barbara sounded like Peabody in my head when I first read this book, I now need to get the entire series with her narrating.

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Barbara Rosenblat is perfect!

This book intrigued me. I usually prefer the fast-paced thriller/mystery kind of books. But I also really enjoy ancient Egypt history. So when I saw this title, I figured why not. The story is slower than what I am used to, but it was a nice relaxing pace anyway. And I am not used to listening to a British narrator. But the narrator is the one who really makes this book come alive! And it would not have been the same without the British accent. The well-written (and funny) words read by Barbara Rosenblat often made me laugh out loud. I loved the witty replies of the main characters. Hopefully, the other books in the series will be as enjoyable.

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Amelia Peabody, my hero!

The story is set in the later 1800’s and into the 1900’s. Written by Elizabeth Peters created this unusual family of archaeologists in Egypt, who are marvellous characters we would all like to meet. I discovered this series in the mid 1990’s and have read and reread them many times. The audio version is fantastically read and acted out by Barbara Rosenblat, with the most amazing voices.
Each book is a story on its own, but read in sequence each one builds more and more of this eccentric family, and each one leaves you wanting more. There is a murder and mystery each time and very well researched historical and archaeological
information, leading you along to the joyful conclusion.
Amelia starts out as a spinster who just wants to see a bit of the world, but instead she find love and courage and a life she could not have imagined. Amelia is in gentle control of her husband and family, and all the friends and families she comes in contact with. She is the pillar they all lean on, she is the common sense they all depend on.
This is not just a book for ladies, recently my middle aged son listened in on my book and asked me to let him listen to the books.
These books are worth the read or listening to. Enjoy!!

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4 people found this helpful

A fun, refreshingly crisp adventure

A really enjoyable story. Accurate historical information, a wonderful main character, adventure, and mystery woven into a beautiful setting.

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Disappointing.

Victorian melodrama of the worst kind. I was expecting much better from the author. The whinnying voice of the young girl was irritating.

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