The Curse of the Pharaohs

The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 2

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The sun rides high over the British Empire and the light still sparkles brightly in Amelia Peabody's eye as she returns for her second adventure in archaeology and romantic mystery as recounted in her lively journal, The Curse of the Pharaohs.

It was Sir Henry's intention to ensure that no tomb had been overlooked in the previous expedition. Scarcely had the men been at work for three days when their spades uncovered the first of a series of steps cut into the rock.

The Times gave the story a full column, on page three. The next dispatch to come to Luxor, however, rated front-page headlines. Sir Henry Baskerville was dead. He was found next morning stiff and stark in his bed. On his face was a look of ghastly horror. On his high brow, inscribed in what appeared to be dried blood, was a crudely drawn uraeus serpent, the symbol of the divine pharaoh.

Instead of digging up the treasures of a lost age, it appeared that Amelia and her friend Radcliffe were excavating a deadly curse.

Don't miss the rest of the Amelia Peabody series. You can also check out more of our Most Addictive Series.

©1981 Elizabeth Peters (P)1990 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"Peters really knows how to spin romance and adventure into a mystery." (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Barbara Rosenblat + Elizabeth Peters = gold

I've listened to this many times since discovering the Amelia Peabody series 20 years ago.
Barbara Rosenblat brings Peabody and Emerson to life. I love this series.

Delightful

Enjoyed the reader, the storyline, the characters, and all. It kept me coming back.

Reader

Didn’t like the reader. Had this been the first book I heard in this series I wouldn’t have listened to any others.

The Curse Of The Pharaohs

Well written, and funny in an uptight Victorian manner. I loved the heroine, so full of herself!

Wonderful!

Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson are married and settled into a quiet, English life. Yes; they are happy and yes; they are bored. In this installment, Amelia and Emerson ditch their baby with Evelyn and Walter and travel to finish a cursed dig. Amelia still endlessly expounds on her eccentric opinions, and Emerson is as vociferous as ever. The Curse of The Pharaohs is entertaining and an excellent addition to this series. As always, Barbara Rosenblat is wonderful with a variety of accents. You may notice that there are two narrators for this series: Barbara Rosenblat and Susan O'Malley. This is due to the fact that Blackstone Audio, Inc. and Recorded Books have both produced some of the installments. You do not have to switch narrators to enjoy each volume in this series if you stick with Recorded Books and Barbara Rosenblat. Some of the audiobooks for this series also have abridged additions. So, be careful.

Good

The narration is good, but I hate hearing the breathing and swallowing! And I the only one bothered by this?

20 volumes in this series?!

Good heavens! There are twenty books in this series? I unwittingly started a series with nearly an alphabet’s number of titles?! My word. That’s a commitment I wasn’t prepared for. I wonder . . . how to put this delicately . . . If the author is, ummmmmm, “safely dead”? Well, I’m certainly not reading them straight through. I know that much for sure. Palate cleansers are needed, even with the best of series and reading jags.

The repartee between Amelia and Emerson has greatly improved in this second book of the series. Rather than gritting my teeth at their interactions, I found the interplay—whether it expressed tender concern, competitive speculation, parental pride, or bickering exasperation—quite a highlight of the novel.

Ramses (Walter II) was a touch too precocious, I missed the wonderful Evelyn and Walter, and I mistakenly thought I had sussed out that two characters were brother and sister (they weren’t), but overall it was a fun romp of a tale, generously infused with humor (as all the best stories in any genre are), and the characters showed fair and decent respect for the lands they were excavating as well as the Egyptian population that helped them.

Sigh. I’d better start checking out the used bookstores for further volumes.

As always, Barbara Rosenblat's performance was superb.

Delightful!

The narration was very believable, and easy to listen to. Some parts of the story I could figure out, but other aspects took me by surprise. The author captures the feel and the look of Egypt so beautifully. This was very enjoyable.

Delightful Egyptian Adventure!

What did you love best about The Curse of the Pharaohs?

Amelia, definitely the best character, sassy, fun and full of brains

Who was your favorite character and why?

Refer to answer above! Ramsey was a close second though!

What does Barbara Rosenblat bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She brings such life to the sharp wit and keeps the story pacey.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did indeed, the mystery was full of twists and turns and kept me guessing!

Any additional comments?

I will be purchasing more of this delightful series.

Thoroughly enjoyed this series

I really do love this series. This is my third time reading/listening to them. Even if you can decipher the ending somewhere in the middle, they are still a worthy listen just because the writing is highly enjoyable and the characters are fun. I do really like both the narrators I have heard.