The Last Camel Died at Noon is the sixth in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. It was first published in 1991. This story in the historical mystery series has a new genre; Last Camel satirizes adventure novels in the tradition of Henry Rider Haggard. One reviewer considered this an homage to Haggard.[1] The story is set in the 1897–98 dig season, partly in Egypt, then moving west to Sudan.
At home in autumn 1897, the Emersons are disturbed by a visit from aristocrats Viscount Blacktower and the grandson by his younger son, Reggie Forthright. The viscount is concerned about his older son, explorer Willoughby Forth, who disappeared fourteen years ago in the desert west of the Nile in the Sudan. The viscount received a communication from his son a few days earlier, unsure how it reached London. It contained a letter written by his older son on papyrus and a map sketched on paper. The map was on the back of a page from Emerson's own notebook, drawn by Willie Forth, with landmarks en route to the Lost Oasis. Blacktower wants the Emersons to find his son, or learn his fate. Emerson does not accept. After the men leave, Radcliffe says he met Willie and his new wife in Africa 14 years earlier. Willie wanted to travel to a place of myth in the Sudan with his much younger wife, an unsafe area in 1883. That is when the map was sketched.
Prior to that visit, Radcliffe had decided to work that season in Sudan near the River Nile, as he saw chances for new discoveries, but not in the western desert. Radcliffe, Amelia, and Ramses travel to the Sudan, to excavate at Gebel Barkal and Napata, the first Nubian capital. They travel by camel, not via the Nile, to Nuri with its pyramids. The sudden appearance of Reggie Forthright at their dig causes them to alter their plans. Reggie seeks his uncle, trekking to the Lost Oasis, sending back a messenger reporting he was seized; the Emersons go after him, travelling on camels in the desert.
The Emersons need rescue themselves when all but one of their men desert, all their camels die a few days out, and Amelia falls ill, unconscious. The last faithful servant says he can run to the oasis ahead, for water. He does so, and then brings them to the Lost Oasis.
Amelia suffers the worst, taking weeks to fully recover. The Lost Oasis has the remnants of the Meroitic royalty who ruled Ancient Egypt during the Late Period. That one loyal servant is Tarek, one of two princely brothers struggling for power after the king’s death.
Once in full health, the archaeologists are amazed to be amidst the very civilization whose relics and writings they have studied. The intrigues, politics, and social mores push and prod the Emersons in ways new to them, compared to a usual dig near the Nile. They work to learn what happened to Willie Forth, his wife, their child, and his nephew Reggie. Amelia and Emerson walk out to the cemetery, see the grave of Willie Forth, who had taught English to many. They are puzzled that his wife is not buried next to him.
Dinner with the princes, a visit with the dowager queen, clandestine meetings with handmaidens to the gods, and plans to escape make their daily life lively. Young Ramses is dressed as a boy in that ancient culture, befriended by many.
Nefret, now a priestess to Isis, is introduced to the Emersons, the teenaged daughter of Forth, raised first by her father and then by those taught by her father, in her chambers. She was told that her mother died young. She wants to leave. Then Reggie appears in the Emersons’ chambers, released from a dungeon, and is a chancy ally to the Emersons.
These English people must escape or be killed. Ramses hides in the tunnels when his parents are taken, where he links with Tarek.
In a major event at the temple to select the next king, the god Aminreh speaks his decision. All three Emersons are present along with the soldiers and priests. The two brothers battle to the death and Tarek, friend to the Emersons, wins the crown.
Radcliffe participates in the blood-soaked battle; victorious Tarek leads Amelia to her husband in a far away room with Willie’s wife, still alive. She had rejected her newborn daughter and is now obese and alone, saying she is the wife of a god, and had requested Radcliffe be carried to her. After the struggle Radcliffe had with her soldier so he could leave, Mrs Forth fell dead. Tarek has never told Nefret that story of her mother’s rejection of her newborn baby, and the Emersons agree never to mention it to her. Tarek made his trip to England with the letter and map so that Nefret would be returned to her people.
Tarek has prepared a caravan to get them out of the Lost Oasis safely.
Reggie then reveals his true motive, to kill anyone blocking him from inheriting all his grandfather’s wealth. As far back as London, he shot at Tarek, the messenger who delivered Willie’s letter and map, killing Tarek’s half-brother with pistol shots heard by the Emersons at home. Reggie had put poison in the camel food for the Emerson’s trek, assuring the Emersons would not reach the hidden city. Reggie holds a gun to Ramses’ head; Nefret interferes with that, and Reggie’s plot is stopped. He is left behind, tied up and disarmed. The Emersons and Nefret travel out, escorted by Tarek’s men in the caravan to an oasis.
Reviews
The title of this book is identical to the first sentence of the 1981 thriller The Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett.[2]The Last Camel Died at Noon most closely follows the tradition with plot elements like a lost and ancient civilization, a young English girl serving as its high priestess, an evil prince, a wronged noble prince who wants to free the slaves, kidnappings, escapes, mazes of tunnels (and palaces) hand-carved from cliffs.[citation needed]
Publishers Weekly considers Amelia Peabody to be very like Indiana Jones but in the Victorian Era, and likes the intricate plotting, as the author “laces her usual intricate plotting with Amelia's commonsense approach to hygiene and manners, and coyly delicate references to vigorously enjoyed connubial pleasures.”[3]
Another reviewer noted the difference between this novel and those earlier in the series. “Going in an entirely different direction than her previous novels, this is Amelia Peabody does Indiana Jones, or, as the author herself says, H. Rider Haggard.”[4]
The humor used by the author was noted. “[T]hose readers who have enjoyed the series as a whole will likely find the author’s tribute to Haggard to be a humorous one,”.[5]
In his upbeat review of this novel, Peter Theroux in The New York Times said “It is enough to say that so rollicking and mythical are their adventures that comparisons must be made (and are made, in fact, by several characters in the book) with H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines"; "The Last Camel" seems at times to be a homage to Haggard.” The story is told by Amelia Peabody Emerson “who travels like Alexander the Great but writes like Jane Austen, or sometimes the Brontes”. The author’s “wonderfully witty voice and her penchant for history lessons of the Nile” keep people reading about the “delightful Emersons”. Further, ”Egyptian verisimilitude is one of Elizabeth Peters's strong points; she is, after all, a traveler and Egyptologist herself.”[1]
Awards
The novel was nominated for an Agatha Award in the "Best Novel" category in 1992.[6]
Amelia Peabody Emerson is the protagonist of the Amelia Peabody series, a series of historical mystery novels written by author Elizabeth Peters. Peabody is married to Egyptologist Radcliffe Emerson and has one biological child, Walter "Ramses" Peabody Emerson.
Barbara Louise Mertz was an American author who wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. In 1952, she received a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. She was best known for her mystery and suspense novels, including the Amelia Peabody book series.
Professor Radcliffe Archibald Emerson, M.A. Ox., D.C.L. (Ox.), L.L.D. (Edinburgh), F.B.A., FRS, FRGS, MAPS, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Member of the American Philosophical Society, is one of the main characters in the Amelia Peabody historical mystery series by author Elizabeth Peters. He is an Egyptologist who is typically addressed as Professor, although he hates his first name and prefers to be called "Emerson." For his explosive temper and dynamic use of language, his Egyptian friends and employees have nicknamed him Abu Shitaim, "Father of Curses".
Crocodile on the Sandbank is a historical mystery novel by Elizabeth Peters, first published in 1975. It is the first in the Amelia Peabody series of novels and takes place in 1884-1885.
The Mummy Case is the third of a series of historical mystery novels written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring the character Amelia Peabody. It was first published in 1985. The story is set in the 1894–1895 dig season in Egypt.
Lion in the Valley is the fourth novel in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. It was first published in 1986. The story is set in the 1895–96 dig season in Egypt.
The Ape Who Guards the Balance is the tenth in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters, first published in 1998, and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. The story is set in the 1906–1907 dig season in Egypt.
The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog is the seventh in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional archaeologist and sleuth Amelia Peabody. It was first published in 1992. The story is set in the summer of 1898 in England and the 1898-1899 archaeological dig season in Egypt.
The Hippopotamus Pool is the eighth in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and first published in 1996. It features fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. The story is set in the 1899-1900 archaeological dig season. Although one review found the novel "heavy handed" in its style, while recognizing the many fans of this series, other reviewers enjoyed the wit, the "melodramatic 19th-century writing style" and the dandy "romantic nonsense".
Seeing a Large Cat is the ninth novel in the Amelia Peabody historical mystery series by Elizabeth Peters, first published in 1997. The story takes place in Egypt during the archaeological dig season of 1903-1904.
The Falcon at the Portal (1999) is the 11th in a series of historical mystery novels by Elizabeth Peters, first published in 1999. It features fictional archaeologist and sleuth Amelia Peabody. The story is set in the 1911–1912 dig season in Egypt.
He Shall Thunder in the Sky is the 12th in a series of historical mystery novels by Elizabeth Peters, first published in 2000, and featuring fictional archaeologist and sleuth Amelia Peabody. The story is set in the 1914–15 dig season in Egypt.
Lord of the Silent is the 13th in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. It was first published in 2001. The story is set in the 1915–1916 dig season in Egypt.
The Golden One is the 14th in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. It was first published in 2002. The story is set in the 1916–1917 dig season in Egypt.
Children of the Storm is the 15th in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and first published in 2003. It features fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. The story is set in the 1919–1920 dig season in Egypt.
Guardian of the Horizon is the 16th in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and published in 2004. It features fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. The story is set in the 1907–1908 dig season in Egypt. That places the events between the 10th and 11th novels, by the setting, while it is 16th in order of publication.
The Serpent on the Crown is the 17th in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and published in 2005. It features fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. The story is set in 1922, in the dig season in Egypt.
Tomb of the Golden Bird is the 18th in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and first published in 2006. It features fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. The story is set in the 1922 - 1923 archeological dig season in Egypt.
The Amelia Peabody series is a series of twenty historical mystery novels and one non-fiction companion volume written by Egyptologist Barbara Mertz (1927–2013) under the pen name Elizabeth Peters. The series is centered on the adventures of the unconventional female Egyptologist Amelia Peabody Emerson, for whom the series is named, and an ever-increasing number of family, friends, allies, and characters both fictional and based on historical figures. The novels blend mystery and romance with a wryly comic tone, and at times also parody Victorian-era adventure novels such as those written by H. Rider Haggard. The series was published between 1975 and 2010, with the final, posthumous novel appearing in 2017.
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