Barbara Mertz

Barbara Mertz (born September 29, 1927) is an author who writes under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels.

Barbara Mertz has a Ph.D from the University of Chicago in Egyptology, studying under John A. Wilson^[1], which she received at the age of 23. She has written two books on ancient Egypt, but has primarily written mystery and suspense novels. She has been a published writer since 1964.

Under the name Barbara Michaels, she writes primarily gothic and supernatural thrillers. The name was chosen by her publisher since she had already published one nonfiction book on ancient Egypt, and the publisher did not want her novels to be confused with her academic work. She publishes her Amelia Peabody series under the name Elizabeth Peters, a nom de plume drawn from the names of her two children.

She is member of the Editorial Advisory Board of KMT, ("A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt"), Egypt Exploration Society and the James Henry Breasted Circle of the Oriental Institute.^[2]

Nonfiction Books

• Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs--1964; rev. ed. 2007
• Two Thousand Years in Rome (with Richard Mertz)--1968
• Red Land, Black Land--1978; rev. ed.2008

Amelia Peabody

As of 2006^[update], this series contains 18 books; the most recent, Tomb of the Golden Bird, was published in April 2006. The eponymous heroine is an Egyptologist and is married with one child (although she later takes in two other children). The stories are set, nearly all in Egypt, beginning in the 1880s with Amelia's decision to see the world as an unexpectedly-wealthy, feminist spinster, and ending with the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.

1. Crocodile on the Sandbank - Published 1975
2. The Curse of the Pharaohs - Published 1981
3. The Mummy Case - Published 1985
4. Lion in the Valley - 1895-96 Season - Published 1986
5. The Deeds of the Disturber - Summer 1986 - Published 1988
6. The Last Camel Died at Noon - Published 1991
7. The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog - Published 1992
8. The Hippopotamus Pool - Published 1996
9. Seeing A Large Cat - Published 1997
10. The Ape Who Guards the Balance - 1906-07 Season - Published 1998
11. The Falcon at the Portal - 1911-12 Season - Published 1999
12. He Shall Thunder in the Sky - 1914-15 Season - Published 2000
13. Lord of the Silent - 1915-16 Season - Published 2001
14. The Golden One - 1916-17 Season - Published 2002
15. Children of the Storm - 1919-20 Season - Published April 2003
16. Guardian of the Horizon - 1907-08 Season - Published March 2004
17. The Serpent on the Crown - 1922 Season - Published March 2005
18. Tomb of the Golden Bird - Published March 2006

additionally: Amelia Peabody's Egypt: A Compendium - Published October 2003

According to the MPM Summer 2007 newsletter, "Tomb of the Golden Bird is not the last Peabody-Emerson novel - MPM has another contract for Amelia just as soon as she finishes her current contract for..."[3]

Vicky Bliss

The Vicky Bliss novels follow the adventures of an American professor of art history who keeps getting involved in international crime and her love interest, a charming art thief known as Sir John Smythe. Another Peters novel, The Camelot Caper (1969), while not technically a Vicky Bliss story, features Smythe. The novels can be enjoyed in any order, but the stories are highly sequential in nature and are probably better appreciated if read in order of publication.

1. Borrower of the Night (1973)
2. Street of the Five Moons (1978)
3. Silhouette in Scarlet (1983)
4. Trojan Gold (1987)
5. Night Train to Memphis (1994)
6. The Laughter of Dead Kings (2008)

This series and the Amelia Peabody series are slightly related; a fictional tomb discovered by Amelia Peabody and her husband plays an important role in Night Train to Memphis and it is later revealed that John is related to the Emersons in The Laughter of Dead Kings.

Jacqueline Kirby

Jacqueline Kirby is a librarian with a very large purse and a knack for solving mysteries.

Though she appears mainly as a supporting character in The Seventh Sinner, her maturity, quirkiness, and pursuit of romantic relationships made her a standout. The character blossomed with Murders of Richard III & Die For Love, the latter of which featured her wearing increasingly outrageous costumes, and writing a series of prehistoric romances, which continues into Naked Once More.

1. The Seventh Sinner (1972)
2. Murders of Richard III (1974)
3. Die for Love (1984)
4. Naked Once More (1989)

Other fiction

• The Jackal's Head (1968)
• The Camelot Caper (1969) - see above
• The Dead Sea Cipher (1970)
• The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits (1971)
• Legend in Green Velvet (1976)
• Devil-May-Care (1977)
• Summer of the Dragon (1979)
• The Love Talker (1980)
• The Copenhagen Connection (1982)

Books under the name Barbara Michaels

• The Master of Blacktower--1966
• Sons of the Wolf--1967
• Ammie Come Home--1968
• Prince of Darkness--1969
• The Dark on the Other Side--1970
• The Crying Child--1971
• Greygallows--1972
• Witch--1973
• House of Many Shadows--1974
• The Sea King's Daughter--1975
• Patriot's Dream--1976
• Wings of the Falcon--1977
• Wait for What Will Come--1978
• The Walker in the Shadows--1979
• The Wizard's Daughter--1980
• Someone in the House--1981
• Black Rainbow--1982 (prequel to Someone in the House)
• Here I Stay--1983
• The Grey Beginning--1984
• Be Buried in the Rain--1985
• Shattered Silk--1986 (sequel to Ammie Come Home)
• Search the Shadows--1987
• Smoke and Mirrors--1989
• Into the Darkness--1990
• Vanish with the Rose--1992
• Houses of Stone--1993
• Stitches in Time--1995 (Last in the Ammie Come Home series)
• The Dancing Floor--1997
• Other Worlds--1999

References

1. ^ "Letters: Egyptian Erudition", Joann McQuiston, Reply by Peter Green, The New York Review of Books, October 11, 1979[1]
2. ^ "(Barbara Mertz / Elizabeth Peters / Barbara Michaels) Biography in her own words"[2]

External links

• Official Web Site
• Fantastic Fiction Author Page

Further reading

• Foxwell, Elizabeth. "Novels of Many Shadows: The Messages of Barbara Michaels." Armchair Detective 29.3 (Summer 1996): 330-33.

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