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    Crocodile on the Sandbank
    Crocodile on the Sandbank
    Crocodile on the Sandbank
    Audiobook9 hours

    Crocodile on the Sandbank

    Written by Elizabeth Peters

    Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to Egypt, Amelia encounters a young woman named Evelyn Barton-Forbes. The two become fast friends and travel on together, encountering mysteries, missing mummies, and Radcliffe Emerson, a dashing and opinionated archaeologist who doesn't need a woman's help -- or so he thinks.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJul 29, 2004
    ISBN9781440780769
    Crocodile on the Sandbank
    Author

    Elizabeth Peters

    Elizabeth Peters earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago’s famed Oriental Institute. During her fifty-year career, she wrote more than seventy novels and three nonfiction books on Egypt. She received numerous writing awards and, in 2012, was given the first Amelia Peabody Award, created in her honor. She died in 2013, leaving a partially completed manuscript of The Painted Queen.

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    Reviews for Crocodile on the Sandbank

    4/5

    1,725 ratings141 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Well, you should definitely read this as an historical document, not only regarding the subject matter of Egypt in the 1800s, but as the type of Novel that it is: one of the early women's empowerment stories from the 60s and 70s, a veritable Nancy Drew clone, for grown ups. If you loved Nancy Drew as a child like I did, you will be able to tolerate the quirky style and unmodern difficulties. There is blatant racism here, just like in those old Nancy Drew books, as well as unapologetic, insufferable British classism and imperialism. The narrator and main character at first seems to be a profoundly annoying curmudgeon. -But if you remember the time period that the story was written, and again take it all in as an example of the very early forays into the attempt at writing from a women's perspective about women claiming their own power, it's a fun and educational read. I used to love Nancy Drew stories. As a modern adult, they are now horrifyingly unreadable because of all of the racial stereotypes and the classism. For some reason this one was more palatable, and I will continue reading the rest of the series. With a very large grain of salt.
    • 5/5
      I love this book and the characters are great. Lovely and well read.
    • 4/5
      The beginning of a thrilling journey through Egypt with a now favorite family. A wonderful writing.
    • 4/5
      Love the series and the narrator is superb. The main character is amusing and a complete caricature of the quintessential Englishwoman. Great fun.
    • 2/5
      My tolerance for glibness and murder has decreased a good deal in my old age.
    • 5/5
      I throughly enjoyed this book, easy listen plus great story of a unstoppable woman.
    • 3/5
      Amelia Peabody, a Victorian feminist, receives upon the death of her father the wherewithal to travel. She, the plain spinster of strong will and strong opinions begins her travel in Rome where she meets Evelyn Barton-Forbes and befriends her, this young woman who has been ruined and abandoned by her fortune-hunting lover. Together the two women travel to Cairo and journey down the Nile, where they join the archeological dig of the Emerson brothers, as Amelia doctors Radcliffe Evelyn sketches walls of hieroglyphs. There are midnight apparitions, suspicious accidents, native unrest and after Lord Ellesmere arrives superstitious workers who refuse to work. While Amelia is convinced that there is a plot to harm Evelyn, she won’t abandon her love of archeology and pyramids.I have read a few of the Amelia Peabody series, but before electronic publishing, you always missed some. Well-written, but has a slow-paced middle, however once you get to the action the pace picks up. Enjoyed!
    • 5/5
      Loved everything about it! Great mood booster. Amelia Peabody is an inspiration!
    • 4/5
      Achei os capítulos muito longos e demorei horrores na leitura mas achei a história bem agradável. Gostei das personagens mas ainda não seu se vou dar continuidade a série.
    • 4/5
      I have heard about this series for a long time and yet I was surprised by how much I liked it. Was I surprised with the ending? No. Did I still enjoy the whole experience? Absolutely.

      First of all, intelligent characters. And more precisely, not only intelligent but also fun at the same time. And not only the main heroine, but all other characters too. Amelia could easily become annoying. Let's be honest, her character is constantly balancing on the thin line between intelligent comic and being annoying for the reader. But fortunately, this line is rarely crossed. As a result, we gain an interesting intelligent character who is aware of her weaknesses and faults.

      I rarely like first-person narrative books. Usually, being in the head of the main character is not a pleasant experience. But in this case it was not like that at all. I didn't even notice that Amelia is the narrator of this story. This is a big plus.

      The whole story is also quite interesting, kept me reading whole day. As I said, I wasn't surprised by the ending. Behind the whole plan there was a person I suspected from the very beginning and motives that I also predicted. And let's be honest there were no other candidates and the motive seemed quite obvious. The answer to the question about the mummy was also quite clear to me. But even though I wasn't surprised at all, it was great entertainment. The action is very fast, you don't stop for a moment.

      Amelia's relationship with Emerson is a source of great funny dialogues. I'm also happy that Evelyn is a much stronger character than you may think at first. The only person who really irritated me from the very beginning was Lucas. In my opinion his character could be a bit toned down for the benefit of the whole story. I hope Evelyn and Walter appear in the next books in this series, too.

      I am really curious about Amelia and Emerson's further adventures. And it will be nice to see them as a married couple. I will definitely read one of the next books in this series.
    • 5/5
      La lot of ironic melodrama, quite amusing if drawn out. No real twists in the mystery.
    • 4/5
      I'm relatively new to historical mysteries, and am a bit overwhelmed at all the 20-book mystery series clamoring for my attention. Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael is one, and Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series has also been recommended. And now I've gone and got myself entangled with another fascinating historical detective, Amelia Peabody. In this first adventure, Amelia is a 32-year-old confirmed spinster who is travelling the world for the first time. Her scholarly father recently died, leaving her his not-inconsiderable fortune, and Amelia's main problem is finding a suitable companion to accompany her. Then she meets up with Evelyn Barton-Forbes, an erstwhile heiress who has thrown away everything to run away with her tutor Alberto... and who has been thrown away by him once her grandfather disowned her. Amelia decides Evelyn will be the perfect companion, and they set off down the Nile to spend the winter seeing the sights. They didn't bargain on meeting the Emerson brothers again, this time on a dig. Nor did they expect to see a mummy they dug up come to life to haunt the camp at night! What is going on?Amelia, our narrator, is a hardcore feminist and while this certainly makes for an entertaining narrative voice — especially in 1880's Victorian world — sometimes it gets a bit wearing. Could there really have been a woman in Victorian England who enunciated the modern feminist movement so clearly? I love strong women in literature, but I also love historical accuracy. Though Deanna Raybourn's Lady Jane Grey books are generally inferior to the Amelia Peabody books (at least to Crocodile, anyways — can't speak for the rest till I've read them), one of the things I appreciated in Silent in the Grave was the heroine's struggle to be an independent woman while still working within the conventions of her time. That feels so much more realistic to me. (Of course, Raybourn then goes on to spoil that fascinating development by falling into the completely-modern-woman-wearing-period-clothes trap in her next two books. *sigh*)I also didn't care for the offhand way the children were mentioned; at the end Amelia mentions having her first child between the main archaeological seasons so she will get all that out of the way and be able to work. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but it sounds like archaeology (read: career) is more important than one's children. I think it's possible to have both, sure, but it seems problematic to hint that they should be equally important. It will be interesting to see where Peters goes in later books with the religious aspects of the Victorian period. There are some benign references to Christianity and other faiths, and some not so benign. It would be a pity to wrench such a promising start into a mere mouthpiece to criticize religion. We shall see!Overall, I was quite entertained by this little mystery, though I did guess its solution about halfway through. Feminism and Egyptology and humor and romance — what a heady mix! I'm looking forward to reading more about Amelia, despite the way this will interfere with my neat reading plans. I suppose I should be grateful that there are only 18 books in this series...
    • 3/5
      I am always looking for new series to start and came across this one about Ms. Peabody by Elizabeth Peters on Goodreads. I enjoyed this first book in the series, although I did not find it to be exceptional. It tells the story of a very intelligent and funny English woman who inherited great wealth from her late father and is bordering on the verge of becoming a spinster. She travels to Rome and later Egypt where she meets up with the other major characters and the mystery of the book takes place.

      What I most enjoyed about this book was the language, the time period, and the characters. I enjoyed the interplay and the role of gender between the major characters. I liked the social commentary about English vs. Egyptian social roles and norms. I thought the story itself was rather simple, and it is fairly obvious who the culprits are fairly early in the story.

      I will give this series a chance and will read the next book.
    • 3/5
      Well this was a bit of fun. The character of Amelia Peabody was quite entertaining and the plot felt like an adult version of a Scooby-Doo cartoon. As cute as it was, I don't think I'll go any further with this series. One was enough.
    • 5/5
      The best of all the Amelia Peabody collection. Crime, Egypt, tombs, sickness, Mummy's, murder, intrigue, love...what more could anyone ask for in a book?

      I've read the entire Amelia Peabody series, with the exception of last year's Book 19, and I will always believe that THIS book is the BEST of the series. Not because the series gets worse, but because I fell in love with Radcliffe Emerson in this story. And it made me want to be Amelia Peabody.

      I want to be Amelia, in Amarna, with Radcliffe. I want to be on my knees on a plank of wood, lying across that beautiful ancient pavement, protecting it with my bloody fingers. That poor pavement!

      I love Evelyn and her relationship with Amelia, I love how insecure and yet strong she can be, how she interacts with Walter and Radcliffe. Evelyn is a tamer version Amelia, for me, and she will always get away with things that no-one else can get away with. I so love meeting new characters. Especially when they're of this caliber.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorites! Great start to a wonderful series!
    • 4/5
      Actual Rating: 4.25This isn't a perfect book by any means but having been written in the 1970s, set in 1880, I was very pleasantly surprised! I officially love the characters, Evelyn, Amelia, Walter and even Emerson. They are complex individuals and while sometimes I wanted to smack them, I have fallen in love with them! They have their faults but they are good people.Amelia is the stubborn, bad-ass feminist set in the 1880s I didn't know I needed.The plot is slow I guess but I enjoyed reading it. The writing flowed well to me and it was, exactly like it says, a cozy read. And as I got closer to the end I was enjoying trying to figure out the mystery and no, I didn't figure it out until it told me! That ending! <3
    • 4/5
      Unabridged audio. A fun mystery-adventure. The main character is a smart, independent woman who manages to not be obnoxious in spite of her bossiness. She swears off men, but is not a man-hater — definitely a refreshing change, there. The romantic lead is a gruff, sometimes rude, scientist who appreciates an intelligent woman who doesn’t collapse with the vapors at a hint of adversity. The mystery involves a mummy returned to haunt the expedition as they excavate an archaeological site. The ending is a bit predictable, but the storytelling makes it easy to overlook this aspect and get caught up in the tale. Definitely will be checking out the rest of the series.
    • 3/5
      1/23/12
      This book was ok just the romance between the two younger characters seemed drawn out and slow, especially after the love at first sight. If this is the way Victorians actually arranged to get married, the British Isles would have a much lower population.

      The mystery itself was pretty decent and the setting as well as the writing were much better then the romance parts. Amelia and Emerson are an entertaining pair of characters. I’ll try the second book in the series eventually, now that the tedious romance has been resolved.

      1/15/17
      I actually liked this much more this time around, rated it 2 stars in 2012, 3 1/2 2017, the romance seemed much more likely given the time and the mystery was still interesting. Usually I only re-read books I've given a high rating to, seems like I might give more lower rated books a chance in the future.
    • 4/5
      I've now read this three times, I just can't remember exact dates -- there's no ritual re-read on June 29.

      I love Amelia Peabody -- I love her parasol wielding ferocity, her outspoken opinions, her snobbish British upper class self, with its disdain for propriety that doesn't suit her and her big heart. I find her exasperating, endearing, hilarious, and I deeply enjoy her fraught, over-the-top Victorian adventures.

      That said, oh, damn, why do I love a book set so firmly in British Colonialism, with all its toxic, reeking miasma of racist opinions and filthy behavior? I think the opinions of Egyptians expressed in this book are rancid and ignorant. I think this changes and develops over time, so I will see how much it continues as I re-read the series on audio.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      In the 1880s forceful Amelia Peabody has at 32 inherited a fortune, and has decided to indulge her desire to travel and her passion in Egyptology. On her way to Cairo she meets Evelyn Barton-Forbes and they join together to travel down the Nile. Her adventure really starts when they meet the Emerson brothers.
      A very enjoyable well-written read
    • 5/5
      Amelia Peabody is an independent woman. After caring for her father until his death, she learns that she has inherited his considerable fortune and decides to travel the world. She's 32 but proprieties demand that she have a companion. When her current companion proves to be unsatisfactory, she rescues a young woman named Evelyn Barton-Forbes to be her new companion.Evelyn had run away with an unsuitable man who has now abandoned her in Rome. Her wealthy grandfather disinherited her and she is without hope. Amelia takes her under her wing and together the two head off for Egypt. Amelia falls in love with Egypt and with archaeology but danger seems to be following them. On a trip up the Nile they meet the Emerson brothers who are archaeologists. The younger is Walter. He and Evelyn fall in love but she feels that, as a ruined woman, she has nothing to offer him. The older brother is Radcliffe who is as opinionated and strong-minded as Amelia herself. The two butt heads from the moment they meet. Their interaction was really fun to read.The story is told from Amelia's point-of-view which is a unique one. She embodies most of the virtues and faults of the the wealthy Victorian lady tourist. She is certain that things would run better if people would just let her be in charge!Susan O'Malley did a great job bringing Amelia to life. She also did an excellent job with the other characters.
    • 3/5
      It's an easy read, not a bad book, but I wouldn't reread it. It's nice if you want something light and easy that you can start and finish on the same day.

      I thought the mystery was not well plotted and I pretty much guessed it before Amelia and Evelyn even left Cairo. The characterization was a bit shallow, some were sort of blank slates and others were just underdeveloped. I also didn't like how Amelia and Emerson's relationship was developed. It would have been nice if they came to see each other as friends and equals by the end of the book, and then their relationship evolves into a romantic one in the next book. But it happened too quickly at the end of this book that it was just not believable due to how their relationship developed in the majority of the novel.
    • 5/5
      I do love Amelia Peabody (Emerson) more than almost any other character. She is hilariously unreliable, steadfastly British, and filled with a passion for life that I both empathize with and want to emulate. These books are so much fun and I'm so glad to be revisiting them!
    • 2/5
      I know a lot of people really like this series, but I won't be continuing with it. I really enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. The content though was rough. The mystery was not very mysterious and the characters are so grounded in colonial white aristocracy that it is grating to listen to them.
    • 4/5
      Would have been twice as good with a lesbian romance (the first half is super super slashy, yall), but that said, it's pretty good anyway.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      While the story got a little Scooby-Doo-ish at the end, it's still a very enjoyable book, and I look forward to reading (or listening to) the rest of the series.
    • 4/5
      Spunky main character with a panache for adventure. Even though the social norms of the time won't allow a woman to travel to Egypt alone this doesn't stop our heroine from finding a way. An engaging read and kept my attention the whole time. Plus, I learned a little bit more about Egypt and want to travel there now to see the places Elizabeth Peters takes us.
    • 4/5
      Fun light reading. First in a series that make me want to read more and gave me an urge to put floating down the Nile on my travel bucket list.
    • 3/5
      Nice little mystery with some interesting facts about Egyptology. Amelia Peabody is a smart, albeit smug, independent woman in the late 19th century, who finds high adventure among the pyramids and dunes of Egypt. Barbara Rosenblat reads the audio version and does a wonderful job, although her voice sounds much older than the supposed 32 year old Amelia.