From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Barbara Mertz (born September 29, 1927) is an American 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

Fiction written as Elizabeth Peters

Amelia Peabody

As of 2006, 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 another child). The stories are nearly all set 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. 1975.   Covers the 1884–85 Season^[3].
2. The Curse of the Pharaohs. 1981.   Covers the 1892–93 Season^[3].
3. The Mummy Case. 1985.   Covers the 1894–95 Season^[3].
4. Lion in the Valley. 1986.   Covers the 1895–96 Season^[3].
5. The Deeds of the Disturber. 1988.   Covers Summer 1896^[3].
6. The Last Camel Died at Noon. 1991.   Covers the 1897–98 Season^[3].
7. The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog. 1992.   Covers the 1898–99 Season^[3].
8. The Hippopotamus Pool. 1996.   Covers the 1899–1900 Season^[3].
9. Seeing a Large Cat. 1997.   Covers the 1903–04 Season^[3].
10. The Ape Who Guards the Balance. 1998.   Covers the 1906–07 Season^[3].
11. The Falcon at the Portal. 1999.   Covers the 1911–12 Season^[3].
12. He Shall Thunder in the Sky. 2000.   Covers the 1914–15 Season^[3].
13. Lord of the Silent. 2001.   Covers the 1915–16 Season^[3].
14. The Golden One. 2002.   Covers the 1916–17 Season^[3].
15. Children of the Storm. April 2003.   Covers the 1919–20 Season^[3].
16. Guardian of the Horizon. March 2004.   Covers the 1907–08 Season.
17. The Serpent on the Crown. March 2005.   Covers the 1922 Season
18. Tomb of the Golden Bird. March 2006.  

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

According to the MPM June 2009 newsletter, "A River in the Sky" will be published in Spring of 2010.^[4]

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.

Jacqueline makes her first appearance as an unwilling detective in The Seventh Sinner. Though it was intended as a stand-alone novel, her maturity, quirkiness, and pursuit of romantic relationships made her a standout. The character blossomed with Murders of Richard III and Die For Love, the latter of which featured her wearing increasingly outrageous costumes, and launching on a career as a romance novelist. This new storyline continues with Jacqueline writing a sequel to a "famous" prehistoric romance novel in 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)

Fiction written as 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]
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} "Timeline". Amelia Peabody Series. Elizabeth Peters. http://www.ameliapeabody.com/timeline.htm.  
4. ^ MPM Books

Further reading

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

External links

• Official Web Site
• Barbara Michaels at Fantastic Fiction
• Elizabeth Peters at Fantastic Fiction
• Barbara Mertz at Goodreads
• Elizabeth Peters at Goodreads
• Barbara Michaels at Goodreads