strange and random happenstance

The British do love their holiday ghost stories, so it only makes sense that they took that tradition to the television. Starting in 1971 they started adapting ghost stories written by M.R. James for the holiday season starring acting luminaries such as Robert Hardy, Clive Swift, Peter Vaughan, Barbara Ewing, Lalla Ward, Denholm Elliott, and Peter Bowles. They even adapted a Charles Dickens tale before foolheartedly deciding to create their own original content. Two abysmal stories, "Stigma" and "The Ice House," seemed to put the nail in the coffin of this series. But it was so beloved, with fans clamoring for remastered releases and Blu-ray sets, that that wasn't the end. The show returned in 2005 going back to it's origins by adapting an M.R. James story, "A View from a Hill." Once again they brought in the top names in acting, starting with Pip Torrens, Greg Wise, John Hurt, and many others. After his adaptation of 'The Tractate Middoth" in 2013 Mark Gatiss took over the show delivering it once again on a yearly schedule starting with an original episode in 2018. Thankfully Simon Callow was able to make "The Dead Room" work whereas Peter Bowles had let "Stigma" flounder. But I think that wasn't just down to acting, I really do think it was the material. And Mark Gatiss, bless his heart, just somehow is able to embody a bygone era whereas the writers in the seventies had other ideas. Bad ideas. Incestous flora ideas. And seriously, what was with the blood just oozing out of that poor lady's pores? Aside from that one original episode all the episodes in what we shall call the revival for lack of a better word have been adapted from the work of M.R. James. Except for this past year's. This past year's was adapted from "Lot No. 249" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This episode has it all, Kit Harington being a stuffy and incredulous nonbeliever of the supernatural, Freddie Fox being a fey and dangerous man who with longer hair unnervingly looks like his sister, and a man who may or may not be Sherlock Holmes played by John Heffernan, a man who should have definitely said no to that horrid Dracula adaptation by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, and in the coup de grace, a mummy who will deliver your coup de grace. This episode might just be my favorite among the revival episodes. Well, I do love a good haunting by mummy, and Conan Doyle, like the episode adapted from Dickens, seems to work a little better than the stories by M.R. James. I'm not saying there aren't genius episodes adapted from his work, they're just a little more nebulous, a little more open ended. Sometimes, even when dealing with the supernatural, you want a definitive ending, but if you're M.R. James how about some creepy kids wandering off eerily playing the hurdy-gurdy? You think I jest? Just watch "Lost Hearts" and I'll be over here laughing while you're unable to sleep. Sadly it looks like this tradition might be coming to an end due to budgetary concerns. While I only caught the revival episodes the last two years and was finally able to see the original run this year I think this fate is a shame. It's a tradition that survived whatever "The Ice House" was and I want it to continue for many many years to come. It's not like we're going to run out of material now is it? There's always a ghost story to tell for Christmas.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Ghost Story for Christmas, And the Emmy Goes To, Charles Dickens, Denholm Elliott, Freddie Fox, Kit Harington, Lot No. 249, M.R. James, Mark Gatiss, Mummy, Peter Bowles, Robert Hardy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Published by: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 1967
Format: Paperback, 240 Pages
To Buy

My mom has always been a fan of Zilpha Keatley Snyder. She's one of the few authors I was allowed to order from my school book program. I have an old Scholastic copy of The Egypt Game and I was obsessed with that cover. In fact, I had many books when younger that I was meaning to read which instead I would just look at the cover and make up my own story in my head. I was convinced that The Egypt Game would be too scary. This was probably due to my Dad and brother. While me now has a deep abiding love of all things Egyptian, I literally can not get enough, me then was convinced mummy curses were real and they were coming for me. Actually I still think mummy curses are real, they're just not coming for me because I'm not stupid enough to mess with them. But I remember going to Chicago to see King Tut. It was a big family trip where we were meeting up with my cousin and Aunt who lived down there and all going to The Field Museum to see Tut. We got there and my Dad and brother informed me that if I looked on the boy King I would get the curse. I spent the trip in the stairwell crying. Therefore reading a book called The Egypt Game that I got around this same time seemed dire folly. YOU DO NOT MESS WITH MUMMIES! Though I'm glad I didn't read the book then, just making my nightmares worse, because now I can enjoy it with hindsight and the knowledge I'm reading yet another book my mother loved.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Chicago, Curses, Egypt, King Tut, Mummy, Scholastic, The Egypt Games, The Field Museum, These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The Deeds of the Disturber, Amelia Peabody Book 5 by Elizabeth Peters
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: 1988
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
Challenge: Valley of the Kings, Mystery and Suspense 2011
Rating: ★★★
To Buy(different edition than one reviewed)

Heading back to England after their run-in with the master criminal, Amelia Peabody Emerson and her husband are hoping to spend the summer finishing up Emerson's manuscript that was due at the publishers quite awhile ago. But even on the return journey it looks as if that might not be the case. There has been a mysterious death at the British Museum. A death that just happened to have occurred in front of a mummy. All of London has an Egyptological fervor which reaches critical mass when a mysterious priest starts to visit the mummy. It should perhaps be mentioned that he was wearing historically accurate garb, animal prints and all, that the lay person would not know to employ. Further adding to their troubles is their old "friend" the journalist O'Connell as well as Amelia's niece and nephew, whom she unwittingly agrees to care for. O'Connell has brought the Emersons into the case saying that they will consult upon their return to England. O'Connell, of course, failed to consult them before making this wild claim. But he does know them almost better than they know themselves, because there is no way they can stay away from this story. Soon they have another reporter on their tail, a Miss Minton. Between the goings on at the museum and trying to avoid reporters all day it's sure to get worse before it gets better. Soon another death occurs and the police arrest the wrong man, or so O'Connell swears.

"Officially" delving into the investigation, the two Egyptologists are soon sneaking off to opium dens, running into Emerson's ex-flames, dealing with aristocrats, because they just seem to come out of the woodwork, and star crossed lovers, which Emerson just wishes would go away. With Amelia's rising jealousy of Emerson's past life and the escalation of bizarre incidents at the museum, it's no wonder that soon there's a few kidnappings and imprisonments and recreations of Egyptian rituals. Because once the Emerson's are involved, there's investigations and counter investigations and secrets half told, but at the end of the day, the bad guy will be locked up, with or without the help of the police.

I love Amelia and Emerson, I really really do, which is why it hurts me to say that this wasn't my favorite story. At first I was concerned that I would dislike it due to it's not being set in Egypt. But surprisingly, London really worked well. The atmosphere, the fog, oh yes, the fog, perfect for mysterious people to appear and disappear into. I just feel that this relied on too many cliches and was just lackluster in the extreme. Perhaps the fact that it was the only book that was out of print, until recently, should have been a clue. I will only focus on the two things that made me mad... ok three, or maybe four, but one can be mentioned really quickly. With all Amelia's understanding of humans, how could she not see that her nephew was a little evil bully. It' was so obvious, also, they could have gone a more interesting way with the niece and her screaming of dead over and over again... like what if she had seen a murder? Oh, I would so like that, the little curly haired annoyance would need therapy for years.

Next, Emerson and Amelia's love life. I adore that they still love each other so much, but one can only take so much of their amorous affections before it becomes over the top and a little sickening. I get how wonderful Emerson is, everyone falls for him, heck, I've fallen for him, I do not now need hundreds of little asides to reassure me of this. Which then leads to... if they are so in love, how can Amelia doubt that love? Their relationship has always been so solid, so in sync. Yet here we have constant doubts. What the what I say? It's absurd, their love is a given, so why do this Elizabeth Peters? WHY!?! You're tearing yourself down. Just stop it. Also, random aside, not part of my four points, how is it they haven't had like 50 million children like Evelyn?

As my final point, in my, what were you thinking Elizabeth Peters? An Egyptian Hellfire-esque Club, really? The Hellfire Club gets used so much in these period pieces, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. This is definitely one of the not times. If you're going to do it, do it all out, like in The Young Sherlock Holmes. I still get nightmares from that! This, I could barely be bothered to read it. I was almost skimming near the end, something I never, never do! Also with the syphilitic lordling and his friend, who cares. I kept getting them mixed up because they both had so many differing titles that I didn't know who was who. Stick to one naming convention and leave it at that. Don't confuse and alienate the readers! Ok, soapbox put away. Niece and nephew, check, love life, check, jealousy, check, Hellfire club, check. Looks like I've covered what I disliked thoroughly. I did still enjoy it, don't get me wrong, the ranting is just some things that got under my skin. I'm just concerned about which way this series is headed. This book was the first that felt almost like a parody of itself, take a cursed mummy, throw in some lines about the wonders of Emerson, add a Ramses mishap (with fire this time) and set page count for the late 300s, print.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2011 Reading Challenge, Amelia Peabody, British Museum, Egypt, Elizabeth Peters, Emerson, Hellfire Club, Mummy, Ramses, The Deeds of the Disturber, The Young Sherlock Holmes

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Published by: Grand Central
Publication Date: 1975
Format: Paperback, 262 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Crocodile on the Sandbank is the first in the beloved Amelia Peabody series. Literally for years every author I love and whose opinions I respect, from Charlaine Harris to Lauren Willig to Colleen Gleason to R.L. LaFevers, have said that these books are dear to their hearts. With so much to recommend it, along with the fact I love Egypt you'd think I'd have picked the series up sooner. Well you'd think that, but sometimes when everyone's on the bandwagon, I like to be over to the side, thinking, I'm sure I won't like it, the covers are so tacky, I'm sure everyone is wrong. Well those days of doubt are over. I love Amelia Peabody! While everyone says, it's basically a female Indiana Jones, I find the writing style is more reminiscent of Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone or The Woman in White, so moody and Victorian.

The book starts with our erstwhile heroine, Amelia, inheriting her fathers estate, which turned out to be quite significant. She's a no-nonsense, parasol wielding, intelligent woman of 32, which makes her think of herself as a spinster. She decides to embark on a grand voyage to see all that she and her father read about in books. From Rome to Egypt, she wants to see it all. She hires herself a companion, one who's a little frail because she likes to mother people, only to have her frailty leave Amelia sans companion by the time she's in Rome. She literally stumbles upon Evelyn, a once wealthy and beautiful girl brought to the verge of suicide by running away with an Italian drawing instructor. Well Amelia doesn't give a fig about the "ruined" label and takes Evelyn on as her companion as they travel to Egypt.

Once in Egypt they encounter the Emerson brothers. The sweet Walter and the gruff yet suspiciously Darcy-esque Radcliffe who are planning on excavating at Amarna on the banks of the Nile. Evelyn and Walter fall instantly and madly in love, though Evelyn vows to never burden Walter by marrying him, due to her despoiling. Before Amelia and Evelyn leave Cairo, Evelyn's cousin, Lucas, arrives to tell her of their Grandfather's death due to the shock of Evelyn leaving. Lucas declares that though he inherited the family fortune because of Evelyn's fall from grace, he would love her to become his wife and share the fortune that should have rightfully been hers. She rejects him but he vows to follow them down the Nile and convince her.

Amelia and Evelyn's journey down the Nile is brought to an abrupt halt when they reach Amarna. Walter meets them and tells them Emerson is deathly sick. Amelia, medical kit in hand saves his life and then saves his archeological discoveries. While Emerson convalesces Amelia is having the time of her life playing at archeologist and Evelyn is having the time of her life with Walter. But strange things start to happen when a mummy is discovered. First it disappears, then the hired locals desert the site saying it's cursed. Finally the mummy starts nighttime perambulations. But this spectre couldn't possibly be supernatural? Could it? And what does it want? Are they to abandon the dig site because it is possessive of it? Or does the mummy really want Evelyn? The strange happenings keep on coming, even after the arrival of Lucas. But despite injury and terror everything works out in the end for our protagonists.

While the plot was predictable to a certain extent and I was able to figure out what was happening long before the characters, this was by no means a flaw. The book is written in such an interesting first person narrative that despite being sure I knew what was going on I was still gripped to the edge of my seat. I found that Evelyn maybe fainted one too many times, but the women are by no means weak, especially if Amelia's parasol is nearby! (This has to be where Lady Gwen gets her parasol in Lauren Willig's books.) I also found it very helpful that I had studied Art History because I knew all about the dig at Amarna and the ruler who believed in the one true God, the Sun. Who knew that I could find such enjoyable entertainment from Ancient to Renaissance Art classes? I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Egyptology, even if your interest has only been The Mummy movies so far!

*Reposted to coincide with February's Desert Sands Month

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amarna, Amelia Peabody, Book Review, Charlaine Harris, Collen Gleason, Darcy, Egypt, Elizabeth Peters, Emerson, Lauren Willig, Mummy, Mystery, Nile, Parasol, R. L. Lafevers

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Published by: Grand Central
Publication Date: 1975
Format: Paperback, 262 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Crocodile on the Sandbank is the first in the beloved Amelia Peabody series. Literally for years every author I love and whose opinions I respect, from Charlaine Harris to Lauren Willig to Colleen Gleason to R.L. LaFevers, have said that these books are dear to their hearts. With so much to recommend it, along with the fact I love Egypt you'd think I'd have picked the series up sooner. Well you'd think that, but sometimes when everyone's on the bandwagon, I like to be over to the side, thinking, I'm sure I won't like it, the covers are so tacky, I'm sure everyone is wrong. Well those days of doubt are over. I love Amelia Peabody! While everyone says, it's basically a female Indiana Jones, I find the writing style is more reminiscent of Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone or The Woman in White, so moody and Victorian.

The book starts with our erstwhile heroine, Amelia, inheriting her fathers estate, which turned out to be quite significant. She's a no-nonsense, parasol wielding, intelligent woman of 32, which makes her think of herself as a spinster. She decides to embark on a grand voyage to see all that she and her father read about in books. From Rome to Egypt, she wants to see it all. She hires herself a companion, one who's a little frail because she likes to mother people, only to have her frailty leave Amelia sans companion by the time she's in Rome. She literally stumbles upon Evelyn, a once wealthy and beautiful girl brought to the verge of suicide by running away with an Italian drawing instructor. Well Amelia doesn't give a fig about the "ruined" label and takes Evelyn on as her companion as they travel to Egypt.

Once in Egypt they encounter the Emerson brothers. The sweet Walter and the gruff yet suspiciously Darcy-esque Radcliffe who are planning on excavating at Amarna on the banks of the Nile. Evelyn and Walter fall instantly and madly in love, though Evelyn vows to never burden Walter by marrying him, due to her despoiling. Before Amelia and Evelyn leave Cairo, Evelyn's cousin, Lucas, arrives to tell her of their Grandfather's death due to the shock of Evelyn leaving. Lucas declares that though he inherited the family fortune because of Evelyn's fall from grace, he would love her to become his wife and share the fortune that should have rightfully been hers. She rejects him but he vows to follow them down the Nile and convince her.

Amelia and Evelyn's journey down the Nile is brought to an abrupt halt when they reach Amarna. Walter meets them and tells them Emerson is deathly sick. Amelia, medical kit in hand saves his life and then saves his archeological discoveries. While Emerson convalesces Amelia is having the time of her life playing at archeologist and Evelyn is having the time of her life with Walter. But strange things start to happen when a mummy is discovered. First it disappears, then the hired locals desert the site saying it's cursed. Finally the mummy starts nighttime perambulations. But this spectre couldn't possibly be supernatural? Could it? And what does it want? Are they to abandon the dig site because it is possessive of it? Or does the mummy really want Evelyn? The strange happenings keep on coming, even after the arrival of Lucas. But despite injury and terror everything works out in the end for our protagonists.

While the plot was predictable to a certain extent and I was able to figure out what was happening long before the characters, this was by no means a flaw. The book is written in such an interesting first person narrative that despite being sure I knew what was going on I was still gripped to the edge of my seat. I found that Evelyn maybe fainted one too many times, but the women are by no means weak, especially if Amelia's parasol is nearby! (This has to be where Lady Gwen gets her parasol in Lauren Willig's books.) I also found it very helpful that I had studied Art History because I knew all about the dig at Amarna and the ruler who believed in the one true God, the Sun. Who knew that I could find such enjoyable entertainment from Ancient to Renaissance Art classes? I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Egyptology, even if your interest has only been The Mummy movies so far!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amarna, Amelia Peabody, Book Review, Charlaine Harris, Collen Gleason, Darcy, Egypt, Elizabeth Peters, Emerson, Lauren Willig, Mummy, Mystery, Nile, Parasol, R. L. R. L. LaFevers