''Seeing a Large Cat'' is the ninth novel in the

Amelia Peabody Amelia Peabody Emerson is the protagonist of the Amelia Peabody series, a series of historical mystery novels written by author Elizabeth Peters (a pseudonym of Egyptologist Barbara Mertz, 1927–2013). Peabody is married to Egyptologist Radcl ...

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...

series by

Elizabeth Peters Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 – August 8, 2013) 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 Univers ...

. The story takes place during the season of 1903-1904.

Plot summary

The book opens at Amelia's favorite hotel, Shepheard's in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

, where her family reunites after a summer in various locations. The Emersons' son Ramses (now aged sixteen) and their adopted son David have been living in Egypt for six months, and their ward Nefret has been studying anatomy with

Louisa Aldrich-Blake Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake (15 August 1865 – 28 December 1925) was a pioneering surgeon and one of the first British women to enter the world of modern medicine. Born in Chingford, Essex, she was the eldest daughter of a curate. ...

at the

London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...

. The Emersons receive a dire warning about staying away from an undiscovered tomb, which of course inspires them to hunt all the harder for it. Meanwhile, a silly American debutante insists she needs protection from a stalker (selecting Ramses for the job), and a mummy swathed in modern clothing begins to lend verisimilitude to her otherwise unconvincing narrative. The characters of Donald and Enid Fraser from '' Lion in the Valley'' reappear in this novel. They are in Cairo, accompanied by a woman who claims to have communicated with an ancient Egyptian princess and unwittingly triggered Donald's obsession with finding the princess's tomb. The American Cyrus Vandergelt is another character who reappears from an earlier novel. This volume marks the death of the cat Bastet and the first whiskey Ramses is permitted to imbibe (although the two events are not directly related). The device of "Manuscript H" is used for the first time in this book to give a voice to Ramses, through whom the romantic and adventurous elements of the series are able to continue as his parents begin to age. In the course of the mystery, Amelia discovers that her old admirer and adversary, Sethos (the "master criminal") is not dead, as was thought to be the case earlier in the series.

Awards

The novel was nominated for an Agatha Award in the "Best Novel" category in 1997.

References

{{Amelia Peabody 1997 novels Amelia Peabody Fiction set in 1903 Fiction set in 1904 Novels set in Cairo Novels set in hotels

Plot summary

Awards

See also

References