Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody #1) by Elizabeth Peters

I bless the person who told me about the Amelia Peabody mysteries written by Elizabeth Peters, the pen name of Barbara Mertz, whose delightful non-fiction accounts of ancient Egypt have so enthralled me. So it was with this knowledge that I went into Crocodile on a Sandbank (the first in the series). I was not disappointed. 

Amelia is a woman who knows her own mind. Her father, somewhat of a scholar, indulged her when she grew up – hence as a spinster, she's not at all interested in the traditional roles expected for a woman of her standing during the late nineteenth century. Not only does she know her own mind, but she also is a woman of independent means, and she decides to see the world after her father's passing leaves her well off.

After she crosses paths with the unfortunate, disgraced Evelyn, and after saving her from certain death, has Evelyn accompany her to Egypt. Here they bump into two Egyptologist brothers – Radcliffe and Walter – who are busy excavating in Tell el-Amarna. 

Look, I'm not going to spoil a story where obviously many hijinks ensue. Mertz writes with great wit and humour, and her love and understanding of ancient Egypt and the early days of Egyptology shine through. There are 20 novels in this series, so I'm confident that I have many wonderful hours ahead of me. This edition was narrated by Barbara Rosenblat, who delivers the narrative with much vivacity – so much so that it feels as if the characters leapt off the pages and took up residence in my imagination rent free.

In fact, it's a sin that we don't have a TV series based on Mertz's writing yet. There is so much fodder here for an excellent adaption. But then again, perhaps it is better that the stories don't make it to the screen. Crocodile on a Sandbank captures the essence of an era, with a ring of authenticity that does rather illustrate the casual jingoism of the time. (Which may annoy some.)

Amelia Peabody, however, is a delight, in an era where women traditionally did not have agency. Her gleeful disregard of societal norms had me giggling throughout, and what rudimentary knowledge I possess of Egyptology meant that I had a solid understanding of the setting and some of the societal dynamics. I'm looking forward to the titles that follow.

Red Land, Black Land – Daily Life in Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz

Ever since I first encountered Barbara Mertz's writing, I've fallen in love with her voice and style, and her Red Land, Black Land – Daily Life in Ancient Egypt really hit the mark for me considering that I'm currently doing an absolute ton of research for a novel I'm working on. But first a word on the narrator, Lorna Raver, who really captures the author's somewhat cheeky, often humorous tone. She most certainly adds a whole extra dimension to the listening experience.

As the book's title suggests, this is an overview of daily life in Egypt, from the royal pinnacle of ancient Egyptian civilisation, the pharaoh and his pyramids, all the way down to the Black Land's peasants. In it, we gain an almost tactile idea of what life during the ancient times must have been like – what people wore, how they built their homes, what pets they kept, what they ate. For a subject that can, excuse my choice of words, be as dry as dust, Barbara injects wit and verve into the text in a way that makes for an engaging journey of discovery.

Some of you might have encountered Barbara Mertz's Amelia Peabody mysteries (which I recently started reading, and let me tell you the writing is a treasure), so to have this book filled with such a comprehensive overview of what life during the ancient times was possibly like is marvellous. It's difficult to parse that the book first came out more than fifty years ago! The prose still feels fresh, and while I'm sure there are plenty more discoveries we can discuss, if you're new to ancient Egypt (or like me, even if you're not) Red Land, Black Land will still take you on a vastly entertaining and informative journey of discovery.

I could probably be an endless Barbara Mertz fangrrrl so I'm going to leave off here by saying that if you're looking for an introduction into ancient Egypt, then you cannot go wrong with the two non-fiction books she wrote on the topic. I've finally tracked down a hard copy of Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs, and I'll continue trawling second-hand bookshops until I find Red Land, Black Land.

Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz

If you're looking for an absolute treat in terms of ancient Egyptian history, then look no further than Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz. I got my version off Audible and it's narrated by the absolutely delightful Lorna Raver, who conveys Mertz's almost puckish humour so brilliantly.

Mertz takes us on a journey from Egypt's ancient past, looking at everything from the people and their customs, to the mythology and the land's rulers. You'd think that so much history packed into one volume might end up dry and tiresome, but Mertz has a way with words to make old bones spring to life.

She's quite clear that much of what she shares is her interpretation of events – and she does bring in discussion of where her points of view differ from others, which I appreciated. But there is a liveliness to her account that I've so far found lacking in other tomes, so if you're not all that academically minded yet have an interest, then this is a good place to start. And I think even if you are an academic, you may well enjoy Mertz's writing for the sheer exuberance that she brings into her words.

There's a little bit of everything here, and although my general knowledge of ancient Egyptian history is pretty solid, I still discovered new stories and insights that further emphasised why I love this particular civilisation so much. Granted, the downside of the audiobook is that there's no access to the graphics that one would encounter in a physical book, but overall, the narration more than makes up for this lack. And if I do ever come across a copy in a bookshop, I know for a fact it will be an insta-buy for me.

I'm so glad that I've had my introduction to Barbara Mertz's writing, and I will most certainly be hunting down more copies of her work.