The Ape Who Guards the Balance
Encyclopedia
The Ape Who Guards the Balance is the tenth in a series of mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody
.
, the divine scribe who waits for the heart of the dead to be weighed on a scale and judged so that he may record its fate; Thoth is usually represented as having the head of an ibis
, but also appears as a baboon
or ape
with the balancing scales.
, 1906-1907. The Emerson clan is trying to determine where to dig during the upcoming season. But before they even leave England, they encounter Sethos
and foil an attempt to kidnap Amelia
. Suspicion for the attempt falls on Sethos, but not everyone is sure.
Upon arriving in Egypt, the children, Nefret
, Ramses
and David
, now in their early twenties but still children to Amelia and Emerson, acquire a magnificent papyrus, but are also stalked. Is Sethos behind this too?
Since Emerson has managed to annoy M. Maspero
to the point of distraction, he is initially not even allowed near the Valley of the Kings
, where another of Emerson’s rivals and targets of invective, Theodore M. Davis
, has the rights to the entire valley. Much to everyone’s surprise (and possibly with Nefret’s help), Emerson is granted permission by Davis to clean up three tombs thought to be already excavated in full, KV3
, KV4
and KV5
.
Not only does his rival Davis find yet another rich tomb, right next to the debris-filled and empty tomb he excavates, once again somebody is still after the Emersons—particularly, it seems, Amelia. But help is on the way, from surprising, or perhaps not so surprising, quarters.
, the greatest irony is that had Emerson continued to dig in KV5, he would have discovered a tomb complex that was far more elaborate than any ever found in Egypt. Instead, the fictional Emerson failed to uncover what the real Dr. Kent Weeks
discovered in 1995, finding the most extensive tomb in the Valley of the Kings, built for the children of Ramesses II
and containing over 150 rooms, many untouched for thousands of years.
Amelia Peabody
Amelia Peabody Emerson is the protagonist of the Amelia Peabody series, a series of mystery novels, written by author Elizabeth Peters. Peabody is married to Egyptologist Radcliffe Emerson and has one biological child, Walter "Ramses" Peabody Emerson, who provides a parallel voice in many of the...
.
Explanation of the novel's title
The book's title refers to the Egyptian god ThothThoth
Thoth was considered one of the more important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine counterpart was Seshat...
, the divine scribe who waits for the heart of the dead to be weighed on a scale and judged so that he may record its fate; Thoth is usually represented as having the head of an ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
, but also appears as a baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
or ape
Ape
Apes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
with the balancing scales.
Plot summary
LuxorLuxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
, 1906-1907. The Emerson clan is trying to determine where to dig during the upcoming season. But before they even leave England, they encounter Sethos
Sethos (Peabody mysteries)
Sethos is the nom de guerre of the shadowy "Master Criminal" in the Amelia Peabody series of mystery novels.-Role in the Novels:He is first encountered in The Mummy Case, as the mastermind of an organized gang of thieves attempting to steal antiquities from Dahshoor, in which he is partially foiled...
and foil an attempt to kidnap Amelia
Amelia Peabody
Amelia Peabody Emerson is the protagonist of the Amelia Peabody series, a series of mystery novels, written by author Elizabeth Peters. Peabody is married to Egyptologist Radcliffe Emerson and has one biological child, Walter "Ramses" Peabody Emerson, who provides a parallel voice in many of the...
. Suspicion for the attempt falls on Sethos, but not everyone is sure.
Upon arriving in Egypt, the children, Nefret
Nefret Emerson
Nefret Emerson is a fictional character from a series of mystery novels written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody....
, Ramses
Ramses Emerson
Walter Peabody Emerson, known universally as “Ramses,” is a fictional character in the Amelia Peabody series of mystery novels set in Victorian Egypt and England, written by author Elizabeth Peters. He is the son of Egyptologists Amelia Peabody and her husband, Professor Radcliffe Emerson...
and David
David Todros
David Todros is a fictional character from a series of mystery novels written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody.David first appears in The Hippopotamus Pool...
, now in their early twenties but still children to Amelia and Emerson, acquire a magnificent papyrus, but are also stalked. Is Sethos behind this too?
Since Emerson has managed to annoy M. Maspero
Gaston Maspero
Gaston Camille Charles Maspero was a French Egyptologist.-Life:Gaston Maspero was born in Paris to parents of Lombard origin. While at school he showed a special taste for history, and by the age of fourteen he was already interested in hieroglyphic writing...
to the point of distraction, he is initially not even allowed near the Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
, where another of Emerson’s rivals and targets of invective, Theodore M. Davis
Theodore M. Davis
Theodore M. Davis was an American lawyer and is best known for his excavations in Egypt's Valley of the Kings between 1902 and 1914.-Biography:...
, has the rights to the entire valley. Much to everyone’s surprise (and possibly with Nefret’s help), Emerson is granted permission by Davis to clean up three tombs thought to be already excavated in full, KV3
KV3
Tomb KV3, located in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, was intended for the burial of an unidentified son of Pharaoh Ramesses III during the early part of the Twentieth Dynasty...
, KV4
KV4
KV4 is a tomb in the Valley of the Kings . The tomb was initiated for the burial of Ramesses XI but it is likely that its construction was abandoned and that it was never used for Ramesses's interment. It also seems likely that Pinedjem I intended to usurp this tomb for his own burial, but that he...
and KV5
KV5
Tomb KV5 is a subterranean, rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings.It belonged to the sons of Ramesses II. Though KV5 was partially excavated as early as 1825, its true extent was discovered by Dr Kent R. Weeks and his exploration team. The tomb is now known to be the largest in the Valley of the...
.
Not only does his rival Davis find yet another rich tomb, right next to the debris-filled and empty tomb he excavates, once again somebody is still after the Emersons—particularly, it seems, Amelia. But help is on the way, from surprising, or perhaps not so surprising, quarters.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
In a link to the real world of EgyptologyEgyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
, the greatest irony is that had Emerson continued to dig in KV5, he would have discovered a tomb complex that was far more elaborate than any ever found in Egypt. Instead, the fictional Emerson failed to uncover what the real Dr. Kent Weeks
Kent R. Weeks
Dr. Kent R. Weeks is an American Egyptologist.He was born in the town of Everett, Washington, United States, where he remembers deciding to be an Egyptologist at the age of eight. Weeks attended R. A. Long High School in Longview, Washington, and graduated in 1959...
discovered in 1995, finding the most extensive tomb in the Valley of the Kings, built for the children of Ramesses II
Ramesses II
Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...
and containing over 150 rooms, many untouched for thousands of years.