The Falcon at the Portal
Encyclopedia
The Falcon at the Portal (1999) is the 11th in a series of mystery novels by Elizabeth Peters, featuring fictional archaeologist and sleuth Amelia Peabody
.
of the Dawn, son of Osiris
. After passing through the underworld, he emerged through the "portal of the dawn" into a new day.
At the end of the book, Amelia dreams of Abdullah, who tells her:
, south of the great pyramids of Giza. David Todros has just been married to Lia, the daughter of Walter and Evelyn Peabody, and the happy couple will be joining the expedition after their honeymoon. The family's happiness is dimmed, however, by allegations that David has been making and selling fake antiquities under the guise of his late grandfather Abdullah's legacy. Ramses
and Nefret
take on the task of ferreting out the source of the rumors - and the fakes - with fears that the Master Criminal is behind it.
Meanwhile, Percy Peabody, Amelia's evil nephew, turns up as a member of the Egyptian Army and an intermittent pest. He has written a lurid (and completely false) memoir about his time in Egypt, keeps proposing to Nefret, and seems up to something, though he doesn't have the brains to be part of the plot the Emersons are investigating.
Two young Americans join the Emersons' dig, Geoffrey Godwin and Jack Reynolds, whose sister sets her sights on Ramses. With this cast of characters, and Ramses' involvement in investigating the illegal drug trade, nothing but the usual peril could ensue.
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 title of the book refers to Harakhte, also known as HorusHorus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
of the Dawn, son of Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
. After passing through the underworld, he emerged through the "portal of the dawn" into a new day.
At the end of the book, Amelia dreams of Abdullah, who tells her:
- "The worst of the storm is yet to come, Sitt. You will need all your courage to survive; but your heart will not fail you, and in the end the clouds will blow away and the falcon will fly through the portal of the dawn."
Plot summary
The 1911 season finds the Emersons planning to excavate at Zawyet el'AryanZawyet el'Aryan
Zawyet el-Aryan is a town in Egypt, located between Giza and Abusir. To the west of the town, just in the desert area, is a necropolis, referred to by the same name. Almost directly east across the Nile is Memphis. In Zawyet el-Aryan, there are 2 pyramid complexes.* The Layer Pyramid was built in...
, south of the great pyramids of Giza. David Todros has just been married to Lia, the daughter of Walter and Evelyn Peabody, and the happy couple will be joining the expedition after their honeymoon. The family's happiness is dimmed, however, by allegations that David has been making and selling fake antiquities under the guise of his late grandfather Abdullah's legacy. 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 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....
take on the task of ferreting out the source of the rumors - and the fakes - with fears that the Master Criminal is behind it.
Meanwhile, Percy Peabody, Amelia's evil nephew, turns up as a member of the Egyptian Army and an intermittent pest. He has written a lurid (and completely false) memoir about his time in Egypt, keeps proposing to Nefret, and seems up to something, though he doesn't have the brains to be part of the plot the Emersons are investigating.
Two young Americans join the Emersons' dig, Geoffrey Godwin and Jack Reynolds, whose sister sets her sights on Ramses. With this cast of characters, and Ramses' involvement in investigating the illegal drug trade, nothing but the usual peril could ensue.