2022/159: The Serpent on the Crown — Elizabeth Peters

2022/159: The Serpent on the Crown — Elizabeth Peters

There was a hole on the Blue Crown, in the centre of the brow. Here the uraeus serpent, the symbol of kingship, had reared its lordly head. ... ‘Poor little king,’ I said whimsically. ‘Without the guardian serpent on his brow he was helpless to prevent the humiliation of being passed from hand to greedy hand, and exposed to the gaze of the curious.' [loc. 472]

Egypt, 1922: Amelia Peabody and her family assemble to plan more excavations in the Valley of the Kings, but their attention is diverted by the appearance of Magda Petherick, writer of sensational novels and widow of a notorious collector of antiquities. She claims that the small golden statue she's brought with her is cursed: she deems it responsible for the death of her husband (and her dog). ( Read more... )