The Ape Who Guards the Balance - Elizabeth Peters [0]
To Joshua Gabriel Roland Brown Mertz
December 20, 1997
With love from Ammie
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Contents
Map
Forward
Book One
1 I was inserting an additional pin into my hat . . .
2 I am a rational individual.
3 "You look absolutely disgusting," Nefret said admiringly.
4 I of course reported Maspero's offer to Emerson.
5 We celebrated Christmas in the good old-fashioned way . . .
6 The news was all over Luxor next morning.
Book Two
7 The approach to the Valley had changed a great deal . . .
8 Our discussion ended at that point, for Ramses's face . . .
9 When I approached the verandah next morning I heard . . .
10 What was the import of that little golden disk?
11 I had not supposed that Emerson would be deterred from his work . . .
12 Loud it most certainly was.
13 I had to clear my throat before I could speak intelligibly.
Book Three
14 When we crossed over to Luxor on Monday afternoon . . .
15 The voice was Sir Edward's.
16 The final catastrophe, as I must call it, took place . . .
Excerpt from Falcon at the Portal
About The Author
Books by Elizabeth Peters
Credits
About The Publisher
Copyright
Foreword
Students of the life and works of Mrs. Amelia P. Emerson will be pleased to learn that the present Editor’s tireless research on the recently discovered collection of Emerson papers has yielded additional fruit. Certain excerpts from Manuscript H were included in the most recent volume of Mrs. Emerson’s memoirs, and other excerpts appear here. The authorship of this manuscript has been determined; it was written by “Ramses” Emerson, but additions in various hands suggest that it was read and commented upon by other members of the family. The collection of letters herein designated “B” are signed by Nefret Forth, as she then was. Since the recipient of them is addressed only as “Dear” or “Darling,” the Editor was originally in some doubt as to this individual’s identity. She has decided to leave the Reader in doubt as well. Speculation is the spice of life, as Mrs. Emerson might say.
Newspaper clippings and miscellaneous letters are contained in a separate file (F).
The present Editor feels obliged to add, in her own defense, that the journals themselves present a number of inconsistencies. Mrs. Emerson began them as private diaries. At a later time she determined to edit them for future publication, but (as was typical of her) she went about it in a somewhat slapdash fashion and over a long period of time. Her methodology, if it can be called that, explains the anomalies, errors, and anachronisms in the urtext itself. Eventually the Editor hopes to produce a d e finitive, thoroughly annotated edition, in which these inconsistencies will be explained (insofar as it is possible to explain the way in which Mrs. Emerson’s agile mind operated).
Of particular interest to Egyptologists will be Mrs. Emerson’s description of the discovery of KV55, as the tomb found by Ayrton in January 1907 is now called. No proper excavation report was ever published, and the descriptions of the participants disagree in so many particulars that one cannot help suspecting the accuracy of all of them. It is not surprising that none of them mentions the presence of Professor Emerson and his associates. Mrs. Emerson’s version, though certainly not free of bias, makes it clear that the Professor’s suggestions and advice were deeply resented by the excavators.
Being only too aware of Mrs. Emerson’s biases, the Editor has gone to the trouble of comparing her version with those of others. She is indebted to Jim and Susan Allen, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for making the unpublished manuscript of Mrs. Andrew’s diary available to her; to Dennis Forbes, editor of KMT, for allowing her to peruse the galleys of his chapter on KV55 from his forthcoming book, Tombs. Treasures. Mummies; to Mr. John Larson of the Oriental Institute for answering innumerable questions about Theodore Davis and the storage jars; and to Lila Pinch Brock, the most recent excavator of KV55, for getting her into the place and telling her