Amelia Peabody Books in Order
Amelia Peabody by Elizabeth Peters contains 20 books, published between 1975 and 2014. The first book is Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975) and the newest is The Painted Queen (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 20
- Published
- 1975–2014
- Confirmed
- 20 of 20 titles
- Pages on record
- 7,663 in 19 of 20 books
- Reading time
- 128–192 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,663 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 19 of 20 titles with a page count on record.
Amelia Peabody is a historical mystery series by Elizabeth Peters, starring a woman archaeologist who investigates murders on Egyptian excavations. The run opens with Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975) and gathers 20 books, the most recent being The Painted Queen. Egyptology, archaeologists and their households supply the recurring cast and setting. A chronological reading order exists for Amelia Peabody beside the publication order.
How many Amelia Peabody books are there?
Amelia Peabody has 20 books, released between 1975 and 2014.
Amelia Peabody Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 20 Amelia Peabody books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Crocodile on the Sandbank1975 · 262 pages · confirmed 4/419752624/4
- 2The Curse of the Pharaohs1981 · 285 pages · confirmed 4/419812854/4
- 3The Mummy Case1985 · 416 pages · confirmed 4/419854164/4
- 4Lion in the Valley1986 · 360 pages · confirmed 4/419863604/4
- 5The Deeds of the Disturber1988 · 400 pages · confirmed 4/419884004/4
- 6The Last Camel Died at Noon1991 · confirmed 4/41991–4/4
- 7The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog1992 · 432 pages · confirmed 4/419924324/4
- 8The Hippopotamus Pool1996 · 384 pages · confirmed 4/419963844/4
- 9Seeing a Large Cat1997 · 432 pages · confirmed 4/419974324/4
- 10The Ape Who Guards the Balance1998 · 444 pages · confirmed 4/419984444/4
- 11The Falcon at the Portal1999 · 366 pages · confirmed 4/419993664/4
- 12He Shall Thunder in the Sky2000 · 400 pages · confirmed 4/420004004/4
- 13Lord of the Silent2001 · 476 pages · confirmed 4/420014764/4
- 14The Golden One2002 · 490 pages · confirmed 4/420024904/4
- 15Children of the Storm2003 · 458 pages · confirmed 4/420034584/4
- 16Guardian of the Horizon2004 · 436 pages · confirmed 4/420044364/4
- 17The Serpent on the Crown2005 · 496 pages · confirmed 4/420054964/4
- 18Tomb of the Golden Bird2006 · 400 pages · confirmed 4/420064004/4
- 19A River in the Sky2010 · 374 pages · confirmed 4/420103744/4
- 20The Painted Queen2014 · 352 pages · confirmed 4/420143524/4
Amelia Peabody Books in Chronological Order
In story order, Crocodile on the Sandbank comes first and Tomb of the Golden Bird comes last. Chronological order follows the events inside the story rather than the release dates. The 20 books below run in that in-universe sequence.
- 1Crocodile on the Sandbank1975 · 262 pages · confirmed 4/419752624/4
- 2The Curse of the Pharaohs1981 · 285 pages · confirmed 4/419812854/4
- 3The Mummy Case1985 · 416 pages · confirmed 4/419854164/4
- 4Lion in the Valley1986 · 360 pages · confirmed 4/419863604/4
- 5The Deeds of the Disturber1988 · 400 pages · confirmed 4/419884004/4
- 6The Last Camel Died at Noon1991 · confirmed 4/41991–4/4
- 7The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog1992 · 432 pages · confirmed 4/419924324/4
- 8The Hippopotamus Pool1996 · 384 pages · confirmed 4/419963844/4
- 9Seeing a Large Cat1997 · 432 pages · confirmed 4/419974324/4
- 10The Ape Who Guards the Balance1998 · 444 pages · confirmed 4/419984444/4
- 16Guardian of the Horizon2004 · 436 pages · confirmed 4/420044364/4
- 19A River in the Sky2010 · 374 pages · confirmed 4/420103744/4
- 11The Falcon at the Portal1999 · 366 pages · confirmed 4/419993664/4
- 20The Painted Queen2014 · 352 pages · confirmed 4/420143524/4
- 12He Shall Thunder in the Sky2000 · 400 pages · confirmed 4/420004004/4
- 13Lord of the Silent2001 · 476 pages · confirmed 4/420014764/4
- 14The Golden One2002 · 490 pages · confirmed 4/420024904/4
- 15Children of the Storm2003 · 458 pages · confirmed 4/420034584/4
- 17The Serpent on the Crown2005 · 496 pages · confirmed 4/420054964/4
- 18Tomb of the Golden Bird2006 · 400 pages · confirmed 4/420064004/4
Do you have to read Amelia Peabody books in order?
You should read the Amelia Peabody books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Amelia Peabody book also stands alone.
What order should you read Amelia Peabody books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975), the earliest published title. After it come The Curse of the Pharaohs (1981), The Mummy Case (1985), Lion in the Valley (1986) and The Deeds of the Disturber (1988); the numbered table above continues from there.
What is the newest Amelia Peabody book?
The Painted Queen (2014) is the newest Amelia Peabody book released so far.
Is there a new Amelia Peabody book coming?
No next Amelia Peabody book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Amelia Peabody at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Amelia Peabody title on record dates from 2014, 12 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Amelia Peabody books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 7,663 pages across the 19 of 20 books with a recorded length, a median of 400 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Amelia Peabody books, 7 of 20, were published in the 2000s.
- Corroboration
- 20 of the 20 titles appear in all four independent book listings.
What the Amelia Peabody books are about
All 20 Amelia Peabody books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: women archaeologists is tagged on 20 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Women archaeologists 20 of 20 books
- Mystery & detective 12 of 20 books
- Peabody, amelia (fictitious character) 12 of 20 books
- Egypt 10 of 20 books
- Egyptologists 10 of 20 books
- Mystery & detective, women sleuths 10 of 20 books
- Archaeologists 3 of 20 books
- Archaeologists' spouses 2 of 20 books
- British 2 of 20 books
- Excavations (Archaeology) 2 of 20 books
More books by Elizabeth Peters
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Elizabeth Peters books in order 43 books
Other series by Elizabeth Peters
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Vicky Bliss books in order 7 books