Lord of the Silent

First edition cover for Lord of the Silent
Author	Elizabeth Peters
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Amelia Peabody series mysteries
Genre	Historical mystery
Publisher	William Morrow
Publication date	2001
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	x, 400
ISBN	0-380-97884-9
OCLC	46833594
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 21
LC Class	PS3563.E747 L67 2001
Preceded by	He Shall Thunder in the Sky
Followed by	The Golden One

Lord of the Silent is the 13th in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. It was first published in 2001. The story is set in the 1915–1916 dig season in Egypt.

Plot introduction

The story is set during the 1915–1916 archaeological dig season, when the Great War continues. The Emersons continue their work in Giza. Married eight months upon return to Egypt, Ramses and Nefret Emerson live in the dahabeah named Amelia on the Nile, hoping for a bit of honeymoon then checking on dig sites in Luxor. Close friends David and Lia Todros remain in England with their infant son, not ready for such travel, and for the safety of David. Emerson directs work at the main dig, and the family live in the house near Giza. Sennia Emerson, now age 6, joins this trip, her first dig, staying in the house with Amelia and Emerson. The butler Gargery and her nanny Bassima come along with Sennia.

One former associate of Ramses in the group of nationalists reappears, having escaped prison.

Plot summary

While still in Cairo, Ramses is attacked by Asad, one of the nationalists who was in prison. The attack was minor as to injury. It raises questions: how did Asad get out of prison, and how did he learn that Ramses had been disguised as Wardani the previous year, in his work for the British government? Soon after, Ramses and Nefret sail the dahabeah to Luxor. The days of sailing are like a delayed honeymoon. In Luxor, their task is to check if there has been looting in this time of fewer archaeologists at work in the area. They encounter thieves who slip away without being caught. They notice a symbol marked in the stone at some tombs, a bit like a yin and yang device. They begin to think that Sethos did not die from that gunshot, and is still thieving antiquities from tombs.

In Cairo, an unknown man guides Sennia to find an authentic stele in a heap of waste from digging out the tombs. The item was placed in the heap so she could find it with little digging. Emerson and Ramses hold on to it.

Miss Margaret Minton is in Cairo, a news reporter. She seeks Amelia, to tell her the true story of her rescue from an emir who refused to take her seriously as a reporter before the war began. The rescuer was Sethos, and Amelia tells her he is dead.

Emerson and Amelia express their anger at the officials for failing to tell them about Asad being out of prison. They feel their son has done his part for the war. Working at the dig, they find Asad’s corpse placed in an ancient tomb. It is reported to the police, and is briefly in a newspaper. They fear Ramses learning this news, that he will return to Cairo, react fiercely. They tell Nefret by letter, and ask her not to share the news, which creates much tension for her.

Jamil and his sister Jumana, children of Yusuf, assist Ramses and Nefret in Luxor. Jumana is literate and bilingual, eager to learn more. She becomes their scribe. Jamil is less of a help.

Cyrus and Katherine Vandergelt and son Bernie arrive in Cairo. Bernie is recovering from so many war wounds. Amelia encourages them to proceed to their home in Luxor. Without encoragement, Minton heads to Luxor, too.

Ramses lures Sethos by bringing a portrait of Amelia to be reframed. Ramses and Nefret hide in the shop, and Sethos comes. He survived the gunshot, and continues as thief of ancient tombs. The three talk. Sethos leaves; Ramses and Nefret confront each other over the secret of Asad’s murder, kept from him.

At lunch in Luxor, Minton joins them, and next, Swiss archaeologist Mr Kuentz introduces himself. Ramses learns from Kuentz where he chased off some antiquities thieves. Ramses and Nefret, with Jamil and Jumana, go there. As Ramses climbs to reach an opening, a large rock falls past him down to where Nefret and George Barton stand. Barton protects Nefret. Then a man’s body soars down, hitting hard. He is dead, they do not know him. Ramses went back up to the cliff top, guessing two had been up there as the large rock had been levered out of its place.

Sethos, in two disguises, corners Nefret at a hotel, urging her to take Ramses out of Luxor. He gives her a loaded gun as protection. He indicates that a competitor for his place at the top of the thieving ring is pressing, possibly threatening. Back in Cairo, Amelia and Emerson rescue Sennia, who had been abducted from the dig.

Bertie notices Jumana, his new interest. Minton runs, literally, into Ramses and Nefret; Minton had dragged Sethos to them. He has malaria, in a stage of high fever. Nefret treats Sethos as malaria weakens him. They keep him on the dahabeah, insisting he talk as the malaria episode eases. He does not know who his chief competitor is; but he is vicious, with three murders to his credit thus far. Minton is sent to stay in a hotel.

Ramses’ parents bring their household to Luxor; this presses Ramses and Nefret on what to do with Sethos. They decide he should look like a tourist and continue his rest at a hotel. All the family together, with the Vandergelts, they decide on telling each other all. The next morning, Sethos signs out of the hotel, leaving only a note of goodbye. They rescue Minton from her seclusion in her hotel room. Amelia figures where Sethos is, at a hotel where he signed in as Rudolf Rassendyll (a character in Prisoner of Zenda, an 1894 novel). Amelia and Nefret confront him in his room. Minton follows them there. The “three domineering females” take him across the river to the old Emerson house. Kadija takes charge of the prisoner.

Emerson suspects Kuentz as the competitor to Sethos and responsible for recent murders, based on the stele left for Sennia to find. He leads Cyrus, Ramses, Selim and Daoud where Kuentz is working and talk with him. They head back to the Vandergelt home. Amelia agrees that Kuentz is the likely suspect. Next, the Emersons proceed to Sethos, making plans to lure Kuentz out.

Jumana appears at the dahabeah, injured. She reports that Jamil went to Kuentz, telling him the plans made the night before. Ramses heads to the house, gathering the household, just before three men come over the wall to attack. Ramses and Sethos defend the house. Ramses kills one. Yusuf and then Emerson appear, taking out the other two. The surviving prisoner talks of his master. They think Kuentz is at a previously undiscovered tomb with items of high value.

Ramses and Sethos ride to Cyrus, learning Nefret and Minton have left. Jumana is safe at Cyrus’s home. Riding on, they find Minton, her dead horse. Jamil had taken Nefret. Ramses rides on alone to the place where Kuentz sometimes stayed. He finds Nefret bound, next to villainous Syrian Mubashir. The two men grapple, with knives, until Mubashir is dead.

Emerson, Amelia, Semil and Daoud ride to find the hidden tomb, where Kuentz aims his rifle at Emerson. Amelia reports the failure of his three attackers to him. Cyrus approaches, drops his rifle. Kuentz’s men are digging at an opening. They stop work, as Emerson, Selim and Daoud take over, digging to reach a shrine to Amon Re, a figure of him in gold, not a tomb. Each then looks at the shrine, one at a time. When Emerson comes up from viewing, he startles Kuentz and knocks him down. Kuentz is caught.

They figure Jamil first found the place in his exploring of the West Valley; he is gone now. Emerson clears the throne, storing the image of Amon-Re at their home.

The four Emersons meet with Sethos, who is still recovering. The topic is, what to do with their prisoner Kuentz. He is a murderer, tomb robber, archaeologist, and a German spy, agent of the Central Powers. His position as spy is how he knew of the role Ramses had played. Sethos still reports to the War Department, to Mr Smith. He writes out a telegram to Mr Smith, asking his advice about Kuentz.

They celebrate Christmas in Luxor at the home of Cyrus, with the golden Amon Re safely in the house. Sethos dresses as Father Christmas. The next day, Sethos and Minton disappear. He left behind a gift for Nefret, jewelry from Queen T’s tomb.

Explanation of the novel's title

The title of the book refers to Amon-Re, a major deity of ancient Egypt (as early as 2000 BCE), usually depicted with the head of a ram.

"Amon, King of the Gods, Lord of the Silent who comes at the voice of the poor ...

who gives bread to him who has none ...

father of the orphan, husband of the widow ...

though the servant offends him, he is merciful."

“Epithets and attributes of Amon-Re, A composite from various prayers”

Epigraph in Lord of the Silent

Reviews

Publishers Weekly predicted this novel would be a best-seller. The series was described as “this series of uproarious Egyptological mysteries”. They went on to say that “readers will find all the delicious trappings of a vintage Peters extravaganza—lost tombs, kidnappings, deadly attacks, mummies and sinister villains.”^[1]

Marilyn Stasio, writing in The New York Times, considered that “Amelia is still a joy.” in this thirteenth novel in the series. Yet the accumulation of family members and other characters in this novel is harder work for the reader than the earlier novels: “it takes a lot more concentration to keep track of the swarms of adopted children, relatives, native associates, political enemies and family cats that have accrued to the series since 1975.”^[2]

Publication history

This novel was on the Best Seller list in The New York Times.^[3]

See also

• List of characters in the Amelia Peabody series

References