Elizabeth Peters. The Last Camel Died at Noon (1991)

     Elizabeth Peters. The Last Camel Died at Noon (1991) I gave up about half way through this interminable Victorian pastiche of sex, sand, and stars. Amelia Peabody and her husband go on a dig, and various kinds of skulduggery ensue. The arch references to their sex life grate after a while; Amelia seems to keeping score. Their parenting is far too modern. And so on. Altogether too clever by half, but not clever enough: Peters wants to write in the Victorian manner, but too many modernisms creep in and spoil the effect. It’s damn hard to maintain a century-old style. * (2007)