An Egyptologist investigates a death at the British Museum in a "charming" Victorian mystery by the New York Times-bestselling author of The Painted Queen (The Denver Post). Back in London after an archaeological dig, adventurous sleuth Amelia Peabody--"rather like Indiana Jones, Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple all rolled into one"--discovers that a night watchman at the museum has perished in the shadow of a mummy case (The Washington Post Book World). There are murmurings about an ancient curse, but a skeptical Amelia is determined to find an all-too-human killer. Soon, she's balancing family demands, including the troubles of her precocious son, Ramses (aka Walter), with not just one unsolved crime, but two . . . From a recipient of multiple honors including the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award, this murder mystery set in Victorian-era England is a witty, rollicking, and "deeply satisfying" romp (Entertainment Weekly) in a "jewel of a series" (The New York Times Book Review).

A Christmas slaying, an Egyptian puzzle, and a night in the home of a stranger-three chillers from the New York Times-bestselling "grandmaster" of mystery (Publishers Weekly). A thriller writer is embroiled in a real-life whodunit when a friend drops dead in front of her, with her own hatpin impaled in his back. The violation of a sealed West Bank tomb, its rock walls intact, provides a Thebes investigator with a mystifying conundrum. And two sisters take shelter from a storm in a shuttered old house at the end of a country road . . . only to discover they're not alone. Settle in with this trio of short stories-available for the first time in a single volume-from one of the most popular mystery writers of all time. With her customary sharp wit, historical expertise, and effortless knack for freezing the blood, Elizabeth Peters "never fails to entertain" (The Plain Dealer).

A brand-new Elizabeth Peters novel is one of the uncompromising pleasures in life. As Peter Theroux in the New York Times Book Review points out, "Her wonderfully witty voice and her penchant for history lessons of the Nile both ancient and modern keep (her) high adventure moving for even the highest brows". In her previous outing, The Last Camel Died at Noon, Amelia Peabody and her dashing husband, Emerson, discovered a fabulous lost oasis in the Nubian desert. Now, in the seventh mystery in the series, the Emerson-Peabodys are traveling up the Nile once again to encounter their most deadly adversary, the Master Criminal, who is back at his sinister best. Amelia Peabody was unabashedly proud of her newest translation, a fragment of the ancient fairytale "The Doomed Prince". Later, she would wonder why no sense of foreboding struck her as she retold the story of the king's favorite son who had been warned that he would die from the snake, the crocodile, or the dog. Little did she realize, as she and her beloved husband sailed blissfully toward the pyramids of ancient Egypt, that those very beasts (and a cat as well) would be part of a deadly plot. The expedition began so happily....Leaving their delightful, but catastrophically precocious, son, Ramses, back in England, Amelia hoped this romantic trip might rejuvenate her thirteen-year-old marriage and bring back the thrills that she feared were fading. She and her dear Emerson were returning to the remote desert site where they had first fallen in love, Amarna, the holy city of Akhenaton and his beautiful queen, Nefertiti. But their return would threaten not only their marriage, but their very lives with perils as chilling as a mummy'scurse. An old enemy was determined to learn Amelia and Emerson's most closely guarded secret: the location of a legendary long-lost oasis and a race of people bedecked in gold. So cunning was his scheme that Amelia might overlook - until it was too late - the truth about the mysterious cat called Anubis, the identity of the spy among their retinue, and the nature of the stunning blow that could rob her of all she held dear. A quintessential Elizabeth Peters adventure, The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog will sweep readers toward an ingenious climax designed to shock and utterly surprise us all.

How much power does a father have to influence his children's development? A lively and often heated public debate on the role and value of the father in a family has been underway in the United States for the past decade. Nevertheless, we are far from understanding the complex ways in which fathers make contributions to their families and children. Fatherhood: Research, Interventions, and Policies addresses the central questions of the role of fathers: What is the impact of father involvement on child outcomes? What factors predict increased involvement of fathers?Bringing together papers presented at the Conference on Father Involvement, this volume includes contributions by leading scholars in anthropology, demography, economics, family science, psychology, and sociology. Many of the contributors also address the implications of father involvement for family policy issues, including family leave, child care, and child support. Furthermore, the discussion of fatherhood ranges well beyond the case of intact, middle-class, white families to include fathers from various ethnic groups and socioeconomic classes and of varied marital status, including fathers of nonmarital children, single-father families, and nonresident fathers. Fatherhood: Research, Interventions, and Policies addresses both practical and theoretical concerns, including: the redefinition of fatherhood changes over time in research on fatherhood the predictive power of fathers'activities on their children's adult outcomes the correlation between fathers'income and their involvement with their nonmarital children the influence of fathers on their sons'probability of growing up to become responsible fathers the effects of divorce on father-son and father-daughter relationships interventions that help to keep divorced fathers in touch with their childrenThis comprehensive, powerful book combines pioneering empirical research with thoughtful consideration of the social and psychological implications of fatherhood. It is essential reading for researchers, policymakers, psychologists, and students of family studies, human development, gender studies, social policy, sociology, and human ecology.

Amelia Peabody is Elizabeth Peters' most brilliant and best-loved creation, a thoroughly Victorian feminist who takes the stuffy world of archaeology by storm with her shocking men's pants and no-nonsense attitude! In this first adventure, our headstrong heroine decides to use her substantial inheritance to see the world. On her travels, she rescues a gentlewoman in distress - Evelyn Barton-Forbes - and the two become friends. The two companions continue to Egypt where they face mysteries, mummies and the redoubtable Radcliffe Emerson, an outspoken archaeologist, who doesn't need women to help him solve mysteries -- at least that's what he thinks! 'Think Miss Marple with early feminist gloss crossed with Indiana Jones... Dastardly deeds, whirlwind romances, curious mummies and all the fun and intrigue of Egyptian excavations, with a heroine who wields a sturdy parasol rather than a magnum. Accomplished entertainment.' Guardian

Although federal and state support for childcare has increased dramatically in response to welfare work requirements, low-income families are still facing difficulties balancing work and family obligations. There is wide variation across states in the strictness of welfare work requirements and in the generosity of childcare support. In addition, the level of co-payments required and the flexibility to use subsidies for informal modes of childcare differ across states, leading families to make different childcare and employment choices. The purpose of From Welfare to Childcare is first to describe what changes occurred in childcare following the 1996 welfare reform legislation, and then to analyze how federal welfare and subsidy policies influence the availability, accessibility, and quality of childcare arrangements for single mothers with young children. National in scope, it focuses on how the reforms influence the way that children are cared for when their mothers leave welfare and enter the workforce. This book is suitable for national, state, and local policymakers, non-profit organizations that study and attempt to influence public policy, and scholars interested in family and social policy issues. It can be used as a text in graduate level courses on welfare, poverty, and children and public policy.

How much power does a father have to influence his children's development? A lively and often heated public debate on the role and value of the father in a family has been underway in the United States for the past decade. Nevertheless, we are far from understanding the complex ways in which fathers make contributions to their families and children. Fatherhood: Research, Interventions, and Policies addresses the central questions of the role of fathers: Ž What is the impact of father involvement on child outcomes? Ž What factors predict increased involvement of fathers?Bringing together papers presented at the Conference on Father Involvement, this volume includes contributions by leading scholars in anthropology, demography, economics, family science, psychology, and sociology. Many of the contributors also address the implications of father involvement for family policy issues, including family leave, child care, and child support. Furthermore, the discussion of fatherhood ranges well beyond the case of intact, middle-class, white families to include fathers from various ethnic groups and socioeconomic classes and of varied marital status, including fathers of nonmarital children, single-father families, and nonresident fathers. Fatherhood: Research, Interventions, and Policies addresses both practical and theoretical concerns, including: the redefinition of fatherhood changes over time in research on fatherhood the predictive power of fathers'activities on their children's adult outcomes the correlation between fathers'income and their involvement with their nonmarital children the influence of fathers on their sons'probability of growing up to become responsible fathers the effects of divorce on father-son and father-daughter relationships interventions that help to keep divorced fathers in touch with their childrenThis comprehensive, powerful book combines pioneering empirical research with thoughtful consideration of the social and psychological implications of fatherhood. It is essential reading for researchers, policymakers, psychologists, and students of family studies, human development, gender studies, social policy, sociology, and human ecology.

Join our plucky Victorian Egyptologist, together with her devastatingly handsome and brilliant husband Radcliffe, in another exciting escapade Swapping the stifling heat and dust of Egypt for the cooler climes of London, adventuress Amelia Peabody finds herself plunged into an escapade set in the dignified surroundings of the British Museum, and as ever, she is aided and abetted by her irascible husband Emerson and precocious son Ramses. First of all a night watchman is found dead in the Mummy Room of the museum, a look of horror frozen on his face and very soon panic spreads through the capital while the gutter press ask the question 'Can Fear Kill?'. And before Amelia can respond with an appropriate answer, a pair of dissolute aristocrats with a shady past appear in her life together with supernatural curses, a lady of dubious reputation with a link to Emerson's bachelor past and a homicidal maniac disguised as an ancient Sem priest - but they are only the very tip of this most singular mystery. And as Amelia closes in on the murderer, Emerson and Ramses must try to keep her from adding herself to the list of victims...

Join our plucky Victorian Egyptologist , together with her devastatingly handsome and brilliant husband Radcliffe, in another exciting escapade When Lady Baskerville's husband Sir Henry dies after discovering what may have been an undisturbed royal tomb in Luxor, she appeals to eminent archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson and his wife Amelia to take over the excavation. Amid rumours of a curse haunting all those involved with the dig, the intrepid couple proceeds to Egypt, where they begin to suspect that Sir Henry did not die a natural death, and they are confident that the accidents that plague the dig are caused by a sinister human element, not a pharoah's curse

It's true: the last camel is gone, leaving Amelia, Emerson and Ramses to bake under the desert sun in the winter of 1897. Armed with a mysterious note and map, they have been commissioned to locate a lost English aristocrat and his wife, who disappeared over a decade ago. In this tribute to H. Rider Haggard ("King Solomon's Mines"), the family marches into the desert where survival depends on solving a mystery as old as Ancient Egypt, and where they meet a young girl, Nefret, who will join their family and change their lives forever.

Art historian Vicky Bliss may be blond and beautiful, but looks can be deceiving. She also has the brain of an Einstein, the reckless courage of a test pilot--and no one's more savvy about fine works of art. For example: the gold pendant her boss at Munich's National Museum is currently dangling in front of her. It's an exquisite replica of a Charlemagne talisman--and it was found, along with a note written in hieroglyphs, sewn into the suit pocket of an unidentified man lying dead in an alley.

There's a murderous puzzle to unravel--and Vicky will start by hunting down the master craftsperson who created the magnificent piece, even if the search carries her to the ends of the Earth. Instead, it's pointing her toward Rome, the most romantic city in the world. But it's also pulling her into a treacherous game of intrigue where the stakes could not be higher: Vicky's life!

The 1895-96 season promises to be an exceptional one for Amelia Peabody, her dashing Egyptologist husband, Emerson, and their wild and precocious eight-year-old son, Ramses. The much-coveted burial chamber of the Black Pyramid in Dahshoor is theirs for the digging. But there is a great evil in the wind that roils the hot sands sweeping through the bustling streets and marketplaces of Cairo. The brazen moonlight abduction of Ramses--and an expedition subsequently cursed by misfortune and death--have alerted Amelia to the likely presence of her arch nemesis the Master Criminal, notorious looter of the living and the dead. But it is far more than ill-gotten riches that motivates the evil genius this time around. For now the most valuable and elusive prize of all is nearly in his grasp: the meddling lady archaeologist who has sworn to deliver him to justice . . . Amelia Peabody!

Amelia finds good luck - in her dreams! 'Stay away from tomb Twenty-Al' says an ominous message delivered by an unseen hand. The year is 1903, the place is Cairo, and it's time for Amelia's ninth adventure. She is asked for help by an old friend whose husband has fallen for a spiritualist; then a plea arrives from an expat colonel whose daughter is threatened by an unknown enemy, and Ramses, now a headstrong teenager, undertakes an adventure that is guaranteed to turn his mother's hair white! Amelia then dreams of a large cat, an Egyptian sign of good luck - which as the situation stands, is in precious short supply...

The 1985-96 season promises to be an exceptional one for Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, her dashing husband Emerson and their precocious eight-year-old son Rameses. The much-coveted burial chamber in Dahshoor is theirs for the digging. Yet there is a great evil in the wind that caresses the hot sands sweeping through the bustling streets and marketplaces of Cairo. An expedition cursed by misfortune and the daring moonlit abduction of Rameses alerts Amelia to the presence of her arch-enemy, the Master Criminal. And his is now a personal quest for the most valuable and elusive prize of all: vengeance on the meddling lady archaeologist with the parasol who has sworn to deliver him to justice...Amelia Peabody herself!

It's 1903 in Cairo, and Amelia dreams of a large Egyptian cat, a sign of good luck. But the luck turns when she and Emerson, who are set to dig in the Valley of the Kings, receive an ominous warning: "Stay away from tomb Twenty-A " More trouble brews as Ramses and Nefret, unknown to their parents, begin to sneak about to help an American who believes she's being stalked. When tomb Twenty-A reveals a mummy wearing silk unmentionables, Amelia is trapped in a labyrinth of murder, passion and deceit.

When a masked stranger offers to reveal an Egyptian queen's lost tomb to Amelia and Emerson in 1900, they are intrigued to say the least. But the guide mysteriously disappears, leaving them to sail to Thebes to follow his trail. The fact that Ramses and Nefret are along on the journey both helps and hampers efforts to solve this mystery. Soon all four are risking their lives as they foil kidnappers, grave robbers and ancient curses. And intrepid Amelia finds herself faced with a surprising new villain who is every bit as clever and resourceful as she is

It's 1892, and Amelia and Emerson, who is now her husband, are back in England raising their young son Ramses, when they are approached by a damsel in distress. Lady Baskerville's husband, Sir Henry, has died after uncovering what may have been royal tomb in Luxor. Amid rumors of a curse haunting all those involved with the dig, Amelia and Emerson proceed to Egypt and begin to suspect that Sir Henry did not die a natural death. The accidents plaguing the dig appear to be caused by a sinister human element, not a pharaoh's curse.

Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to Egypt, Amelia encounters a young woman named Evelyn Barton-Forbes. The two become fast friends and travel on together, encountering mysteries, missing mummies, and Radcliffe Emerson, a dashing and opinionated archaeologist who doesn't need a woman's help -- or so he thinks.

In Amelia's seventh adventure, she and Emerson take passage on a boat travelling up the Nile, enjoying a second honeymoon while they search for Nefertiti's tomb. On the other hand, they might be heading towards murder. An exotic slave woman, a Siamese cat and a den of conspirators unite to snatch away Amelia's happiness unless she reveals a certain secret...and at the remote dig in Amarna what she uncovers is a shocking present-day peril: the loss of treasures far more precious than any antiquity - her husband's love or both their lives!

Join our plucky Victorian Egyptologist , together with her devastatingly handsome and brilliant husband Radcliffe, in another exciting escapade The irascible husband of Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Peabody is living up to his reputation as 'The Father of Curses'. Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dahshoor, Emerson is awarded instead the 'pyramids' of Mazghunah - countless mounds of rubble in the middle of nowhere. Nothing in this barren spot seems of any interest but then a murder in Cairo changes all of that. The dead man was an antiques dealer, killed in his shop, so when a sinister-looking Egyptian spotted at the crime scene turns up in Mazghunah, Amelia can't resist following his trail. At the same time she has to keep an eagle eye on her wayward son Rameses and his elegant and calculating cat and look into the mysterious disappearance of a mummy case...

Prospects for the 1907 archaeological season in Egypt are looking somewhat dull to Amelia. As a result of Emerson's less-than-diplomatic behaviour, they have been demoted to examining only the most boring tombs in the Valley of the Kings - mere leftovers, really. And then, in a seedy section of Cairo, the younger members of the Peabody Emerson clan purchase a mint condition papyrus of the famed Book of the Dead, the collection of magical spells and prayers designed to ward off the perils of the underworld and lead the deceased into everlasting life. But for as long as there have been graves, there have also been grave robbers - and so begins a new adventure into antiquity. The season rapidly switches from dull to deadly as Amelia strives to untangle a web woven of criminals and cults, stolen treasures and fallen women - all the while under the unblinking eye of a ruthless, remorseless killer.

Is the Hippopotamus Pool a legend? Or Amelia's nemesis! A masked stranger offers to reveal an Egyptian queens' lost tomb - and Amelia Peabody and her irascible archaeologist husband Emerson are intrigued, to say the least. When the guide mysteriously disappears before he can tell them his secret, the Peabody-Emersons sail to Thebes to follow his trail, helped - and hampered - by their teenage son Rameses, and beautiful ward Nefret. Before the sands of time shift very far, all of them will be risking their lives foiling murderers, kidnappers, grave robbers, and ancient curses. off once again on a rollicking adventure involving archaeology, murderers, kidnappers, grave robbers and ancient curses. And the hippopotamus Pool? It's a legend of war and wits that Amelia is translating, one that alerts her to a hippo of a different type - a nefarious, overweight art dealer who is on course to become her new arch-enemy!