Chapter 1-2 Summary

The main character, Amelia Peabody Emerson, is receiving guests for tea at her home in Kent, England. Amelia, affectionately called Peabody by her husband, does not normally have tea parties, but her husband wants to do an archaeological dig on the land of one of their neighbors, and Amelia thinks perhaps she can convince the man's wife to allow it. Amelia is thinking how much she and Emerson enjoy their travels to Egypt to pursue their passion of archaeology. Their travels have been curtailed because of the birth of their son, Ramses. Emerson has taken a teaching job, and Amelia is trying her best to be the mistress of the house. The tea party does not go well because Ramses enters the room with mud and bones, and the women are alarmed and leave, but Amelia is not concerned. That evening...