Thoughts about Amelia Peabody (series by author Elizabeth Peters)

For some time now, I’ve been thinking about how to keep the romantic tension going between my characters throughout a series–even though they marry. That thinking is part of why I’ve set up my Relentless Society Mysteries series the way I have; namely, each book features a new romantic couple, yet, the couples from previous books also have roles in those books. In other words, I’m trying to incorporate new and seasoned romances in my intriguing mysteries.

But that’s not the only way an author can do that.

In fact, I’ve found a book series where the leads from Book 1 marry at the end of that book and sustain their romantic intrigue through future books. It’s not a new series, and at this point I’ve only listened to four out of twenty of the audiobooks, but so far I love Elizabeth Peters’ series. It’s humorous, historical, mysterious, and romantic. You may even already know it.

Ever heard of the Amelia Peabody series?

Amelia Peabody is the the protagonist of a historical mystery series. She is an independent woman with a penchant for Egyptology (and the owner of an efficient and perhaps deadly parasol), and her husband is an Egyptologist. True, their interests lead them into intriguing, mysterious, and dangerous situations. But their relationship is fraught with respectable passion and humor.

Actually, here’s a quote from Amelia that shows that passionate humor:

“No woman really wants a man to carry her off; she only wants him to want to do it.”
― Elizabeth Peters

So, yeah! Romance between married characters can flourish. The challenge I and other authors have is to figure out how to make that happen. I’m starting to think it might just be how fun and intriguing the characters are rather than only the romantic situation. What do you think?

Oh, and you can check out the first book in this wonderful series here: