Ramses Emerson

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Ramses Emerson is a fictional character in the Amelia Peabody series of mystery novels set in Victorian Egypt and England, written by author Elizabeth Peters. He is the son of Egyptologists Amelia Peabody and her husband, Professor Radcliffe Emerson. Ramses first appears in the second book of the series, Curse of the Pharaohs.

Born in the summer of 1887, his given name is Walter Peabody Emerson. His first name was given in honor of his father's younger brother, and his middle name is his mother's maiden name. He received the nickname Ramses from Emerson because he had the opinion that "in its [young Walter's] belligerent appearance and imperious disposition it strongly resembled the Egyptian pharaoh, the second of that name, who had scattered enormous statues of himself all along the Nile." Later in the stories, he is described as having a facial expression that Nefret Emerson calls his "stony pharaoh" face. As a child, Ramses was very precocious, and could speak with appalling fluency before the age of 2, though he also was in the habit of lisping. Starting at a very early age, he accompanied his parents to Egypt on many of their expeditions and helped to solve many of the mysteries they encounter. He followed the methods of Sherlock Holmes in at least one of the books and, in fact, somewhat resembles the fictional detective in attitude and talents. In the books where he is older, Ramses also contributes a different point of view to the stories as the writer of "Manuscript H," though he has help from Nefret. Ramses is known in the intellectual world for his abilities to translate manuscripts, and in the Egyptian world he is known as "Brother of Demons".

He becomes friends with David Todros, the grandson of the Emersons' reis Abdullah, and the two pull many pranks together with, and sometimes on, the Emersons' ward Nefret. Even though they are of two different backgrounds-- Ramses being of English descent and David of Egyptian/Arab-- the two boys are remarkably similar looking, a fact they use to their advantage in several of the more recent books. As of book 15, Ramses is married to Nefret Emerson and the father of twins, Charla (Charlotte) and David John. David, in turn, becomes Ramses' cousin, as he marries Lia, the daughter of Radcliffe Emerson's brother, Walter, and Amelia Peabody's dear friend, Evelyn. Ramses also has an adopted daughter named Sennia, who is the abandoned offspring of Amelia's nephew, the late (unlamented) Percy Peabody.

Sources: the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters - direct quote from The Curse of the Pharaohs. Mysterious Press: Reissue edition (February 1, 1988), p. 7