The Last Camel Died at Noon
novel by Elizabeth Peters
The Last Camel Died at Noon is the sixth in a series of historical mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody. It was first published in 1991. This story in the historical mystery series has a new genre; Last Camel satirizes adventure novels in the tradition of Henry Rider Haggard. One reviewer considered this an homage to Haggard. The story is set in the 1897–1898 dig season, partly in Egypt, then moving west to Sudan.
Plot summary
At home in autumn 1897, the Emersons are surprised by a visit from a young man, Reggie Forthright, followed by his grandfather Viscount Blacktower. The viscount wishes the Emersons to locate his elder son, explorer Willoughby Forth (uncle of Reggie Forthright). Forth and his wife disappeared fourteen years ago in the desert west of the Nile in the Sudan, but the viscount has just received a letter on papyrus (delivered by unknown means), which appears to be a call for rescue from the Forths. The letter is accompanied by a map giving directions to a lost oasis, which was shown by Forth to Professor Emerson just before he vanished without trace. Meanwhile, Reggie tries to persuade the Emersons that the quest is hopeless.
The public source identifies “The Last Camel Died at Noon” as novel by Elizabeth Peters. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Last, Camel and Died.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Last Camel Died at Noon”, the useful work is to connect “novel by Elizabeth Peters” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7745609. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1991, 1897 and 1898.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Last Camel Died at Noon”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Last Camel Died at Noon primary sources, The Last Camel Died at Noon archive and Last research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Last Camel Died at Noon”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Last Camel Died at Noon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.