Amelia Peabody Emerson is the protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 of the Amelia Peabody series

Amelia Peabody series

The Amelia Peabody series is a series of mystery novels written by Elizabeth Peters featuring Egyptologist Amelia Peabody Emerson, for whom the series is named. The novels are intended as a blend of parody , mystery, and comedy...

, a series of mystery novels, written by author Elizabeth Peters. Peabody is married to Egyptologist Radcliffe Emerson

Radcliffe Emerson

Professor Radcliffe Archibald Emerson , M.A. Ox., D.C.L. , L.L.D. , F.B.A., FRS, FRGS, MAPS, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, Member of the American Philosophical Society, is one of the main characters in the Amelia Peabody series by mystery author Elizabeth Peters...

 and has one biological child, Walter "Ramses" Peabody Emerson

Ramses Emerson

Walter Peabody Emerson, known universally as “Ramses,” 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...

, who provides a parallel voice

Point of view (literature)

The narrative mode is the set of methods the author of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical story uses to convey the plot to the audience. Narration, the process of presenting the narrative, occurs because of the narrative mode...

 in many of the later books.
Amelia Peabody is first introduced in the novel Crocodile on the Sandbank

Crocodile on the Sandbank

Crocodile on the Sandbank is a novel by Elizabeth Peters, first published in 1975. It is the first in the Amelia Peabody series of novels and takes place in 1884-1885 .-Plot summary:...

, set in 1884. She is the spinster daughter of a reclusive scholar, who left her to deal with practical issues such as shopping and administering the household while he spent time in his office.