Julia may be Simon Archer’s intellectual equal but his amazement at discovering she is not an ancient old maid - -and that she is very determined - - does not bode well for her plan. Julia’s battle to convince Simon that she is not a silly female is a joy to read. Julia sails into Simon’s life and takes charge of both him and his family. His widowed mother is inclined to be annoyed until she realizes that Julia is also the only child of a wealthy mill owner. Then Simon’s mother cheers her on.

Meanwhile, while visiting Simon’s latest archeological exhibit, a series of strange events occurs and Julia realizes that the spirit of An-ket, an ancient Egyptian princess and priestess, has been let loose. This spirit refuses to settle in one person or thing, however, so that Julia finds An-ket in the museum charwoman, a stray cat, Simon’s sister . . . When she first explains the phenomenon to Simon he, naturally, does not believe her. In fact, her campaign to convince him of her good sense suffers a severe setback.

But as the story continues, Julia and the spirit both manage to shake up, transform and improve the various characters they meet - - the charwoman becomes a busy entrepreneur, the cat gets a comfortable place to live, Simon’s sister cheers up and reunites with her long-lost lover. In the mean time, the very mysterious Dr. Mystery follows Julia through London seeking the answers to mysteries he should not pry into.

How Julia triumphs is great fun. I could even handle the reincarnation theme and the amazing appearance of Egyptian gods. The character An-ket is fairly unique. I truly enjoyed An-ket’s many appearances and transformations as she made her way through London. Her supernatural powers are often combined with her natural curiosity about this mysterious London.

Overall, the story is a treat. While it is very close to Elizabeth Peters’ Peabody books, I must admit that in many ways I like Julia more -- she is infinitely more aware of the appearance she makes as a learned, rather plain old maid than Amelia is. She is also more perceptive and funny about other people and herself. But Julia’s love affair with the strong-willed Simon is very much like Amelia’s relationship with her true love. Simon himself could be a duplicate of Amelia’s husband. In fact, as devoted as Simon becomes to Julia, I had the funny feeling he wasn’t quite Julia’s equal. But then, who could be?

--Irene Williams