 For example, the excavations that Emerson and Walter are undertaking at Amarna in 1884 (in "Crocodile on the Sandbank") are based on those conducted by Sir William Flinders Petrie in 1891.Peters has indicated that the character of Radcliffe Emerson is based in part on Petrie, whose meticulous excavation habits were legendary and set a new standard for archaeological digs.Amelia herself was partly inspired by Amelia Edwards, a Victorian novelist, travel writer, and Egyptologist, whose best-selling 1873 book, "A Thousand Miles up the Nile" is similar in both tone and content to Amelia Emerson's narration.