Crocodile on the Sandbank

So... the white FEMALE savior goes to Egypt, saves the ignorant, dirty, uncivilized Egyptians, educates the Egyptologist in Egyptology, the Archaeologist in archaeology, the sailor in sailing, the doctors in medicine, and other specialists in their specialty, and levels the pompous misogynists' noses - and all men are misogynists... This happened in the late 1880s, hard to pinpoint when, but she complains about women's clothing, education, and all kinds of other things, that weren't really a problem.So... she starts her Chauvinism already in Italy, where she kind of replays the nastiness of Susan Coolidge's [b:What Katy Did Next 730503 What Katy Did Next Susan Coolidge https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348327387l/730503.SX50.jpg 1779240]. She rescues a young heiress, Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who is the epitome of a damsel-in-distress. She swoons. She faints. She stays fainted for hours. (Dear writers, people stay fainted for a couple of SECONDS. If they are unconscious for more than 15-20 minutes, there are SERIOUS reasons for this. If unattended, people could die or suffer serious consequences. You can't just carry the fainted person in a hotel and give them a sponge bath, and they will be all fine.)Anyway, back to chauvinism. Italians are apparently horrible people. The villains of this book are Italian and prove Evelyn's grandfather's prejudices totally justified and true. Now, we have two very wealthy men dying and leaving their property to these ladies. Yet they whine about how unfair it is to be a woman and whatnot. Amanda has brothers, and Evelyn has male cousins, who are older than she is. But - SO UNFAIR!!!! Evelyn can't inherit the peerage! She's a lady nevertheless. What ever.The chauvinism continues in Egypt. ALL Egyptians are so dirty, uncivilized, uneducated, ignorant, superstitious, savage, without any moral or ethical values, except a few - very few - exceptions, and they are exceptions only because they are Christian or some such thing. And they aren't very good as people, just a little bit more educated and civilized by the good, kind, just, fair, civilized, wonderful Englishmen. Somewhat like trained dogs compared to street mutts, you know. Also, she is a feminist. Yes, Elizabeth actually uses the word. Of course, Amelia is a feminist, and so is Evelyn, even though she is really not. Amelia isn't like other women, you know. She needs Evelyn to clean her up, and does she not clean up so nicely! She is married within a year after meeting Evelyn! Nevertheless, she complains about her clothes all the time. Ok, so sure, women weren't wearing pants in the 1880s, but if you have never worn pants, you don't need to wear pants. Just ask any true Scotsman ;-) Seriously, I preferred skirts for most of my childhood, and I was a very active tomboy. I spend most of my days (when I wasn't reading) out running in the woods, climbing in trees and on rocks, wearing fairy core and prairie dresses. So, PLEASE; authors, stop badmouthing skirts!There were sportswear in the 1880s. The riding habit was pants with an overskirt. Why wasn't Amelia wearing that? Or culottes. They also existed in the 1880s. Also, we have precedent. French archaeologist, Jane Dieulafoy wore three-piece suits while traveling with their husband. This drawing is from 1883. (Now, I believe Jane was in reality Jean, a trans-man, but what do I know. In the eyes of the society, they were a woman, wearing men's clothes, in 1883. Nothing stopped Amelia from wearing men's clothes either.)Elizabeth gets some points for not complaining about 1) pockets or 2) corsets. I'm sure it was because she forgot, not because she didn't think they were worth complaining. Amelia also complains about men all the time. I suppose that's what Elizabeth thinks feminism is. I think a lot of people have misunderstood this with feminism. It's not an effort to make women rule the world, it's an effort to make the world see and treat women as human beings. The eternal bantering between the main characters about “typical men” “typical women” was tiresome and irritating. There is no such thing as a “typical man/woman”. In reality, Amelia comes across as a misandrist. Men who disagree with her are automatically disqualified as having valid opinions or being worth listening to, maybe even heeding to, because they are men. She hires a boat, and demands it sails at her command, ignoring the captain's effort to explain or negotiate other solutions, no, she knows what she wants, she pays, so they do as she says. End of conversations.This is the way she deals with any and every disagreement. And she believes this to be a good thing, is proud of herself.She is a real bitch. She is never wrong, never apologizes, why would she, she has never done anything wrong, and when she does something that might be considered less ladylike or fair, it's always someone else's fault, or a result of their behavior. I mean... this archaeologist wrote a book about a woman who goes to a museum and starts wiping the objects with her handkerchief, and when an archaeologist yells at her for being so inconsiderate and ignorant, she gets angry, and the author makes the man apologize to her. And later let her unsupervised to help in the excavation. I MEAN, ELIZABETH PETERS WAS AN ARCHAEOLOGIST/EGYPTOLOGIST!!! Real one, with education! What else? Did I mention that fat people are bad?