Cairo Jim is a popular series of children's books by author

Geoffrey McSkimming Geoffrey McSkimming (born 1 January 1962) is an Australian children's novelist and poet. He is the author of the 20 volume '' Cairo Jim chronicles'' and '' Jocelyn Osgood jaunts'' and the Phyllis Wong series of mystery novels. He has also publis ...

. They have been described as "epic" and "imaginatively written", and compared to the

Boy's Own Paper ''The Boy's Own Paper'' was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967. Publishing history The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society, as a means to encourage you ...

and the works of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

. There are currently 20 books in the series. Additionally published is ''Cairo Jim's Bumper Book of Flabbergasting Fragments'', a book of poems, short stories and puzzles for fans of the series. The Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood books are published in many different languages in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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, and

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. Commencing in 2016, all titles in the Cairo Jim chronicles have been republished and e-published by 9 Diamonds Press.

Characters

* Cairo Jim – The protagonist of the series, Cairo Jim is a well known archaeologist and little known poet. He lives in the fictional Valley of the Hairdressers in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, along with his faithful animal companions Doris the talking

macaw Macaws are a group of Neotropical parrot, New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the Tribe (biology), tribe Arini (tribe), Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation con ...

and Brenda the wonder

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

. He is fond of wearing special desert sun spectacles and a

pith helmet The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish Empire, Spanish military adaptation of the nat ...

. *Brenda the Wonder Camel - A camel from the Wonder Herd of Thebes, who possesses a remarkably broad knowledge of the world since accidentally swallowing a collection of

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

s as a calf. A long-time friend of Jim's, she is an aficionado of the ''Melodious Tex'' adventure novels. *Doris - Doris the macaw originally met Jim in Peru (see ''Cairo Jim on the Trail to ChaCha Muchos'') and has been his travelling companion ever since. She can speak English, is an expert in ancient languages, and enjoys quoting the works of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. *Captain Neptune Flannelbottom Bone - The primary villain of the series, Bone is a former friend of Jim's, having attended archaeology school with him. He seeks to exploit the treasures and secrets of antiquity for his own gain, and is obsessed by plans of wealth, power, world domination and immortality. He is described as an overweight man with a neatly clipped moustache and beard, who is fond of wearing waistcoats,

plus fours Plus fours are breeches or trousers that extend four inches (10 cm) below the knee (and thus four inches longer than traditional Knickerbockers (clothing), knickerbockers, hence the name). Knickerbockers have been traditionally associated ...

, spats and fezzes in various garish and clashing colours. He takes extreme pride in his finely manicured fingernails. *Desdemona - A red-eyed, flea-ridden talking raven and an accomplice to most of Bone's dastardly plots. *Jocelyn Osgood - A flight attendant with Valkyrian Airways, she is described as a "'good friend' of Cairo Jim" and occasionally helps him on his adventures. She also has a pilot's licence.

List of books

#''Cairo Jim on the Trail to ChaCha Muchos'' #''Cairo Jim & Doris in Search of Martenarten'' #''Jocelyn Osgood - After the Puce Empress'' #''Cairo Jim and the Sunken Sarcophagus of Sekheret'' #''Jocelyn Osgood and the Xylophones above Zarundi'' #''Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods'' #''Cairo Jim and the Quest for the Quetzal Queen'' #''Jocelyn Osgood in Ascent into

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...

'' #''Cairo Jim and the Secret Sepulchre of the

Sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

'' #''Cairo Jim Amidst the Petticoats of

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

'' #''Cairo Jim and the Lagoon of Tidal Magnificence'' #''Cairo Jim and the Tyrannical Bauble of Tiberius'' #''Cairo Jim and the Chaos from

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

'' #''Cairo Jim and the Rorting of Rameses' Regalia'' #''Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood in Bedlam from

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

'' #''Cairo Jim and the Sumptuous Stash of Silenus'' #''Cairo Jim at the Crossroads of

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

'' #''Cairo Jim and the Astragals of Angkor'' #''Cairo Jim and the Portal of Peristophanes: the Return of Cairo Jim''

References

External links

Official Geoffrey McSkimming websiteOfficial Geoffrey McSkimming website for the Phyllis Wong mysteriesOfficial Geoffrey McSkimming website for the Cairo Jim chronicles
{{Portal , Children's literature Series of children's books Australian children's books