Cairo Jim is a popular series of children's books by author Geoffrey McSkimming. They have been described as "epic" and "imaginatively written", and compared to the Boy's Own Paper and the works of Agatha Christie. There are currently 18 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, Australia, Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Hungary, and New Zealand. Commencing in 2016, all titles in the Cairo Jim chronicles are being e-published by 9 Diamonds Press. A completely new Cairo Jim novel will appear in 2020.
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, along with his faithful animal companions Doris the talking macaw and Brenda the wonder camel. He is fond of wearing special desert sun spectacles and a pith helmet.
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 encyclopedias 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 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.
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, 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.
