Dr. Gerard N. Burrow, dean of the School of Medicine, will present the 15th annual Sherlock Holmes Lecture on Thursday, June 27, during Yale's Sherlock Holmes Evening.
Dr. Burrow's 8 p.m. lecture, titled "The Case of the Author's Past," will precede the screening of the 1944 film "The Pearl of Death," starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
In his lecture, Dr. Burrow will discuss how an author's background and experience can play a formative role in his or her writings. For example, medicine as it was practiced during Arthur Conan Doyle's time became a factor in works such as the short story "The Case of the Creeping Man," says Dean Burrow.
The event, which is open to the public without charge, will be held in the Davies Auditorium at the Becton Center, 15 Prospect St. Dr. David F. Musto, professor of child psychiatry and the history of medicine and a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, a national Sherlock Holmes group, will moderate the event, which is sponsored by Yale Summer and Special Programs.