A decade ago, British writer J. K. Rowling published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first in a series of seven books about a boy wizard who is the only known survivor of a “Killing Curse.” A year later the book was released in the United States with the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Ms. Rowling’s books were soon breaking publishing records and “the boy who lived” became entrenched in the popular imagination.

But, there is more to the Harry Potter series than a child hero or a fantasy adventure-many characters, plants, and creatures are based in history, medicine, and magical lore. Ms Rowling has drawn on important works of alchemy and herbology in shaping her stories. In a special temporary exhibition, the History of Medicine Division showcases some of the treasures in its collection that are mentioned in Harry Potter.

When: Opening Tuesday July 24 2007 closing November 30 2007 Available

8:30am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday

Where: History of Medicine Division Reading Room

This entry was posted on Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 9:55 am and is filed under Exhibits, General (All Entries), News from NLM/NIH. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.