Remarkable Creatures at the Peabody

And it's not necessarily the dinosaur fossils

NEW HAVEN - The Yale Peabody Museum will hold a talk on "Remarkable Creatures" with author Tracy Chevalier at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4.

Chevalier is a master of historical fiction, museum officials said in a statement.

"Her colossal breakthrough bestseller, "Girl with a Pearl Earring," was made into an Oscar-nominated feature film, followed by three more critically acclaimed New York Times bestsellers," the statement said.

Her latest book, 'Remarkable Creatures,' re-imagines the life of 19th century British fossil hunter and paleontologist Mary Anning and her unlikely relationship with Elizabeth Philpot, an intellectual, independent member of London’s upper middle class who also collected and studied fossils, the statement said.

At the age of 12, Mary Anning found the first complete ichthyosaur specimen, and her later findings include the first two plesiosaur skeletons, the statement said.

Chevalier "will share what she has learned about Mary Anning’s life, her discoveries and the social conditions of the time while researching Remarkable Creatures," the statement said.

A book signing will follow the talk.

The program is part of "Nature's Narrators: The 2010–2011 John H. Ostrom Program Series, the statement said.

Photo of Tracy Chevalier by Sven Arnstein