David Pirie is a screenwriter, film producer, film critic, and novelist. As a screenwriter, he is known for his noirish original thrillers, classic adaptations and period gothic pieces.[1] In 1998, he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Drama Serial for his adaptation of Wilkie Collins's 1859 novel The Woman in White into "The Woman in White" (BBC, 1997).[2] His first book, A Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema 1946–1972 (1973), was the first book-length survey of the British horror film.[3] He has written several novels, including the Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes trilogy which includes The Patient's Eyes (2002), The Night Calls (2003), and The Dark Water (2006).