The Man Who Would Be Sherlock

I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

“it would be a great pleasure” [SIGN]

Acclaimed biographer Christopher Sandford joins us to discuss his book The Man Who Would Be Sherlock: The Real-Life Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle.

But this isn't a biography. As Sandford explained, there was a perpetual itch that Conan Doyle had to scratch, and his writing wasn't enough to satisfy it. How did his lifelong crusade pan out? Why did he embrace spiritualism so fervently when he also valued the scientific method? How did he feel about the dissolution of his friendship with Harry Houdini?

We discover the answers to these questions and more in our conversation with Chris, as well as the gothic setting of his own childhood, which was eerily similar to Conan Doyle's—and, how a cricket match led to him writing Mick Jagger's biography.

Plus, be sure to tune in for the latest Canonical Couplet to see if you won. We have another opportunity for you to win a prize in the latest round.

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Links

• This episode: ihose.co/ihose176
• The Man Who Would Be Sherlock: The Real-Life Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle by Christopher Sandford (Amazon)
• Christopher Sandford (MacMillan)

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