“it would be a great pleasure” [SIGN]  Acclaimed biographer Christopher Sandford joins us to discuss his book . 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.   Please do consider becoming a . Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services.   Sponsors We're proud to feature  as our lead sponsor. They've been with us for nearly the entire run. Please visit their site and let them know you found them via I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. We have room for more than one sponsor. If you're interested in advertising with us, you can find . Let's chat!       Links  This episode:   by Christopher Sandford (Amazon)  (MacMillan)   Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at  as well as through our accounts on , , and .   Please subscribe on the podcast provider of your choosing: , , , , ,  or  — or perhaps another we haven't listed here — and be kind enough to leave a rating and review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.   Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).   Transcript We're still looking for your help to reach  (we're currently at $95 per episode—we're so close!). That will allow us to fund transcripts of every episode. But we do need you to pitch in — please consider supporting us via  or  for any amount to make this process sustainable! --