Sandford - Houdini and Conan Doyle

ALSO BY CHRISTOPHER SANDFORD

Feasting with Panthers

Arcadian

We Dont Do Dogs

The Cornhill Centenary Test

Godfrey Evans

Tom Graveney

Imran Khan

Steve McQueen

Roman Polanski

Mick Jagger

Eric Clapton

Kurt Cobain

David Bowie

Sting

Bruce Springsteen

Keith Richards

Paul McCartney

Body and spirit are twins: God only knows which is which.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

If matter mute and inanimate, though changed by the forces of Nature into a multitude of forms, can never die, will the spirit of man suffer annihilation when it has paid a brief visit, like a royal guest, to this tenement of clay? No. I am as sure that there is another life as I am that I live to-day.

William Jennings Bryan

When I walked into the sance room and saw that beautiful blonde, her

applesauce meant nothing to me. I have been through apple orchards.

Harry Houdini, speaking of the medium

Mina Crandon, or Margery

To WHG, GAK, and St Aubyns
where I discovered the characters

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T his is not a biography of Arthur Conan Doyle, or of Harry Houdini. Anyone interested in reading more about either one will find some suggestions in the bibliography at the end of the book. Although one or two of Conan Doyles or Houdinis more partisan admirers declined the offer to help, occasionally after venting at me, the research process generally was productive and tantrum- free. I tried to pursue it in a spirit of honest enquiry. Writing this book after doing various biographies of rock and film stars was refreshing; nobody threatened me with violence, or promised that Id never work again (although I did receive an enigmatic late-night phone message each Halloween, the anniversary of Houdinis death). I only wish I could blame someone listed below for the shortcomings of the text. They are mine alone.

For archive material, input, or advice I should thank, institutionally: Abacus; the American Society for Psychical Research; Atlantic Monthly; Bookcase; Bookends; Bookfinder; the British Library; the British Newspaper Library; Cambridge University Library; Chronicles; CricketArchive; the Cricket Society; the Daily Mail; the Daily Telegraph; FBIFreedom of Information Division; General Register Office; the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas at Austin; the History Museum at the Castle of Appleton, Wisconsin; the Houdini Museum of Scranton, Pennsylvania; the Library of Congress; Longton Spiritualist Church; the Magic Circle; Magicus; Michigan State Department of Health; the National Portrait Gallery; the New York Times; New York University; Old Renton Book Exchange; Orbis; Pal- grave Macmillan; Portsmouth City Council; Public Record Office; Renton Public Library; Seattle Police Department; Seattle Public Library; the Seeley Library; the Spectator; Spiritualists National Union; SPR; The Times; Undershaw; University of Montana; University of Puget Sound; Vital Records; Windleshams Manor.

Professionally: Glenn Alai, Rev. Maynard Atik, Tony Bill, Jeff Blood, Paul Bradley, Paul Brooke, Dick Brooks, Curtis Brown, Joan Brown, the late William Burroughs, Susan Carey, Matt Carpenter, Jean Cazes, Julia Cerelli, Charles Champlin, Anna Chen, Dan Chernow, Paul Clements, Gary Cotton, Gemma Cox, the Cricket Writers Club, Bud Crowe, the late Tony Curtis, Paul Darlow, Dorothy Dietrich, Richard Dysart, Rex Evans, Mike Fargo, Judy Flanders, Tom Fleming, Focus Fine Arts, Rachel Foss, John Fraser, Toni Gahl, Brenda Galang, George Galloway, Corinne Garcia, Duncan Gascoyne, Jim Geller, the late W. H. Gervis, Tony Gill, Golem, Herman Graf, Michael Gunton, Nigel Hancock, Polly Harris, Alan Hazen, Michael Heath, Paul Hogroian, the Houdini family, Jim Hoven, Emily Hunt, Inca, Jon Jackson, David Jacobs, the Jaggers, David Kelly, John M. Kelso, the late Alan Kennington, Alan Lane, Christopher Lee, Jon Lellenberg, Rev. John-Otto Liljen- stolpe, Cindy Link, Claire Looney, Robert Mann, Kathy Marsh, MCC, Peter Meadows, Colin Midson, Andrew Miller, Linda Morris, Tiffany Niederwerfer, Barry Norman, Maureen ODonnell, Caroline OShea, Max Paley, John Pavlik, Penn and Teller, the late Harold Pinter, Katharina Rae, Neil Rand, PNB, Jim Repard, Suzannah Rich, Scott Richert, Paul Shelley, Dennis Silk, Peter Smith, Connie Sopocy, Alex Stacey, Nina Stefani, Ed Strauss, Airie Stuart, Eli Wallach, Adele Warlow, Rick Watson, Rusty West, Alan We yer, Mary Wilson, Tom Wolfe, Dora Yanni, Tony Yeo.

Personally: Adis, Air Canada, Arvid Anderson, Sam and Barbara Banner, Pete Barnes, the late Charles Benjamin, Ann Bevan, Clare Bevan, the late Terry Bland, Stanley Booth, Ian Botham, Hilary and Robert Bruce, Cocina, Common Ground, Complete Line, Ken Crabtrey, CricInfo, Celia Culpan, Deb K. Das, the Davenport, Mark Demos, Monty Dennison, Devils Punchbowl Hotel, Karen Dowdall- Sandford, the Dowdall family, John and Barbara Dungee, Ednorog, Mary Evans, Malcolm Galfe, the Gay Hussar, the Gees, Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Audrey Godwin, Colleen Graffy, James Graham, Tom Graveney, Peter Griffin, Grumbles, Dacia Hanson, Charles Hillman, Alex Holmes, Hotel Vancouver, Paul Huelin, Jo Jacobius, Jamieson family, Lincoln Kamell, Betty and Joan Keylock, the late Tom Keylock, Aslam Khan, Imran Khan, Kidd Valley, Kinkos, Stephen Lacey, Terry Lambert, Belinda Lawson, Robert Lethbridge, Barbara Levy, Vince Lorimer, the late Jackie McBride, Les McBride, Ruth and Angie McCartney, Mackenzie River Pizza, the Macris, Lee Mattson, Jim and Rana Meyersahm, Missoula Doubletree, Sheila Mohn, the Morgans, Colleen Murray, John Murray, National Gallery Sackler Room, Rev. Jonathan Naumann, Chuck Ogmund, Valya Page, Robin Parish, Peter Perchard, Greg Phillips, Chris Pickrell, Roman Polanski, the late Dr. John Prins, Prins family, the late Navaal Ramdin, Renton Computers, Keith Richards, Katalina Sabeva, Debbie Saks, Sam, Delia Sandford, my son and heir Nicholas Sandford, Sefton Sandford, Sue Sandford, Peter Scaramanga, Seattle C.C., Rev. Kempton Segerhammar, the late Cat Sinclair, Fred and Cindy Smith, Rev. and Mrs. Harry Smith, Spruce Street School, the Stanleys, Thaddeus Stuart, Jack Surendranath, Dave Thomas, the Travel Team, Ben and Mary Tyvand, William Underhill, Syra Vahidy, Di Villar, the late Roger Villar, Lisbeth Vogl, John and Mary Wainwright, Walgreens, Charlie Watts, Chris West, Richard Wigmore, the Willis Fleming family, Heng and Lange Woon, the Yukawas.