What made you want to investigate Arthur Conan Doyle?

I’ve had a huge, weird crush on Sherlock Holmes since I was about 9 or 10. My favourite story is The Hound of the Baskervilles,which I have read more times than I can count. Although I love Sherlock Holmes, I have always felt less warmly about his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, who seems to me like a man who was a bit pleased with himself. But one thing that did intrigue me is the way that he seemed to be ashamed of his hugely popular character. I thought we could find a way of making him sympathetic, and interesting – and perhaps even vulnerable