Sweeney Todd: The String of Pearls (Tales of Mystery & The Supernatural) - Softcover

Rymer, James Malcolm

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1840226323 ISBN 13: 9781840226324

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 2010

Synopsis

Fully revised Second Edition. With a new Introduction and Bibliography by Dick Collins.

The exploits of Sweeney Todd, ‘The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’, have been recounted many times in plays, films and musicals, but the origins of the character largely were forgotten for many years. The String of Pearls - the original tale of Sweeney Todd, a classic of British horror - was first published as a weekly serial in 1846-7 by Edward Lloyd, the King of the Penny Dreadfuls. One of the earliest detective stories, it became an important source for Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it was after over 150 years of obscurity that it appeared first in book form in the Wordsworth edition published in 2005.

The one great mystery that has surrounded the book is who the author was - or was it possibly the work of more than one man? In his new introduction to this fully revised second edition, Dick Collins, by means of detailed research of contemporary records, has established finally the identity of the creator of this legendary figure.

So here is the original story of the terrifying owner of that famous London barber-shop, and the secret recipe for Mrs Lovett's delicious pies…

About this title

About the Author

The authorship is a bit of a mystery. Thomas Peckett Prest was known as the ""king of the bloods,"" although many scholars attribute the story to James Malcolm Rymer, an equally famous writer of penny dreadfuls.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1840226323
• ISBN 13: 9781840226324
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304