The penny dreadful, “Sweeney Todd”, original name “The
String of Pearls: A Romance”, is one of those stories that everything thinks
they know and very often mistaken. My edition of the complete collected parts
was sold off the back of Tim Burton’s feature film adaptation of the musical, “Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and bears a cover design taken directly
from the promotional pictures of the 2007 film. If readers were expecting a
blood-soaked story, starring a vengeful anti-hero then they will be somewhat
disappointed. The original story never once describes a throat being cut,
although it is implied and threatened a lot. Even Todd’s murderous mechanical
chair is only twice described in action. This is a text that is representative
of its time and I urge interested readers to view it within that context.
