Read the book that sparked the legend.

Look beyond the musical to the real tale of the demon barber of Fleet Street.

The myth of Sweeny Todd has long been speculated to come from a true story and this novel, written at the height of the legend, is perhaps as close to the truth as it is possible to get.

The original Sweeny Todd – A String of Pearls is a classic from 1846 that is set in the dark underbelly of London.

Written as a series of Penny Dreadfuls by Thomas Preskett Press, the series has since been collected into a single novel that will have readers itching to find out the next dark twist.

See the characters as you have never seen them before, the way they first appeared.

A String of Pearls follows Sweeny Todd as he descends deeper and deeper into madness.

Having murdered Johanna’s suitor, Sweeny sets in motion the events that lead to his downfall.

Johanna sets out to track her fiancée down and in that process she will unearth a gruesome truth.

Meanwhile Toby, Sweeny’s apprentice, will be driven mad by what he finds.

Sweeny Todd’s dark agreement with Mrs Lovett and her sinister pie shop has stunned Victorian and modern audiences alike.

This classic and brilliant novel will take you back through time and show you a past filled with tragedy and beauty as Johanna goes in search of her lost love.

Johanna’s loyalty and bravery stand out all the more as she risks everything to find the demon barber’s secret.

Todd is a brilliant character – both compelling and horrifying – who has drawn people again and again into his story.

As suspicion grows and Todd becomes more manic and terrifying and Mrs Lovett grows more and more desperate, the two will drive each other further into darkness.

Through the years this timeless tale has captured the imagination.

The world over, A String of Pearls is a classic that went on to spawn both a hit musical and an Oscar-winning movie.

Thomas Preskett Prest (1810-1859) was a British writer, journalist and musician. He was a prolific producer of penny dreadfuls. He wrote under several pseudonyms including Bos, a takeoff of Charles Dickens' own pen name, Boz. Before joining Edward Lloyd's publishing factory, Prest had made a name for himself as a talented musician and composer.

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