Sweeney Todd
Fictional barber who murdered customers and baked them into pies.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Sweeney Todd · see source
The villain of the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–1847) was the first appearance of this character.[1]
Key facts and history
The original story titled The String of Pearls: A Romance was published in 18 weekly parts from 21 November 1846 to 20 March 1847.[2] A lengthier 92-episode serial appeared during 1847–1848, and a 732-page book version was published in 1850 as The String of Pearls.[3] The serial was likely authored by James Malcolm Rymer, but Thomas Peckett Prest is another possible writer.[2] George Dibdin Pitt created a stage adaptation for Hoxton's Britannia Theatre in either February or March 1847, while the serial was still being published.[2]
Scholars strongly dispute any claim that Sweeney Todd was a real person, though some earlier legends may have inspired the tale.[4] Peter Haining, in two separate books, maintained that Todd was a historical figure who carried out murders near the year 1800.[5] When other scholars check the sources Haining cited, they find no evidence in those references to support his assertions.[6]
What the cited sources add
The StageAgent account describes Sweeney Todd as one of the darkest musicals ever written, with Stephen Sondheim's score called lush, operatic, and full of soaring beauty and pitch-black comedy.[7] The same source states that Sweeney Todd was the last and arguably greatest of Sondheim's five groundbreaking 1970s musicals.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Sweeney Todd" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sweeney Todd (Musical) Plot & Characters | StageAgent" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Sweeney Todd" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mack, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", 2007; "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street", PBS.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Sweeney Todd" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mack, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Sweeney Todd" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Haining, "The Mystery and Horrible Murders of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", The Book Service Ltd., 1979; Haining, "Sweeney Todd: The real story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street", Boxtree, 1993; "Man or myth? The making of Sweeney Todd", BBC Press Office, August 12, 2005; Duff, "Sweeney Todd: fact", The Independent, January 3, 2006; "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street", PBS.org; Mack, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", 2007 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Sweeney Todd" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mack, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", 2007; Haining, "The Mystery and Horrible Murders of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", The Book Service Ltd., 1979; Haining, "Sweeney Todd: The real story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street", Boxtree, 1993 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Sweeney Todd" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Man or myth? The making of Sweeney Todd", BBC Press Office, August 12, 2005; Duff, "Sweeney Todd: fact", The Independent, January 3, 2006; "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street", PBS.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Sweeney Todd (Musical) Plot & Characters | StageAgent". facts only, no text reused. stageagent.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Sweeney Todd (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Mythological & Legendary Figures
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Sweeney Todd (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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