The tales surrounding Sweeney Todd's notorious barber shop in London's Fleet Street have entertained generations of audiences and have made Todd himself one of the most famous - or perhaps notorious - characters in the city's history. The Wonderful and Surprising History of Sweeney Todd traces the fortunes of Todd's narrative from its earliest 'proper' appearance as a Victorian 'penny blood' in 1846-47, and then as a popular melodrama on the stage, through to its twentieth-century manifestation in film, ballet, musicals, and opera up to current and future productions, including the forthcoming Tim Burton/Johnny Depp film version of Stephen Sondheim's 1979 Broadway masterpiece.

Each successive generation has found a compelling fascination in Sweeney Todd's themes of avarice, ambition, desire, appetite, retribution, justice, and cannibalism. Following in the footsteps of the myth, this fascinating book takes the reader on a journey from the roots of the story in the alleyways and pie-shops of Victorian London to its modern incarnations on stage, screen and in popular culture.

:: The String of Pearls (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural) (Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural)
:: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway Version)
:: Sweeney Todd: The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
:: The Trials of Oscar Wilde: Deviance, Morality, and Late-Victorian Society
:: Ripperology: A Study of the World's First Serial Killer and a Literary Phenomenon (True Crime)

- British - Reference - Social Sciences - English Literature - Social Sciences