The String of Pearls
Encyclopedia
The String of Pearls: A Romance is the title of a fictional story first published as a penny dreadful
serial 1846-47. The main antagonist of the story is the infamous Sweeney Todd
, "the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
", who here makes his literary debut.
Todd is a barber who murders his customers and turns their remains into meat pies, sold at the pie shop of his partner in crime: Mrs. Lovett
. Todd's barber shop is situated in Fleet Street, London, next to St. Dunstan's church
, and is connected to Mrs. Lovett's pie shop in nearby Bell Yard by means of an underground passage. Todd dispatches his victims by pulling a lever while they are in his barber chair, which makes them fall backward down a revolving trapdoor, generally causing them to break their necks or skulls. In the event they are alive, he goes to the basement and "polishes them off" by slitting the victim's throat with his straight razor. Todd has a young assistant named Tobias Ragg
.
Mrs. Lovett is then poisoned by Sweeney Todd who is, himself, apprehended and hanged. Johanna marries Mark and lives happily ever after.
's The People's Periodical and Family Library, issues 7-24, 21 November 1846 to 20 March 1847. It was probably written by James Malcolm Rymer
and Thomas Peckett Prest
, alternating between each part released. In later years there were many different literary, stage and eventually film adaptations which re-named, expanded and often drastically altered the original story.
A scholarly, annotated edition of The String of Pearls was published in volume form in 2007 by the Oxford University Press under the title of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, edited by Robert Mack.
In the game the player assumes the role of the London watch, investigating numerous recent disappearances (Sweeney Todd
's victims). Including the sailor, Mark. In each chapter the player must investigate several locations in London. Trying to find certain pieces of evidence on the whereabouts of the recently vanished, as well as objects required to further advance the chapter. Once every piece of evidence in each level is found, the player must put together a torn up portrait in order to continue. This, along with other puzzles in the game, has the option of skipping although it deducts score. Once the chapter is completed, a cutscene consisting of scrolling storyboards plays acting as a transition for the next chapter.
The game also includes original songs in vein of the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
. Other than this, the plot and style remains largely unchanged from its source material.
Penny Dreadful
A penny dreadful was a type of British fiction publication in the 19th century that usually featured lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks, each part costing an penny...
serial 1846-47. The main antagonist of the story is the infamous Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
, "the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
", who here makes his literary debut.
Todd is a barber who murders his customers and turns their remains into meat pies, sold at the pie shop of his partner in crime: Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. She is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhemina and Claudetta are other names she has been given. First appearing in the penny dreadful serial The String of...
. Todd's barber shop is situated in Fleet Street, London, next to St. Dunstan's church
St Dunstan-in-the-West
The Guild Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West is in Fleet Street in London, England. An octagonal-shaped building, it is dedicated to a former bishop of London and archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
, and is connected to Mrs. Lovett's pie shop in nearby Bell Yard by means of an underground passage. Todd dispatches his victims by pulling a lever while they are in his barber chair, which makes them fall backward down a revolving trapdoor, generally causing them to break their necks or skulls. In the event they are alive, he goes to the basement and "polishes them off" by slitting the victim's throat with his straight razor. Todd has a young assistant named Tobias Ragg
Tobias Ragg
Tobias "Toby" Ragg is a fictional character who appears in various adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd.In the penny dreadful The String of Pearls, Tobias Ragg is in a madhouse, driven mad by Sweeney Todd, a barber who murdered his customers....
.
Synopsis
The story is set in London in the year 1785. The plot concerns the strange disappearance of a sailor named Lieutenant Thornhill, last seen entering Sweeney Todd's establishment on Fleet Street. Thornhill was bearing a gift of a string of pearls to a girl named Johanna Oakley on behalf of her missing lover Mark Ingestrie, who is presumed lost at sea. One of Thornhill's seafaring friends, Colonel Jeffrey, is alerted to the disappearance of Thornhill by his faithful dog, Hector, and investigates his whereabouts. He is joined by Johanna, who wants to know what happened to her lover, Mark Ingestrie. Johanna's suspicions of Sweeney Todd's involvement lead her to the desperate and dangerous expedient of dressing up as a boy and entering Todd's employment, after his last assistant, Tobias Ragg, has been incarcerated in a madhouse. Eventually, the full grisly horror of Todd's activities is uncovered when the dismembered remains of hundreds of his victims are discovered in the crypt underneath St. Dunstan's church. Meanwhile. Mark Ingestrie, who has been imprisoned in the cellars beneath the pie shop and put to work as the cook, escapes via the lift used to bring the pies up from the cellar into the pie-shop. Here he makes the following startling announcement to the customers of that establishment:- "Ladies and gentlemen - I fear that what I am going to say will spoil your appetites; but the truth is beautiful at all times, and I have to state that Mrs. Lovett's pies are made of human flesh!"
Mrs. Lovett is then poisoned by Sweeney Todd who is, himself, apprehended and hanged. Johanna marries Mark and lives happily ever after.
Literary history
The String of Pearls: A Romance was published in eighteen weekly parts, in Edward LloydEdward Lloyd (publisher)
Edward Lloyd was a British publisher.Born in Thornton Heath, Lloyd studied shorthand at the London Mechanics' Institution, then wrote a book on stenography. Before he was eighteen, he had opened shops in London to sell cheap books and valentines.From 1835, he began publishing cheap books, many...
's The People's Periodical and Family Library, issues 7-24, 21 November 1846 to 20 March 1847. It was probably written by James Malcolm Rymer
James Malcolm Rymer
James Malcolm Rymer was a British nineteenth century writer of penny dreadfuls, and is the probable author of Varney the Vampire and co-author of The String of Pearls , in which the notorious villain Sweeney Todd makes his literary debut.Information about Rymer is sketchy...
and Thomas Peckett Prest
Thomas Peckett Prest
Thomas Peckett Prest was a British hack writer, journalist and musician. He was a prolific producer of penny dreadfuls. He is now remembered as the co-creator of the fictional Sweeney Todd, the 'demon barber' immortalized in his The String of Pearls...
, alternating between each part released. In later years there were many different literary, stage and eventually film adaptations which re-named, expanded and often drastically altered the original story.
A scholarly, annotated edition of The String of Pearls was published in volume form in 2007 by the Oxford University Press under the title of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, edited by Robert Mack.
Game adaptation
The plot of the serial was adapted into a puzzle game by Playpond. Entitled Penny Dreadfuls: Sweeney Todd.In the game the player assumes the role of the London watch, investigating numerous recent disappearances (Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
's victims). Including the sailor, Mark. In each chapter the player must investigate several locations in London. Trying to find certain pieces of evidence on the whereabouts of the recently vanished, as well as objects required to further advance the chapter. Once every piece of evidence in each level is found, the player must put together a torn up portrait in order to continue. This, along with other puzzles in the game, has the option of skipping although it deducts score. Once the chapter is completed, a cutscene consisting of scrolling storyboards plays acting as a transition for the next chapter.
The game also includes original songs in vein of the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1936 British film produced and directed by George King.-Plot:The film features Tod Slaughter in one of his most famous roles as barber Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd was wrongly sentenced to life in prison. After his release 15 years later, he begins...
. Other than this, the plot and style remains largely unchanged from its source material.