Original Sweeney Todd Story to Be Published in December

The original text for the story Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will be published by Oxford University Press on December 13.

The release of the book, which has been edited by Robert L. Mack, is tied to the new film version of the Hugh Wheeler-Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, which will open on December 21.

Originally published under the title “The String of Pearls” and serialized in The People’s Periodical in 1846 and 1847, the story tells the tale of Sweeney Todd and his partner-in-crime, pie-maker Mrs. Margery Lovett, with all its atmospheric Victorian trimmings.

Also included in the book is an introduction touching on the origins of the tale, the growth of the legend, a history of its many retellings, explanatory notes, and a full chronology of the many versions of Sweeney Todd.