Literature Network » Charles Dickens

Real truth behind demon barber of Fleet Street; books ANONYMOUS Sweeney Todd or The String Of Pearls (Wordsworth Editions, pounds 2.99).(Features)

Content courtesy of

From: Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, England)
Date: 20080120
Author:

Byline: by Lorne Jackson

SWEENEY Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street, was known for his exuberant way with a razor.

A close shave with this fictional fiend usually turned into a close shave with death.

In other words, he was a notorious hack.

The same could be said about the man behind the legend.

Edward Lloyd published the String Of Pearls, the 1847 tale where Sweeney first appears as a protagonist.

This was the era of Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and the Brontes.

But Todd wasn't created to stand a chance of literary immortality.

Lloyd - ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Charles Dickens

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.