Customer Reviews

The String of Pearls (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural) (Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural)

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When I first purchased the OCR soundtrack of Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd," back in 1979, I discovered, through the liner notes, that the story's origins lie in a serialized novel entitled "The String of Pearls," published in 1846-7. I searched for that Victorian era penny dreadful, in bookstores and libraries, with no success. Nearly thirty years later, on a whim, I searched Amazon and, to my delight, found that the book was available, along with an explanation as to why I was never able to find it before. It had, for all intents and purposes, vanished from the public eye, until Wordsworth Classics published it, complete and unabridged, in 2005.

The novel, in part, tells the story of Johanna Oakley, who is desperate to discover the fate of her intended, Mark Ingestrie, when he fails to return to her, as promised, after a long voyage at sea. It also focuses on the (mis)adventures of Tobias Ragg, the boy who works in the barber shop of Mr. Sweeney Todd. There is quite a large cast of characters and, when reading, one must remember that the story was published in installments, so it may not have the flow one is accustomed to when reading a novel, and, as Dick Collins points out in his informative introduction, there could have been as many as three authors penning the tale, "hack" writers with varying degrees of talent. Overall, however, the story is a gripping yarn; there were a good number of tightly written chapters, true page turners, that spurred me to read on, anxious to discover what happened next.

Anyone familiar with Sondheim's musical will already know the "secrets," but I recommend this nonetheless. In fact, knowing the musical will add to the enjoyment of the novel. There are several characters and events in "String of Pearls" which made it into Sondheim's masterpiece, in one form or another (which came from its source material, the Christopher Bond adaptation, sadly unavailable). I could not help but smile when reading Sweeney's brief exchange with a young woman named "Lucy," or when Mr. Fogg relates the story of a perfectly sane girl committed to his asylum, or the other female inmate who sings endlessly in her cell. Unlike the Bond play, or the Sondheim/Wheeler opera, Todd is not a tragic anti-hero; he is a cold, murderous, villain, through and through, and yet, a wickedly enjoyable one. A reader almost admires his cunning, blackguard though he is. It should be pointed out that Mrs. Lovett, although present, is a very minor character here, the story centers around Todd. I hesitate in revealing specifics of the plot, as it would amount to nothing but spoilers, and ruin the experience for any would be readers. I will say there is romance, mystery, deductive reasoning, daring plans, and, pardon the pun, close shaves with danger.

Despite the, at times, quaint vernacular and occasional unevenness of a chapter here and there, "String of Pearls" is a must read, for both Sweeney fans, or those who enjoy Victorian era mystery/thrillers. It took just shy of three decades for me to get this into my hands; don't let the opportunity to own this intriguing tale pass you by.

[The following review refers to the Wordsworth Classics edition of "The String of Pearls."]

The famous story of Sweeney Todd, "demon barber" of the Fleet Street and Mrs. Lovett's delicious meat pies need no new introduction. Like any well-told urban legends, the figure has become part of our culture with several filmed and musical adaptations. But what is the "original" story after all?

Now you have the original tale of Sweeney Todd, lurid novel published as a weekly serial in 1846-47 published by Edward Lloyd, one of the entrepreneurs of "Penny Dreadfuls," cheaply priced magazines featuring mostly pirated stories of other popular writers for the working teenagers or pre-teens eager to read any bloody tales. Unfortunately the author (or perhaps authors) of "The String of Pearls" is still unknown, according to Dick Collins, editor of the Wordsworth Classics edition, despite some claims that it was written by James Malcolm Rymer. (Read the book's introduction for more details.)

The story of "The String of Pearls" is a blend of blood-curdling Victorian horror and pure melodrama. It is nothing like Stephen Sondheim musical based on Christopher Bond's play. In this novel Sweeney Todd is just a despicable, (delightfully, I might add) villainous figure, whom no one would feel sympathy with. It is closer to a 1936 British film featuring much-underrated Todd Slaughter with exaggerated mannerism which is fun to see.

[TWO VERSIONS] The story, whoever wrote it, is generally fast-paced and largely gripping, but there is one thing you should remember. There are two versions of "The String of Pearls" published by the same Edward Lloyd -- original 1847 version and extended 1850 version. Wordsworth's edition (that comes with "Preface to the 1850 edition") seems to be based on the 1850 version while, it is curious, the ending editor Dick Collins refers to in the introduction of the book is clearly that of the other one. And as he rightly says, the 1850 edition slows down with several unnecessary sub-plots, and its ending (which you will find in the Wordsworth edition) is a little disappointing. Probably you should look for somewhere else if you want to read the story in the original form.

Still "The String of Peals" is readable and surprisingly entertaining in its own way. Anyone who is interested in pop culture or Victorian novels should not miss it. And the brief as it is, the introduction is very informative.

What a colorful history this work has. From the cover (mostly): Originally published as a weekly serial in 1846 - 47 by Edward Lloyd, the King of the Penny Dreadfuls. One of the earliest detective stories, it became an important source for Stoker's Dracula. Later, of course, it became a Broadway musical starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou. A distraught Johanna Oakley wanders the streets of London seeking news of her missing fiance, Mark Ingestrie. She is befriended by Colonel Jeffrey, who is searching for his lost friend Thornhill, last seen in Sweeney Todd's Fleet Street barber shop. Todd's apprentice, Tobias Ragg, is struggling to break free from his terrifying and sadistic master, while the barber himself is frantically trying to sell a string of pearls. Meanwhile, just around the corner in Bell Yard, the enigmatic Jarvis Williams has landed himself a fine job - making the most delicious pies in London, to Mrs. Lovett's secret recipe. Classic horror. Intro and bibliography by Dick Collins.

Is this a masterpiece? Hardly. It is unabashedly hack writing in the fustian style of Victorian popular fiction. What surprises here are the touches of sly humor and occasional passages of nice writing. Aside from its interest as a curiosity, it's fun to read. Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls

This is by far my favorite of the "Penny Dreadfuls" because the original of 1847 keeps up a steady pace and does not lapse into labyrinthine sub-plots (key factor for a snore-fest). Though the writing is penny-conscious--meaning that the original author was being paid to add fustian to verbiage in order to cover pages--it's still incredibly enjoyable. And finally, Sweeney Todd is just so wonderfully evil in a "mwee hee ha ha" sort of way, that we can't help but want to take a seat in his barber chair and end up in one of Miss Lovett's tasty meat pies! What a way to enter the Bardo, eh?--via the alimentary canal! But look--here's the kind of language that makes a reader "such as I" happy:

"When such a man as Sweeney Todd set about thinking, there could be no possible doubt but that some mischief was meditated, and anyone could have watched his face during that ride home from the money-lender's would have seen by its expression that the thoughts which agitated him were of a dark and desperate character, and such as anybody but himself would have shrunk from, aghast."

Aghast, indeed!

With mad houses; cathedrals reeking of death; poor innocents suffering at the hands of the stupid, the greedy and the wicked; the honest, unlettered poor whose best recourse is the fist; and dogs that have keen minds and sentimental hearts worthy of a whole kennel of Greyfriar's Bobbies and gaggles of Lassies, this is indeed a satisfying read. Highly recommended.

P.S. Do the good guys win? (Or better yet, do the good guys get a good shave?) Read it and see.

Liek others have said, This is the first time that this story has made it into print in a good long time. I had the rare treat of reading this story before seeing the movie, and, as with most movie adaptations, I liked the book much better.

If you don't know, Sweeney Todd is a barber on Fleet Street who cuts more than just the hair of some of his unfortunate patrons. He has an apprentice in the pitiful Tobias Ragg, an accomplice in the pie-making lady next door, and a nemesis in the person of a dogged police inspector who thinks there's something more to the fresh-body smells in the nearby church's moldy old catacombs.

The writing does tend to be a little uneven between early chapters, but for the most part, it is not a problem. As with most serial novels, the story moves along at a lively pace and the cliffhangers at the end of the chapters are there to get you to buy the next issue. It is especially hard to put the story down as the climax approaches; be prepared to read deep into the night to finish the story.

This is an interesting take on the Sweeney Todd story. My daughter was in a High School porduction of the musical Sweeney Todd and the shows book was based on String of Pearls.

I'm a BIG fan of the musical and have found it interesting to check out the different versions of the story that exist. This being THE original source, I was very curious about it, and quite enjoyed reading it. Every version of the story - including movie versions - is radicallly different from the other, none gives much of a 'back-story', but this novel, which is the original Penny Dreadful version from 1840's, is bloody enough while being also atmospheric and even (relatively) psychological, at least for the other characters besides Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett. There's a good introduction to the Penny Dreadful concept and reality, amusing insight into the plagiaristic world of cutthroat (sorry) publishing of these single-chapter literary 'epics', and it's also interesting to read about the story being a sort of 'precursor' to 'Dracula', in its structure and episodic nature.
I'll have to take their word for that. All in all a very absorbing read, and it will whet one's appetite for the Burton 'vision' to be sure.