The String of Pearls

The String of Pearls is a classic Victorian penny dreadful published in 1846-47 in instalments. It follows Sweeney Todd, a barber who murders his customers in his shop and then sends the bodies to be made into meat pies. He also has an accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, who sells the pies in her pie shop. The novel follows Todd’s descent into madness as he continues to kill more people in an attempt to find the string of pearls he believes is rightfully his. He is eventually captured by Tobias Ragg, a sailor who is searching for his missing employer, and Todd is sentenced to death. The novel has been adapted into multiple films, plays and musicals over the years.