| Description |
xx, 375 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 355-364) and index. |
| Contents |
pt. 1. Contexts, themes and background -- 1. Du Cote de Chez Todd: man eating, meat pies and the macabre -- 2. Aren't there butchers enough?: The roots of myth and meaning in the Tale of Sweeney Todd -- 3. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner: true lies and the life of an urban legend -- pt. 2. Text and sources -- 4. Fiends in human shape: the string of pearls and the earliest histories of Fleet Street's 'Cannibalic Pastries' -- 5. I shall have to polish him off: proto-myths and precedents -- pt. 3. Visions and revisions -- 6. Way of all flesh: Sweeney Todd, Melodrama and the theatre -- 7. Proper artist with a knife: Sweeney on celluloid -- 8. Swing your razor wide, Sweeney: further adventures of a legend -- Appendix: Sweeney Todd: a genealogy, history and chronology. |
| Summary |
Traces the history of the Todd narrative from its earliest "proper" appearance as a "penny dreadful" in 1846-47, and then as a popular melodrama, through to its twentieth-century manifestation in film, ballet, musicals and opera, up to current and future productions including the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp film. Each successive generation has found a compelling fascination in the story's themes of avarice, ambition, desire, appetite, retribution, justice, and cannibalism. Following in the footsteps of the myth, this book takes the reader on a journey from the roots of the story in the alleyways and pie-shops of Victorian London to its modern incarnations on stage, screen and in popular culture.--From publisher description. |
| Note |
35902012213753 c.1 Gift of Earl Lee. |
| Subject |
Prest, Thomas Peckett -- Characters -- Sweeney Todd.
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Todd, Sweeney (Legendary character)
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Prest, Thomas Peckett -- Influence.
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Popular literature -- England -- History and criticism.
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| ISBN |
9780826497918 |
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0826497918 |
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