Is Sweeney Todd based on a true story?
This is a frequently asked question from Google. Since Sweeney Todd is my all-time favourite film, I thought it would be fun to answer this here.
Sweeney Todd is based on the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls: A Romance, which was published in 18 parts in 1846 and 1847.
For a long time, the author was thought to be Thomas Peckett Prest, but more recently James Malcolm Rymer has been suggested as the work’s original author.
Both the film and the original work tell the tale of Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett, but there are some significant differences.
If you are a fan of the film or the musical, it’s worth getting a copy of the original story to compare them and to experience it in a new way.