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Title: The String of Pearls
Subtitle: The Original Tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Author: James Malcolm Rymer, Thomas Peckett Prest
Narrator: Cathy Dobson
Format: Unabridged
Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
Language: English
Release date: 08-11-17
Publisher: Red Door Audiobooks
Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes
Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:
The iconic tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, was first published as a weekly series of 'penny dreadfuls' between November 1846 and March 1847. The author cannot be determined with any certainty, but scholars believe it was most probably written collaboratively by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest, alternating between each episode released.
Our story begins in 1785 when a young seafarer, Captain Thornhill, disappears while visiting the shop of a barber in London, a certain Sweeney Todd whose shop in Fleet Street is situated by St. Dunstan's church, just round the corner from the famous and popular meat pie shop run by Mrs. Lovett.
Thornhill was carrying a string of pearls as a gift for Johanna Oakley, the sweetheart of his friend Mark Ingestrie who is missing, presumed lost at sea. One of Thornhill's friends, Colonel Jeffrey, together with Johanna Oakley, takes up the search...and suspicion immediately falls on the barber's shop as Thornhill's faithful dog has taken up station at that door and refuses to leave the place. But the mystery only deepens.
Todd's apprentice asks awkward questions and makes some frightening discoveries, but is immediately dispatched to a lunatic asylum outside London where he is incarcerated. And meanwhile the entire district is troubled by an appalling stench rising from the vaults of St. Dunstan's church.

Members Reviews:
A Choppy Read (no pun intended)
I love anything Sweeney Todd and I have most of the versions available. This story was quite good but the storyline seemed broken up a bit to me. I'm not an expert and perhaps I should give it more stars because of that. I just found the story did not run as smoothly and if I didn't already know the other stories of Sweeney Todd, I would have been a bit lost.

The Real Sweeney Todd
I've seen three versons of the movie and the one on PBS was the hands down winner. I recieved a Kindle for a gift from my children...best gift ever...and decided to try reading the story as it was first written. A little research reveals that the story was written for a magazine or news paper in several episodes and was popular enough to go to a successful book form. After reading only 5 chapters of this "book" I can really see the difference in the layout and really enjoy the work. This beats any of the movies and I can't wait to get back to my reading, so I'm off...

Four Stars
It is a very well structured and well written novel you can't miss

Surprisingly Well Written!
The original Sweeney Toddy appeared serialized in a penny dreadful. Despite multiple authors the book is surprisingly well-written. The characters are intriguing and the plots moves swiftly. Anyone familiar with Sondheim's musical will recognize some of the characters, but Sondheim invented at least a partially sympathetic anti-hero while the original Sweeney is simply a greedy cold-blooded killer.

... so the language and the way it's told is like a Victorian story
Well it was written a really long time ago so the language and the way it's told is like a Victorian story.