Sweeney Todd: Fact or fiction

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 1:35am

A friend and I recently got into an argument over whether or not Sweeney Todd is an urban legend (I think/know he is) or not, so I thought I would come where the most Sweeney fanatics are. Post your best evidence to prove, one way or another if Sweeney Todd is fact or fiction.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 1:36am

CrimeLibrary Entry on Sweeney Todd

[Just_John]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 1:37am

I believe it is an urban legend, but there's no proof to whether it's fact or fiction.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 1:37am

I have no evidence to give you, but I read somewhere that there really was a murdering barber, but his name might not have been Sweeney Todd. As for all the others-Mrs. Lovett, Toby, Johanna, the Judge, it's unlikely neither they nor anyone like them ever existed.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 1:37am

http://www.pbs.org/kqed/demonbarber/penny/index.html

Here is an interesting read

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 1:38am

Haha, that is the quote that I cited in my arguement.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 1:40am

I do believe that there was a real Mrs. Lovett who some have said is definitely a person that existed in 1800s England.

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 01:40 AM

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 6:39am

Bit of both!

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 9:39am

The "legend" actually goes back closer to 240 years, not 140. Christoper Bond's play, as well as Sondheim's musical moved everything up to the mid-19th century (favoring the Industrial Revolution as a backdrop), instead of the mid-18th century, which is when the "events" (whether fact or fiction) allegedly took place. If you see the Ben Kingsley/Joanna Lumley TV movie (which is pretty good!), you'll see they're all dressed in 1700s garb, which is a little unsettling for those of you who only know the Sondheim/Bond version.

Sweeney, Lovett and Tobias have always been part of the myth. Bond added the characters of Anthony, Johanna and the Judge, and was the first to create the motive of "revenge" for Sweeney. Before that, he was just a sinister, murdering barber, either for pleasure or for profit.

Here's another interesting site about it, but there are so many if you "Google" around...

http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/20090.html

There is also a book called "The Real Story of Sweeney Todd." I think you can still get it fairly easily.

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 09:39 AM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:09am

The original novel, entitled THE STRING OF PEARLS, has been reprinted by Wordsworth Press, the Strand bookstore at Fulton Street carries it and you can get it on amazon. It bears little resemblance to the later Sondheim version.

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 10:09 AM

[worrell4077]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 12:18pm

I read this article on Wikipedia that said that he is an urban legend because they area where they said that he was hanged isn't really there or something like that.