Page "Sweeney Todd" Paragraph 3

Sweeney Todd first appeared in a story titled The String of Pearls: A Romance.

This penny dreadful was published in 18 weekly parts, in Edward Lloyd's The People's Periodical and Family Library, issues 7-24, 21 November 1846 to 20 March 1847.

It was probably written by James Malcolm Rymer, though Thomas Peckett Prest has also been credited with it ; it is likely that each worked on the serial from part to part.

Other attributions include Edward P. Hingston, George Macfarren and Albert Richard Smith.

In February / March 1847, before the serial was even completed, The String of Pearls was adapted as a melodrama by George Dibden Pitt for the Britannia Theatre in Hoxton.

It was in this alternative version of the tale, rather than the original, that Todd acquired his catchphrase: " I'll polish him off ".

Neil Gaiman, in a promotional " penny dreadful ", identified a number of earlier texts that feed into the Todd story, some dating back to at least the late 17th century.