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,...

Reinventing himself as Sweeney Todd, a man unjustly sent to prison returns to exact revenge on those who ruined his life, especially the evil Judge Turpin who sent the man to prison. Not only does he seek revenge for the cruel punishment he suffered in prison, but also for what happened to his wife and daughter. When he returns to his home town, he reopens his barber shop, where Mr. Todd becomes the Demon of Fleet Street. Mrs. Lovett is Sweeney's...