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Post by dem bones on Jun 9, 2008 11:27:33 GMT
Anonymous - Sweeney Todd or, The String Of Pearls (Wordsworth Editions, 2007) Cover Design by Robert Mathias, Publishing Workshop. Cover Illustration, David with the Head of Goliath, a detail of the head, 1606 (oil on canvas) by Michelangelo Merisa da Caravaggio (1571-1610) Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy Bridgeman Art Library, London With an introduction and Bibliography by Dick Collins: Blurb: A distraught Johanna Oakley wanders the streets of London seeking news of her missing fiance, Mark Ingestrie. She is befriended by Colonel Jeffrey, who is searching for his lost friend Thornhill, last seen in Sweeney Todd's Fleet Street barber-shop. Todd's apprentice, Tobias Ragg, is struggling to break free from his terrifying and sadistic master, while the barber himself is frantically trying to sell a string of pearls. Meanwhile, just around the corner in Bell Yard, the enigmatic Jarvis Williams has landed himself a fine job --- making the most delicious pies in London, to Mrs Lovett's secret recipe...
The String of Pearls – the original tale of Sweeney Todd, a classic of British horror – was first published as a weekly serial in 1846-47 by Edward Lloyd, the King of the Penny Dreadfuls. One of the earliest detective stories, it became an important source for Bram Stoker's Dracula. After 157 years of obscurity, it appears here for the first time in book form. As mentioned elsewhere, The String Of Pearls is usually credited to Thomas Peckett Prest, but Dick Collins is having none of it! His introductory essay is as welcome as the book itself and he makes a good argument for three - possibly four - authors taking turns at contributing chapters. According to Mr. Collins, the fact that almost everyone has credited the story to Prest is all the fault of "that worst of critics" Montague Summers who certainly has plenty of previous. I mean, far be it from me to accuse anyone of sloppy research but you're advised to double-check any of "Dear Old Monty's" "facts" because he's about as reliable as your average Wikpedia entry.
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Post by dem bones on Aug 7, 2008 10:18:38 GMT
Welcome comment from Derek of Wordsworth editions on the Vault wordpress blog/ site/ thing which I've taken the liberty of reproducing here for reasons that will become obvious!
Thanks for the kind words. As a small publisher (just three of us work here) we really appreciate it when our efforts are noticed. We welcome suggestions for new titles, the only requirement is that the books have to be out of copyright (70 years from the author’s death), as we would struggle to make them available for £2.99 if we have to pay royalties.
Just in passing, we’ll be doing a second edition of The String of Pearls in the next few months, which will feature a completely new introduction from Dick Collins, in which he covers his latest research, and reveals who he is now sure is the true author of the original story.
So how about we come up with a list?
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Post by dem bones on Oct 28, 2010 22:27:46 GMT
Poor Thomas Peckett Prest! For decades he was credited with the authorship of Varney, the Vampyre: or, the Feast Of Blood only for diligent researchers to point out that all those writers & bibliophiles who'd lazily parroted Montague Summers had it wrong - Varney was the insane creation of James Malcolm Rymer. Never mind, Mr. Prest. At least there's little dispute that Sweeney Todd was the product of your fevered imagination! Or so we thought. James Malcolm Rymer - Sweeney Todd or, The String Of Pearls (2nd Revised edition, Wordsworth Editions, July 2010) Blurb With a New Introduction by Dick Collins.
The exploits of Sweeney Todd, ‘The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’, have been recounted many times in plays, films and musicals, but the origins of the character largely were forgotten for many years. The String of Pearls - the original tale of Sweeney Todd, a classic of British horror - was first published as a weekly serial in 1846-7 by Edward Lloyd, the King of the Penny Dreadfuls. One of the earliest detective stories, it became an important source for Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it was after over 150 years of obscurity that it appeared first in book form in the Wordsworth edition published in 2005. The one great mystery that has surrounded the book is who the author was - or was it possibly the work of more than one man? In his new introduction to this fully revised second edition, Dick Collins, by means of detailed research of contemporary records, has established finally the identity of the creator of this legendary figure. So here is the original story of the terrifying owner of that famous London barber-shop, and the secret recipe for Mrs Lovett’s delicious pies...
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Post by jamesdoig on Oct 29, 2010 4:18:35 GMT
This might be one of those awful self-promoting times to mention I've an article, co-written with Michael Homes, on Penny Bloods and Dreadfuls in the latest edition of the Book and & Magazine Collector (December 2010). The dear old BMC is folding after the Christmas issue - it's a shame because it's always had a big focus on horror and ghostly stuff - lots of great articles by Richard Dalby, Mike Ashley, Mark Valentine, Ray Russell, Rosalie Parker, John Howard etc etc. Anyway, I must get this new edition of Sweeney Todd because of the revised intro by Dick Collins - evidently he's uncovered lots of new stuff about Rymer. Astonishingly, someone is flogging a copy of the original penny parts of Sweeney Todd for US$30,000: www.antiqbook.com/books/bookinfo.phtml?nr=1212122151&l=de
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