The String of Pearls

The Original Tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

By: James Malcolm Rymer, Thomas Peckett Prest

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins

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.

Public Domain (P)2017 Red Door Audiobooks

Narrator Nightmare

This narrator is nearly impossible to listen to. Her voice is so irritating, so grating, that I can't follow the story I so love. Her tone and inflection are such that they distract from the words and cause me to entirely lose the story.

A fun and quick Victorian murder drama

I came here for research toward the play and musical of Sweeney Todd; I really enjoyed immersing myself in the language and cadence of speech, although I have to admit the constant vocal fry and downward inflection of the narrator took a LOT of getting used to. highly enjoyable and worthwhile!

Wish I could return it

What would have made The String of Pearls better?

A different narrator.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Anything not by Cathy Dobson

Would you be willing to try another one of Cathy Dobson’s performances?

Not a chance

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I couldn't get past 5 minutes of listening to the narrator so I don't know if the story is any good.

Any additional comments?

I was really looking forward to this story. I love the stories written in the Victorian era and earlier but the narrator butchers this story. If I could return it I would but since I cant Ill keep trying to listen to it. All though it will take me years to do so but Ill try.

Uncomfortable voice

The story is amazing. The narration was a little difficult to take. The Paltrowesque faux British accent which sort of worked for her in Sliding Doors, does nothing but grate on the nerves for this reading.

A True Penny Dreadful

The story is of interest for someone who wants a proper penny dreadful. The narrator is atrocious, though. She reads every character in the same voice so that it's difficult to follow who's talking when it's not narrated. She also has the awful habit of dragging out the end of sentence and raising the pitch of her voice. So annoying and grating. I do not recommend this narrator at all.