Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood is a Victorian era serialized gothic horror story variously attributed to James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest. It first appeared in 1845-1847 as a series of weekly cheap pamphlets of the kind then known as "penny dreadfuls".It is the tale of the vampire Sir Francis Varney, and introduced many of the tropes present in vampire fiction recognizable to modern audiences. It was the first story to refer to sharpened teeth for a vampire, noting "With a plunge he seizes her neck in his fang-like teeth.

In this gripping Gothic drama of the 1840s, the bloodthirsty title character repeatedly dies but is reborn and forced to renew his relentless search for victims. Volume 2 of 2.

Sweeney Todd is a barber who murders his customers and turns their remains into meat pies sold at the pie shop of Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime. His barber shop is situated in Fleet Street, London, next to St. Dunstan's church, and is connected to Lovett's pie shop in nearby Bell Yard by means of an underground passage. Todd dispatches his victims by pulling a lever while they are in his barber chair, which makes them fall backward down a revolving trapdoor and generally causes them to break their necks or skulls on the cellar floor below. If the victims are still alive, he goes to the basement and "polishes them off" by slitting their throats with his straight razor.

Venture into Fleet Street and discover the dark side of Victorian London where you'll encounter the demon barber Sweeney Todd and his menacing accomplice Mrs Lovett in this classic thriller. Gruesome mysteries are uncovered when Lieutenant Thornhill goes missing after entering Todd's barber shop for a haircut. Londoners are disappearing, Todd's young apprentice Tobias is subject to constant fear and abuse, and the barber's grows more peculiar as the days go by. Menace and murder abounds in this terrifying tale where criminals hide in plain sight and threaten to harm anyone who could get in the way of their schemes. Famously adapted to the big screen by Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd is a classic of British horror writing and its legendary villain remains iconic this day.

The inspiration for a long-running Broadway musical, this Victorian novel in the penny dreadful tradition recounts the nefarious doings of a murderous barber and baker who recycle their victims into meat pies.

Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street (1846-1847) is a penny dreadful novel by British writers James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest. Originally serialized in cheap volumes, the novel marks the debut of Sweeney Todd, a villain whose story inspired Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), which won a Tony Award for Best Musical and an Olivier Award for Best New Musical before serving as source material for Tim Burton’s 2007 film of the same name. In London in 1785, a young sailor named Lieutenant Thornhill goes missing while on leave. Last seen on Fleet Street while entering the barber shop of Sweeney Todd, his mysterious disappearance inspires Colonel Jeffrey, a friend, to investigate. Discovering that Thornhill was carrying with him a pearl necklace for Johanna Oakley, the lover of a man lost at sea, Jeffrey questions the young girl. Disturbed by his story, and moved by Thornhill’s honorable intentions, Johanna offers her help in his search. Suspicious of Todd, who has recently lost an assistant to a local insane asylum, she dresses as a young boy and goes to his barber shop to apply for the position. There, she begins to uncover Todd’s secret operation, whereby murdering his unsuspecting patrons, he transports their bodies to Mrs. Lovett’s shop to be turned into cheap meat pies. Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street is a grisly penny dreadful novel, a quick-witted work of horror that has inspired several successful adaptations. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest is a classic of British horror fiction reimagined for modern readers.

Varney the Vampire (Vol.1-3) stands as a monumental anthology within the gothic literature panorama, bridging the realms of supernatural folklore and the burgeoning Victorian anxieties surrounding modernity and morality. This collection, encompassing an array of narratives from the macabre to the romantic, showcases the diversity of literary styles and the depth of thematic exploration characteristic of the period. The works within these volumes are pivotal in tracing the evolution of the vampire myth in Western literature, offering readers a comprehensive view of the social and cultural undercurrents that shaped such tales. The anthology draws from the prolific outputs of Thomas Peckett Prest and James Malcolm Rymer, whose collaborative efforts are often overshadowed by their contemporary, Bram Stoker, yet remain crucial in the groundwork of vampiric literature. Their backgrounds as writers for penny dreadfuls allowed them to capture the zeitgeist of Victorian society, blending sensationalism with acute observations of human nature and societal change. This collection, therefore, encompasses not only stories of the supernatural but also serves as a commentary on the fears and fascinations of the era it was born in. Varney the Vampire (Vol.1-3) is an indispensable resource for those interested in the origins and evolution of vampire mythology and its intersection with cultural, social, and historical discourses of the 19th century. Readers are invited to delve into this collection not only for its entertainment value but also for its ability to illuminate the complexities of human nature, morality, and the supernatural. Through its diverse range of narrative voices and styles, this anthology offers a unique opportunity to engage with the foundational texts that continue to influence gothic literature and horror genres today.

The String of Pearls is a mysterious novel by Thomas Preskett Prest telling about the adventures of a young lady Johanna Oakley searching for her missing lover Mark, and a demonic barber who keeps a mysterious barber shop of Sweeney Todd, where women are not allowed to enter.

This eBook edition of "The String of Pearls - Tale of Sweeney Todd" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Sweeney Todd is a barber who murders his customers and turns their remains into meat pies sold at the pie shop of Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime. His barber shop is situated in Fleet Street, London, next to St. Dunstan's church, and is connected to Lovett's pie shop in nearby Bell Yard by means of an underground passage. Todd dispatches his victims by pulling a lever while they are in his barber chair, which makes them fall backward down a revolving trapdoor and generally causes them to break their necks or skulls on the cellar floor below. If the victims are still alive, he goes to the basement and "polishes them off" by slitting their throats with his straight razor.

A deathless creature with an insatiable appetite for blood, Varney is the antihero of this epic, which predates Dracula and establishes many of the conventions associated with vampirism.Volume 1 of 2.