Sunday 30 December 2007

Episodes in an Obscure Life

EPISODES IN AN OBSCURE LIFE

Rowe, Richard (1828–1879), was a Wesleyan minister, based for some time in the East End. You can already find his posthumously published Life in the London Streets (aka Picked up in the Streets) on the website but I've now added Episodes in an Obscure Life. The former is the better compilation, but the latter, despite being rather preachy, is an interesting read in places.

Saturday 15 December 2007

Google Me Up!

GOOGLE ME UP!

Google seems to refuse to follow through to index all chapters in Mysteries of London and Sweeney Todd ... it only indexes the first chapter. Possibly it thinks there's something suspicious going on, with all those files with similar names. So, forgive me, I'm going to try to speed the process up by putting some links here, and seeing if it helps ... here's Sweeney Todd ...


Chapter 1 - The Strange Customer at Sweeney
Todd's


Chapter 2 - The Spectacle Maker's Daughter

Chapter 3 - The Dog and the Hat

Chapter 4 - The Pie-shop in Bell Yard

Chapter 5 - The Meeting in the Temple

Chapter 6 - The Conference, and the Fearful
Narration in the Garden


Chapter 7 - The Barber and the Lapidary

Chapter 8 - The Thieves' Home

Chapter 9 - Johanna at Home, and the
Resolution


Chapter 10 - The Colonel and His Friend

Chapter 11 - The Stranger at Lovett's

Chapter 12 - The Resolution come to by Johanna
Oakley


Chapter 13 - Johanna's Interview with Arabella
Wilmot, and the Advice


Chapter 14 - Tobias's Threat, and its
Consequences


Chapter 15 - The Second Interview between
Johanna and the Colonel in the Temple Gardens


Chapter 16 - The Barber Makes Another Attempt
to Sell the String of Pearls


Chapter 17 - The Great Change in the Prospects
of Sweeney Todd


Chapter 18 - Tobias's Adventures During the
Absence of Sweeney Todd


Chapter 19 - The Strange Odour at St.
Dunstan's Church


Chapter 20 - Sweeney Todd's Proceedings
Consequent upon the Departure of Tobias


Chapter 21 - The Misadventure of Tobias. The
Mad-House


Chapter 22 - The Mad-House Cell

Chapter 23 - The New Cook to Mrs. Lovett's
Gets Tired of his Situation


Chapter 24 - The Night at the Mad-House

Chapter 25 - Mr. Fogg's Story at the Mad-House
to Sweeney Todd


Chapter 26 - Colonel Jeffery Makes Another
Effort to Come at Sweeney Todd's Secret


Chapter 27 - Tobias Makes an Attempt to Escape
from the Mad-House


Chapter 28 - The Mad-House Yard, and Tobias's
New Friend


Chapter 29 - The Consultation of Colonel
Jeffery with the Magistrate


Chapter 30 - Tobias's Escape from Mr. Fogg's
Establishment


Chapter 31 - The Rapid Journey to London of
Tobias


Chapter 32 - The Announcement in Sweeney
Todd's Window. Johanna Oakley's Adventure.


Chapter 33 - The Discoveries in the Vaults of
St. Dunstan's


Chapter 34 - Johanna Alone. The
Secret. Mr. Todd's Suspicions. The Mysterious Letter


Chapter 35 - Sweeney Todd Commences Clearing
the Road to Retirement


Chapter 36 - The Last Batch of the Delicious
Pies


Chapter 37 - The Prisoner's Plan of Escape
from the Pies


Chapter 38 - Sweeney Todd Shaves a Good
Customer. The Arrest


Chapter 39 - The Conclusion.



and here's Mysteries of London

Title Page

Prologue


Chapter I - The House in Smithfield


Chapter II - The Mysteries of the Old House


Chapter III - The Trap-Door


Chapter IV - The Two Trees


Chapter V - Eligible Acquaintances


Chapter VI - Mrs. Arlington


Chapter VII - The Boudoir


Chapter VIII - The Conversation


Chapter IX - A City Man. Smithfield Scenes.


Chapter X - The Frail One's Narrative


Chapter XI - "The Servants' Arms"


Chapter XII - Bank Notes


Chapter XIII - The Hell


Chapter XIV - The Station-House


Chapter XV - The Police-Office


Chapter XVI - The Beginning of Misfortunes


Chapter XVII - A Den of Horrors


Chapter XVIII - The Boozing-Ken


Chapter XIX - Morning


Chapter XX - The Villa


Chapter XXI - Atrocity


Chapter XXII - A Woman's Mind


Chapter XXIII - The Old House in Smithfield Again


Chapter XXIV - Circumstantial Evidence


Chapter XXV - The Enchantress


Chapter XXVI - Newgate


Chapter XXVII - The Republican and the Resurrection Man


Chapter XXVIII - The Dungeon


Chapter XXIX - The Black Chamber


Chapter XXX - The 26th of November


Chapter XXXI - Explanations


Chapter XXXII - The Old Bailey


Chapter XXXIII - Another Day at the Old Bailey


Chapter XXXIV - The Lesson Interrupted


Chapter XXXV - Whitecross-street Prison


Chapter XXXVI - The Execution


Chapter XXXVII - The Lapse of Two Years


Chapter XXXVIII - The Visit


Chapter XXXIX - The Dream


Chapter XL - The Speculation. - An Unwelcome Meeting


Chapter XLI - Mr. Greenwood


Chapter XLII - The Dark House


Chapter XLIII - The Mummy


Chapter XLIV - The Body-Snatchers


Chapter XLV - The Fruitless Search


Chapter XLVI - Richard and Isabella


Chapter XLVII - Eliza Sydney


Chapter XLVIII - Mr. Greenwood's Visitors


Chapter XLIX - The Document


Chapter L - The Drugged Wine-Glass


Chapter LI - Diana and Eliza


Chapter LII - The Bed of Sickness


Chapter LIII - Accusations and Explanations


Chapter LIV - The Banker


Chapter LV - Miserimma!!!


Chapter LVI - The Road to Ruin


Chapter LVII - The Last Resource


Chapter LVIII - New Year's Day


Chapter LIX - The Royal Lovers


Chapter LX - Revelations


Chapter LXI - The "Boozing Ken" Once More


Chapter LXII - The Resurrection Man's History


Chapter LXIII - The Plot


Chapter LXIV - The Counterplot


Chapter LXV - The Wrongs and Crimes of the Poor


Chapter LXVI - The Result of Markham's Enterprise


Chapter LXVII - Scenes in Fashionable Life


Chapter LXVIII - The Election


Chapter LXIX - The "Whippers-In."


Chapter LXX - The Image, The Picture, and The Statue


Chapter LXXI - The House of Commons


Chapter LXXII - The Black Chamber Again


Chapter LXXIII - Captain Dapper and Sir Cherry Bounce


Chapter LXXIV - The Meeting


Chapter LXXV - The Crisis


Chapter LXXVI - Count Alteroni's Fifteen Thousand Pounds


Chapter LXXVII - A Woman's Secret


Chapter LXXVIII - Marian


Chapter LXXIX - The Bill. - A Father.


Chapter LXXX - The Revelation


Chapter LXXXI - The Mysterious Instructions


Chapter LXXXII - The Medical Man


Chapter LXXXIII - The Black Chamber Again


Chapter LXXXIV - The Second Examination - Count Alteroni.


Chapter LXXXV - A Friend in Need


Chapter LXXXVI - The Old Hag


Chapter LXXXVII - The Professor of Mesmerism


Chapter LXXXVIII - The Figurante

Chapter LXXXIX - The Mysterious Letter

Chapter XC - Markham's Occupations


Chapter XCI - The Tragedy


Chapter XCII - The Italian Valet


Chapter XCIII - News from Castelcicala


Chapter XCIV - The Home Office


Chapter XCV - The Forger and the Adulteress


Chapter XCVI - The Member of Parliament's Levee


Chapter XCVII - Another New Year's Day


Chapter XCVIII - Dark Plots and Schemes


Chapter XCIX - The Buffer's History


Chapter C - The Mysteries of the Ground-Floor Rooms


Chapter CI - The Widow


Chapter CII - The Reverend Visitor


Chapter CIII - Hopes and Fears


Chapter CIV - Female Courage


Chapter CV - The Combat


Chapter CVI - The Grave-Digger


Chapter CVII - A Discovery


Chapter CVIII - The Exhumation


Chapter CIX - The Stock-Broker


Chapter CX - The Effects of a Trance


Chapter CXI - A Scene at Mr. Chichester's House


Chapter CXII - Viola


Chapter CXIII - The Lovers


Chapter CXIV - The Contents of the Packet


Chapter CXV - The Treasure. - A New Idea


Chapter CXVI - The Rattlesnake's History


Chapter CXVII - The Rattlesnake


Chapter CXVIII - The Two Maidens


Chapter CXIX - Poor Ellen!


Chapter CXX - The Father and Daughter


Chapter CXXI - His Child!


Chapter CXXII - A Change of Fortune


Chapter CXXIII - Aristocratic Morals


Chapter CXXIV - The Intrigues of a Demirep


Chapter CXXV - The Reconciliation


Chapter CXXVI - The Rector of Saint David's


Chapter CXXVII - Blandishments


Chapter CXXVIII - Temptation


Chapter CXXIX - The Fall

Friday 7 December 2007

Sweeney Todd

Johnny Depp Sweeney ToddSWEENEY TODD

I've recently seen a preview of Tim Burton's new version of Sweeney Todd, the Sondheim musical. Great performances all round ... not as over-the-top as I feared.

Anyway, the reason for an invitation to the preview (apart all my showbiz connections, of course - as if!) is that I'm writing a piece on the historicity of Todd (once assumed to have been based on a real event, now widely believed to be entirely fictional).

The story has had many manifestations, but it seems without doubt that the first version is the 1846/47 penny dreadful entitled 'The String of Pearls', in which the murderous barber is the chief villian.

In the spirit of web generosity on which http://www.victorianlondon.org/ is run, I've uploaded the entire penny dreadful here ... enjoy!