Author's Note:

First and foremost, I offer my sincere congratulations to those who have found the courage to read "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". It is dreadfully long, I know, but was such a joy to write. I do love writing characters like Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett, even though I don't dare experiment with their personalities or I do my best to refrain from it. I suppose that's what makes fanfiction so rewarding is the story's famous characters already breathe a life of their own. It is only a matter of incorporating them into a different story.

When I first came to this site, I immediately went in search of areas that interested me. I am very fond of haunting, Burton-style themes, which instantaneously led me to such titles as Edward Scissorhands, the Nightmare before Christmas and of course, Sweeney Todd. While reading some of these stories I felt that if I was to write a tale about Sweeney Todd I should incorporate an original character. Unfortunately, there are times when an OC can completely ruin a story by taking control of the theme and overshadowing the title characters. I desperately tried to avoid falling into such a hole, but I did not dismiss my idea for an OC. There were many times in the film- which I am sure is behavior not limited to me alone- I wanted to shout out at Todd for abandoning his daughter, or I felt a passionate urge to clout Judge Turpin for being such a revolting pervert. I created Clarissa Cartwright for the sole purpose of being almost an audience's presence directly within the story. She would linger in the background; reacting to a situation when only absolutely necessary.

I enjoyed writing Benjamin Barker in my previous excerpt, "The Transformation of Sweeney Todd", primarily because I was allowed to experiment with a character never really introduced in the film. All we knew is that he was a kind and naïve gentleman who adored his family. He did not deserve to be parted from his wife and daughter simply by the whim of a lustful man of power, and I felt that the devastation of such an occurrence had to be relayed within the story. Of course, my writing style is not as learned as I would prefer, however I was more or less satisfied with the plot I came up with. Sweeney Todd was far more interesting to write. Here is a man who is nothing like his previous identity, and yet it is apparent that there is a measure of Benjamin Barker still inside him. He is a handsome, brooding, dangerous man who, despite his constant blankness, was fairly difficult to write. Fortunately my job was simple at the beginning, since I pretty well allowed the film to dictate his actions. It was when I created the alternate ending that things got trickier.

Moving along, the character of Tobias Ragg was incredibly fascinating to work with. The part in the film that I despise is when Toby is locked away in that dreadful bake-house and the body of the beadle drops from the chute in the ceiling. This unfortunate boy is confronted with so many horrible things at once. First of course finding a human finger inside his pie, the second, recognizing the rotting bones in the bake-house to be human bones, and third, finding himself locked inside while a bleeding body dropped through the roof. I thought this was far too much to heap on the kid, and so when I first planned the alternate ending I immediately changed this scene. I also did not agree that Mrs. Lovett would lock Toby away and call for Mr. Todd to get rid of him. She is a tough, shrewd sort of woman but she's sentimental as well. I don't think she would find it in her heart, even one as oddly twisted as hers, to murder the boy.

It was for this scene that I relied on the original story of Sweeney Todd. It was a far different story than the film, and yet I thought the idea of sending Toby to the madhouse instead of banishing him to the oven room was a far better prospect.

To conclude this lengthy explanation, I would like to thank once again those who have read the entirety of this story. The saga of Mr. Sweeney Todd has two more installments before its conclusion, and if you enjoyed "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" I hope you will take pleasure in reading "Lying in Ashes".

With Gratitude,

Angelic Requiem