Sweeney Todd Pearls" and have persisted to the present day. In two books, Peter Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800. Nevertheless, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A late (1890s) reference to the urban legend of the murderous barber can be found in the poem by the Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson—"The Man from Ironbark". In his 2012 novel" Dodger", Terry Pratchett portrays Sweeney Todd as a tragic figure, having lost his mind after being exposed to the horrors of the
Todd London (professor) Todd London (professor) Todd London is the Executive Director at the University of Washington School of Drama. London currently holds the Floyd U. Jones Family Endowed Chair in Drama. London holds an MFA in Directing from Boston University and a PhD in Literary Studies from American University. He served as Artistic Director of New Dramatists in New York for 18 seasons. He is also a writer and theatre historian. He has authored, co-authored, or edited more than fifteen books. Todd London is a frequent speaker at artistic conferences and gatherings throughout the world. He has taught at the University of