The Butcher's Daughter
Published on 19. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-83541-086-8 (ISBN)
Description
An eerie and evocative Victorian-set horror thriller about how a well-meaning butcher's daughter from London's Whitechapel grew up to become the baker who stuffed her pies with the flesh of Sweeney Todd's victims. Perfect for fans of Clare Whitfield, Jess Kidd and Ambrose Parry.
"You want to know the true tale of the wicked woman, the murdering monster, what baked the pies that she filled with the bits of her victims? The talk of London Town. I will tell you what you want to know, if it be the last that I do tell. And it may well be."
Enclosed herewith: the hitherto untold story of Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd's infamous partner in crime-a bloodcurdling correspondence of profound horror and intrigue.
London, England, 1887: At the abandoned apartment of a missing young woman, a dossier of evidence is collected and sent to the Chief Inspector of the London Police for review. It contains a curious correspondence between an inquisitive journalist, Miss Emily Gibson, and the woman Gibson thinks may be the infamous Mrs. Lovett-Sweeney Todd's accomplice, who baked men into pies and sold them in her pie shop on Fleet Street.
Rumours have swirled about Mrs. Lovett since the disappearance of hundreds of unwitting men decades ago-but is it actually Lovett, even if the suspected woman swears against it? As the woman relays the harrowing account of her life-from her upbringing on Butcher's Row in the unruly and perilous streets of Victorian London to her daring escape from a mad doctor-the correspondence unlocks an intricate mystery that brings Miss Gibson closer to the truth, even as that truth may cost her dearly.
"You want to know the true tale of the wicked woman, the murdering monster, what baked the pies that she filled with the bits of her victims? The talk of London Town. I will tell you what you want to know, if it be the last that I do tell. And it may well be."
Enclosed herewith: the hitherto untold story of Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd's infamous partner in crime-a bloodcurdling correspondence of profound horror and intrigue.
London, England, 1887: At the abandoned apartment of a missing young woman, a dossier of evidence is collected and sent to the Chief Inspector of the London Police for review. It contains a curious correspondence between an inquisitive journalist, Miss Emily Gibson, and the woman Gibson thinks may be the infamous Mrs. Lovett-Sweeney Todd's accomplice, who baked men into pies and sold them in her pie shop on Fleet Street.
Rumours have swirled about Mrs. Lovett since the disappearance of hundreds of unwitting men decades ago-but is it actually Lovett, even if the suspected woman swears against it? As the woman relays the harrowing account of her life-from her upbringing on Butcher's Row in the unruly and perilous streets of Victorian London to her daring escape from a mad doctor-the correspondence unlocks an intricate mystery that brings Miss Gibson closer to the truth, even as that truth may cost her dearly.
Reviews / Votes
If you're captivated by the dark story of Sweeney Todd, then you should look out for this upcoming retelling set to release in May this year. Perfect for those who love to escape back in time with a dark atmospheric story with that unmistakable Victorian gothic vibe. It's told from the perspective of the young woman destined to become the infamous Mrs. Lovett, and she certainly has a chilling and disturbing tale. A young lady journalist is busy delving into the mysterious past of a woman now living within the confines of a convent, to uncover gruesome secrets with macabre twists. The Butcher's Daughter paints a vivid picture of a secretive world filled with enigmatic characters with lots of sinister intrigue.'-Claire Whitfield, author of People of Abandoned Character
A hugely enjoyable imagining of Mrs Lovett's origin story with delicious twists and turns and vividly realised Gothic characters - all expertly told through fresh and inventive use of the epistolary form.
-Hester Musson, author of The Beholders
What an atmospheric, gripping tale! The grimy back streets of Victorian London are vividly brought to life. It kept me hooked from page one until the brilliant last sentence. Loved it!
-Karen Coles, author of The Asylum
Bloody and beautiful, The Butcher's Daughter is a visceral novel that grips the reader and refuses to let go. David Demchuk and Corinne Leigh Clark brilliantly reimagine a classic, giving it new depths, new horrors, and new layers to peel back by centering the character of Mrs. Lovett and rightfully letting her tell her own tale in her own voice. The moment I started reading, I didn't want to put it down.
-A. C. Wise, author of Wendy, Darling and Hooked
Grisly, spellbinding, and oddly touching . . . Demchuk and Clark get their arms bloody to the elbow reaching deep into the carcass of a story about life at the margins and the gruesome allure of wanton violence.
-Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo
A consistently clever and harrowing fin-de-siEcle horror, The Butcher's Daughter draws its eerie narrative harmonies from a cacophony of documents. Demchuk and Clark are equally adept in blending genres, creating a unique mixture of sensation fiction and literary horror. Tremendous fun.
-Naben Ruthnum, author of Helpmeet
A Victorian nightmare. Demchuk and Clark present an assembly of communications and reports that together form temporal windows to a slaughterhouse, turning us into voyeurs glimpsing the edges of carnage. All the ingredients of a macabre treat.
-Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth and All the Hearts You Eat
A wonderfully sophisticated horror. The Butcher's Daughter is a gloomy, disgusting, and suspenseful rollercoaster ride, brought to vivid life by two exceptionally talented writers. At its heart, it is a tale about bodies-especially women's bodies-about freedom and agency, and those who wish to control other human beings down to their guts. An historical novel, yes, but very much spun from this current bloody moment. Bleak, witty, and disturbing.
-Richard Mirabella, author of Brother & Sister Enter the Forest
The seedy underbelly of Victorian London comes to life in this deliciously dark novel, with mad scientists, murderous cults, merciless madams, and, of course, meat pies. If Sarah Waters had written penny dreadfuls, it might look something like this, but only David Demchuk and Corinne Leigh Clark could make me hungry while reading about cannibalism.
-Nino Cipri, author of Dead Girls Don't Dream
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
304 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83541-086-8 (9781835410868)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
David Demchuk has been writing for print, stage, digital and other media for more than 40 years. After many years in Toronto, he now lives by the sea with his husband in St. John's, Newfoundland (Twitter/X: @david_demchuk; Instagram: @spo0ky_dad).
Corinne Leigh Clark is a writer of gothic stories that reflect the human condition in a historical context. She is a graduate of the creative writing program at the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto (Twitter/X: @corinne_writer; Instagram: @corinneclarkwriter)
Corinne Leigh Clark is a writer of gothic stories that reflect the human condition in a historical context. She is a graduate of the creative writing program at the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto (Twitter/X: @corinne_writer; Instagram: @corinneclarkwriter)