The Butcher’s Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs Lovett by David Demchuk & Corinne Leigh Clark

Book Review

Miss Emily Gibson, daughter of Sir Hadley Gibson, is missing. In her quarters, there is a dossier of correspondence between Miss Gibson and a woman she believes is the infamous Mrs Lovett. But Mrs Lovett is dead, so who is this Margaret Miss Gibson is corresponding with?

Miss Gibson’s investigation into Margaret Evans’s history unfolds through letters and newspaper articles. From her humble beginnings as a butcher’s daughter to a servant for a Freemason, a brothel to a pie shop, and a street near Buckingham Palace to a priory in North Hampstead, Margaret Evans navigates the pitfalls of Victorian England for women, trying to carve out an independent life for herself. But does any of this mean she is the murderous Mrs Lovett?

The Butcher’s Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs Lovett takes an important side character from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and explores what would make a woman use human flesh in her pies. The story is told in two halves. The first half is a series of letters from Margaret to Miss Gibson, written with the help of a nun. This half covers her growth from the daughter of a butcher to her life as a maid in a big house where the master has a sinister hobby and is a Freemason. All this is told matter-of-factly, from the point of view of a woman who grew up helping slaughter animals. That voice continues throughout the book, with minimal self-pity and a strong awareness of the injustice women face in Victorian England.

In the second half, Margaret assumes the identity of a dead man’s wife and takes ownership of his pie shop, including a tenant on the floor above, one Mr Sweeney Todd. This part of the story is told through letters she has written herself, and the tone changes as there is no intermediary between her and the page. You might think you know what happens from here, but in this retelling, events continue beyond the original ending with a chilling foreshadowing of the Whitechapel murders.

Margaret is a very unreliable narrator as she reveals that she has changed herself depending on her situation, so it is hard to know if anything she says is true. It is possible she isn’t Mrs Lovett at all. She gives many details only Mrs Lovett would know, but with no way to verify many of her claims, such as her friendship with Aphra, a high-class prostitute. Even at the end, I was left wondering what was true and what wasn’t. If we take her letters at face value, then it is one of the necessary deceptions and murders to survive. If we don’t, it is a fantasy woven by an attention-deprived lady in a priory. What to believe?

There are other letters in the dossier from people Miss Gibson has contacted to verify the details in Margaret’s letters. Some of these are threatening, and others are full of corroborating details. These letters and newspaper articles flesh out the book and keep the reader engaged.

I also appreciated the level of world-building. Having just read The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold, details of how difficult life was for women of the lower class, particularly unwed mothers, were fresh in my memory, and this book brought those to life. Demchuk and Clark created a vivid landscape in the streets of London from the perspective of the lower classes, and for that alone, I would recommend this book.

A minor point to note is that the original Sweeney Todd was set in 1785, although it was published in 1846. If Demchuk and Clark had stuck to the original timeline, Margaret would be over 100 years old. However, there is a fantastic link to Jack the Ripper, which actually sent shivers down my spine. I won’t give any more information to keep this review spoiler-free. I imagine the license was taken with the timeline for this to fit. I guess, unless you’re a purist, this detail won’t matter that much.

I really enjoyed this book. The letters and newspaper articles aren’t long, so you’re encouraged to read one more chapter. The world-building and attention to detail of Victorian life make this book stand out from other feminist retellings in the market, and the amount left open to interpretation means this book can be reread, revealing new insights. Highly recommended.