The String of Pearls; Or, The Barber of Fleet Street. A Domestic Romance.
- Approximate level
- B1
- Length
- 444,471 words
- Reading time
- 37 h 2 min
- Chapters
- 178
- Language
- English
- On Project Gutenberg since
- 2019
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This story is a Victorian penny dreadful set in eighteenth century London. It introduces the barber Sweeney Todd and his shop near Fleet Street. The prose is descriptive and uses many archaic terms related to historical trades and social customs. You will encounter long, complex sentences with multiple clauses that require careful reading. The narrative focuses on mystery and dark suspense. It is a demanding read because the vocabulary is dated and the sentence structures are quite elaborate compared to modern English.
104,191 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
- Historical fiction
- Horror tales
- Revenge -- Fiction
- Young women -- Fiction
- Missing persons -- Fiction
- Suspense fiction
- Murder -- Fiction
- Mystery fiction
Questions about this book
What level of English do I need for this book?
The estimate is B1, based on how common the words are and how long the sentences run. It is an approximation, not a test result. With a translation under every sentence you can start one level earlier than you would with a paper copy.
Is this book really free?
Yes. The text is in the public domain and comes from Project Gutenberg, so it costs nothing. In Lingo7 you open the book and read the first page for free; a subscription unlocks the whole library, the audio and the word practice.
How does reading with a translation work?
Lingo7 shows the original sentence and, right under it, the same sentence in your language. Tap a word to see what it means, hear it, and save it for practice. The translation is made while you read, so it works for any book and for 49 languages.
How long does it take to read?
About 37 h 2 min at a native pace, spread over 178 chapters. In a foreign language plan for more: half an hour a day finishes a book of this size in a few weeks.
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Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain.