Thank you to NetGalley, David Demchuk, and Corinne Leigh Clark for the audiobook ARC of this title.

This book is perfect for those that enjoyed Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito and craved more. The Butcher's Daughter was a sinewy, disgusting mess of a book that had you encouraging all of women's wrongs. Obviously, if you know the story of Mrs. Lovett, some of this will not be a surprise to active Sweeney Todd fans. Though, it is presented in such a way that is uniquely unpredictable in it's own right. This book creates a narrative that feels organic to the Lovett lore and it helped me to stay invested in a story based on a fandom I have known well but I have been out of for some time (having been heavily fixated on the musical as a teen). While it is both vaguely predictable due to the source material being something I am already familiar with, and the story taking its own unique twists, this would appeal to both to fans and non fans of the Sweeney Todd story. Those who wondered after the mysterious Mrs. Lovett character before now have a faithful tribute to the narrative and those that just crave a good horror novel. Beautifully narrated and executed, it was a pleasure to listen to and despite being a long novel, it flew by simply.

I enjoyed this book! This was a nice twist on what we know of Mrs. Lovett beyond being Sweeney Todd’s partner. I liked the writing style a lot, and the narration was fantastic! I did want there to be a bit more to the Todd/Lovett relationship, but I get that this was meant to be unique and focused on her. Overall, this was a great listen. The ending was unexpected. I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook! Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Agh! Wanted to like this, but was confused right off the bat, largely due to the shifting letters in audiobook format. It was atmospheric, queasy, and damp…but also painfully slow. If you like Sweeney Todd, you’ll enjoy this.

I listened to the audiobook. I narrator did a really good job. Unfortunately, this book just didn't do it for me. I had to DNF it. I don't think there is anything specific that I didn't like. I think if you are a big fan of Sweeney Todd, you should definitely give it a go!

As someone who was drawn to this story because of my deep love for Sweeney Todd, this book was a big miss for me. I received the audiobook version and although the story was okay, it changed too much from the original story for me to actually enjoy it. I would’ve much preferred the story to delve deeper into Mrs. Lovetts childhood and everything that led up to the events of the movie, with the ending being when her and Sweeney Todd meeting. Overall I just didn’t enjoy it.

Dark, horrible, gruesome and mysterious. This is the story of Mrs Lovett, before she ended up selling her famous meat pies, and the story of her life after. It is the story of how the premature and unfortunate death of her butcher father led to Meg ending up in a spiral of horrible events, surrounded by horrible people and how she meets Sweeny Todd, a barber who she ends up being in a very dark situationship with.
Imaginative and truly interesting yet very twisted story.

My only ick is the title. I dislike when women are reduced to being referred to as someone’s daughter. The father is in the story for all of 3 seconds.



ALC review; thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this audiobook

Sadly, this was a DNF for me. I tried and tried to listen to this audiobook and failed each time. I felt bored and just couldn’t picture any of the scenes or characters in my head.

I listened to the audiobook and gave it a 3 out of 5 for a few basic reasons. I think it could’ve been a few hours shorter or about 100 pages less. I feel that way about most books, but I specifically feel like this book really did not kick off until about a quarter of the way through for the first few hours, I was really confused on what direction they were going

Once the book are going, I feel like it really did get going and that was exciting. It’s dark and twisted and incredibly disturbing. The writing, correspondences between the main character and a reporter, is unique and blends the then and now in a delightful way.

📚 Book Review

Title: The Butcher’s Daughter
Author: Victoria Glendinning
Narrator: Imogen Stubbs
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5 stars)

The historical detail in this book is rich and immersive. Imogen Stubbs’s audiobook narration is outstanding. Her voice perfectly captures Agnes’s inner monologue. The pace may be too measured for some listeners looking for action-heavy historical fiction, but the introspective tone and rich language were exactly what I wanted.

“We were not angels, and we were not saints. We were women—some pious, some proud, some petty—but all caged together in a holy house where silence could be louder than sin.”

A quietly powerful and beautifully written novel that explores the tension between personal faith and institutional power. The combination of Glendinning’s graceful prose and Stubbs’s expressive narration makes this an unforgettable audiobook experience.

5 stars — a hidden gem of historical fiction.

I love Sweeney Todd so I was really excited to have the opportunity to read this, however I’m really sad to give it a soft DNF. I 100% advise to take the trigger warnings seriously, I really thought I could take it but I couldn’t continue through the pregnancy related horror aspects. I hope when my mental fortitude is stronger I can revisit this because the 40% that I read I really enjoyed.

I absolutely adored this book. Initially I wasn't excited as I wasn't familiar with Sweeny Todd story (aside from the obvious details) but, wow! This book had me gasping at parts and absolutely enthralled. What a great piece of work!

I received this as a ALC thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this!

The Butcher's Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett, is the pivotal backstory of Sweeny Todd's accomplice and business partner, Mrs. Lovett, told through a series of letters.

Despite knowing the inevitable conclusion to the tale, I was thoroughly engaged in the character's own account of her decent into villainhood. Thanks to her strong stomach as a butcher's daughter few details of gore and awful are spared in her tale!

The recipes included which were referenced throughout the novel gave me both a chuckle and a queasy groan!

What a delightfully gruesome read!

Deliciously dark.

The Butcher’s Daughter gives us a peak at the infamous Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd, blending historical fiction with gothic horror. The story takes place in 1887 London. The story itself is mainly told through letters, newspaper clippings, and journal entries, following Emily Gibson, a journalist who is investigating a woman claiming to be Mrs. Lovett. The correspondence reveals much more than anyone could have expected.

I have to admit throughout the whole ride I was always team Lovett and honestly once you hear her story you will too. I absolutely loved this book.It was well written and very enjoyable.

Thank you to David Demchuk, Corinne Leigh Clark, RBmedia and NetGalley for the audio-digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

The Butcher’s Daughter is a phenomenal dark story about Mrs. Lovett’s life, written in the style of letters and journal entries. The narrators were wonderful and really brought the story to life. It was immersive and constantly had me on the edge of my seat. If you’ve always wanted more of Mrs. Lovett while watching Sweeney Todd, this is absolutely for you.

There’s a little bit of everything in this story, grief, death, gothic atmosphere, plot twists, even a bit of love. And if you’re anything like me and had the biggest crush ever on Lovett (and also thought Sweeney Todd didn’t deserve any of her affection that was portrayed in the movie) you’re in luck. Mrs. Lovett is QUEER and not the slightest bit fond of Todd. -chef’s kiss-

She has a rough go at life, and this is a heartbreaking story, one tragedy after another, as she navigates loss, misogyny, sexual assault, captivity, and more. Mrs. Lovett is a survivor and did what she needed to do to live. She has her moments of badassery that had me yelling “GOOD FOR HERRRR,” and I was rooting for her every step of the way.

My only issue, which is more of a me problem, was that it was a bit difficult to follow in the beginning due to the various letter correspondences. I have a feeling this would have been much easier to follow with a physical copy.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It’s dark, gruesome, emotional, and you even get a fun little name-drop right at the end that had my jaw on the floor.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for an audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Very fun story with great little connections of how Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd came together and even a cameo by Jack the Ripper. The London setting felt fleshed out as Margaret aka Mrs. Lovett tells her story. The 3 narrators kept the shifting pieces in order but there was fair amount of dubbing during Jill Tanner's narration.

The Butcher’s Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett is a darkly enthralling reimagining of a familiar tale, breathing vivid life into the shadowy corners of Victorian London through the eyes of a woman long dismissed as a footnote in the Sweeney Todd legend. The authors craft a richly layered portrait of Mrs. Lovett—not just as a pie-maker with a macabre secret, but as a deeply human, complex figure shaped by hardship, ambition, and survival.

The novel is gripping from the first page, blending historical fiction with gothic suspense in a voice that is both lyrical and razor-sharp. Lasley deftly explores the power dynamics of class, gender, and violence, allowing readers to sympathize with Lovett without excusing her choices. The pacing is impeccable, and the atmosphere—fog-laced alleys, greasy kitchens, and shadowed cellars—is as immersive as it is haunting.

What makes this book so engaging is its ability to transform a well-known villain into a compelling protagonist whose story demands to be heard. The Butcher’s Daughter is as deliciously dark as one of Mrs. Lovett’s infamous pies—and just as impossible to resist. A must-read for fans of historical fiction with a gothic twist.

I experienced this as an audiobook and truly recommend checking it out in this format as it made the story and characters come to life, all the narrators were very brilliant.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley & Hell’s Hundred for the audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Butcher's Daughter is a novel that I find difficult to rate. I'll give it 3 stars, simply because I did not love it, but I also did not hate it. The high points were very high, I'd give the authors that. Mrs. Lovett was very intriguing. However, the same way the high parts were high, the low parts were very low. They were slow and dragged on and felt like pure filler. At the same time, there were many informative moments throughout these slower points, which I could appreciate. Being that a lot of these themes and concepts did actually occur throughout history, it is very easy to be intrigued by them. Does that compensate for the pacing and fullness of those specific sections? I'm not sure.
Overall, it is a very interesting read! I would recommend it.
Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, David Demchuk, and Corinne Leigh Clark for this ARC.

when i was younger, my mother won a radio station's sweepstakes for two tickets to see the sweeney todd opera. i was absolutely enamored by the haunting story, but was curious about mrs. lovett: what happened to her during her upbringing that made her this way? "the butcher's daughter: the hitherto untold story of mrs. lovett" dives headfirst into lovett's backstory in the form of correspondence letters and newspaper clippings.

i quite liked this spin on mrs. lovett's story! it was so well-written that it felt canon to the original tale. there definitely are some slower points in the novel, but the journey is well worth it. "the butcher's daughter" gives you empathy for a character you may not have felt much for originally. we see a young, poverty-stricken girl be transformed into a monstress simply by her upbringing.

what i really enjoyed was the dynamic between our main narrator and afra. i just wanted them to be happy <//3 they were seriously my favorite aspect of this story--i was so invested in them.

thank you to netgalley and hell's hundred for the ARC!

This was a really original and interesting concept.

The first two thirds did feel pretty slow and plodding so at times I found my mind wandering. Elements were intriguing but overall it all felt a bit bland and character development that had been seen many times before.

However once the last third kicked in things got really interesting. The pacing was fast, the characters came into their element and the fear garnered by Sweeny Todd really helped build the tension.

Overall a really mixed bag but one I'm glad I read as it added a whole new spin to The Sweeny Todd lore.

I nearly put this one down and I'm so happy I didn't. I had forgotten that Sweeney Todd was originally created for a penny dreadful; any lovers of the musical need to put that aside while reading this and let the lore build. The last few sentences left my jaw on the FLOOR. Let yourself have fun with this.

Reading this took me back to my English literature courses in the best way with its dark, dramatic, and gruesome writing. Everything is falling apart, nothing is going well, and everyone will end--at best--severely maimed.