Black Beauty

Anna Sewell

Courier Corporation, Jun 23, 1999 - Juvenile Fiction - 186 pages

Perhaps the most celebrated animal story of the nineteenth century, "Black Beauty "is the suspenseful and deeply moving account of a horse's experiences at the hands of many owners?some, sensitive riders who treated him gently; others, cruel drivers who thoughtlessly inflicted lasting damage.
Written as the animal's autobiography, and as an appeal for the humane treatment of horses, Anna Sewell's beloved classic reveals as much about human conduct and the social ills of the time as it does about the treatment of animals. Scenes from the lives of both the landed gentry and the impoverished working class offer a subtle but well-rounded perspective of social conditions in England during the late 19th century.Animal lovers of all ages will cherish this memorable story, available in this unabridged, modestly priced edition.
Unabridged Dover (1999) republication of a standard edition.

About the author

Anna Sewell, March 30, 1820 - April 25, 1878 Anna Sewell was on March 30, 1820 in Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. She was raised a Quaker by her father a bank manager and her mother, a children's novelist. At the age of fourteen, Sewell hurt her knee during a fall and the injury never healed right. Even though she could not walk well, she could still ride horses and drive a horse drawn buggy. It was this form of freedom that sparked her concern for the welfare of horses. She wrote "Black Beauty" when she was in her fifties, but died a year after it was published in 1877. While she never earned much from the book while she was alive, after her death, the novel snowballed into a something extraordinary. The book was about the abuses horses sustained in their lifetimes, but was told from the unique viewpoint of the horse. Even though the book was intended for children, it impacted all generations and caused everyone who read it to take a look at the inhumane treatment horses received. In the one hundred plus years since "Black Beauty" had been published, over 30 million copies have been printed. At least eight motion pictures have been made based on the novel and it is a well known children's classic. Anna Sewell died on April 25, 1878 in Old Catton, Norfolk.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Black Beauty; Dover Children's Evergreen Classics Series; Evergreen Classics Series
• Author: Anna Sewell
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Courier Corporation, 1999
• ISBN: 0486407888, 9780486407883
• Length: 186 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Horses; Juvenile Fiction / Classics