Black Beauty by Anna Sewell | 1877 | Breslich & Foss | Hardcover $ 28
A handsome horse with a glossy black coat and a pretty white star on his forehead, Black Beauty seems to lead a charmed life. Although his mother warns him that ‘there are a great many kinds of men… good, thoughtful me, and bad, cruel men, who never ought to have a horse or dog to call their own,” he begins his life in a happy home, with a friendly groom to look after him and plenty to eat.
However, when a change of circumstances means that he is sold, he soon discovers the truth of his mother’s words, through a succession of new owners, good and bad.
Anna Sewell’s moving story is one of the best-loved animal adventures ever written, making Black Beauty the classic horse of children’s literature.
I had faint memories of enjoying this book as a child, and I’ve even kept an old copy of it for decades, but simply couldn’t remember a whole lot about it; this vaguely pleasant vibe is why I chose to re-read it and add it to my list for Classics Club.
Black Beauty is the life story of the eponymous equine, as told through his own perspective. It’s a Victorian-era tale, so Black Beauty’s experiences take place in a time when horses were much more commonly encountered because they provided essential labor and transportation for humans. The story follows the horse’s early life as a foal on an idyllic estate, through varying jobs with varying levels of treatment from humans in the countryside and city, to his final lucky retirement in a rural village.
I can see now why I so enjoyed this book as a child. It’s charmingly written from the horse’s point of view, which is basically catnip for a slightly pony-crazy little girl. And despite all the harsh treatment said horse and his friends must endure, the story ultimately has a happy ending.
One thing I don’t think I picked up on then but which I do appreciate now as an adult is the author’s emphasis on the ethical treatment of working animals and people. The descriptions of the difficulties caused by fashionable but painful horse handling, and of the plight of hard-working but underpaid laborers, make the book more than just a children’s story about a horse — it’s really a call for better conditions for both horses and the humans who work with them.
I also want to take a moment to express appreciation of the illustrations in this particular edition of the book. There are several watercolors of various story scenes throughout, painted by Dinah Dryhurst, which are incredibly charming. I dabble a bit in watercolor painting and I would love to be able to produce graceful pieces like these someday.
I would recommend this book to any kid who’s going through a “horse phase”, of course, but I also think it’s a great choice for readers of any age who are interested in the place of domestic animals in 19th-century society, as well as the domestic lives and working conditions of horse-adjacent people, like cab drivers and grooms, during that time period.
Links:
- “How ‘Black Beauty’ Changed the Way We See Horses” articles at NPR
- “The Unashamed Empathy of Literature’s Original Horse Girl” article at Jezebel
- Open access book at Project Gutenberg
Publication information: Sewell, Anna. Black Beauty. London, UK: Breslich & Foss, 1993. Print.
Source: Personal library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
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