Other editions of book Beautiful Joe

Saunders' most famous novel Beautiful Joe, tells the true story of dog that has had a difficult puppyhood with many obstacles including a cruel owner. It is told from the dog's point of view. When the book was published, both the book and its subject received worldwide attention. It was the first Canadian book to sell over a million copies, and by the late 1930s had sold over seven million copies worldwide.

Published in 1893, Beautiful Joe was the first Canadian book to sell a million copies and was extremely popular in America, too (selling almost a million copies by 1900). A work of fiction told from the dog’s point of view, it is based upon the true story of an abused dog (in the tradition of 1877’s Black Beauty). It reflects many of the unfortunate realities of society in those days, but it had an incredible impact upon the Western world’s ideas about humane treatment of animals. Interestingly, it is still published with the author listed as Marshall Saunders. In fact, it was written by Margaret Marshall Saunders, and published using her middle name since it was felt that no one would want to buy a book written by a woman. (She was in fact the first woman to write a book which sold a million copies!) Every animal shelter and rescue organization in America and Canada owes a debt to Beautiful Joe.

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About Beautiful Joe by Margaret Marshall Saunders One of the most beloved stories in the English language, originally published as a novel in 1894, "Beautiful Joe" is based on the true story of a dog who lived in Meaford in southern Ontario. The first Canadian book to sell 1,000,000 copies, the novel was written in 1893 by Margaret Marshall Saunders and was the winning entry submitted to a literary contest sponsored by the American Humane Education Society. Saunders first heard the story of the dog, who had actually been abused and then rescued as depicted in the book, from her sister-in-law, Louise Moore. Louise's father, Walter Moore, had rescued the dog in 1890. Today the town of Meaford is home to a park and statue honoring the real Beautiful Joe, and a private heritage society was created in 1994 to preserve the Moore home and establish a museum. Written as an autobiography from the dog's point of view, the book includes a reference in the first page to Black Beauty, which had also used that device, as "a little book that she [my mistress] says is the story of a horse's life." Joe then explains that he has undertaken the writing of his life's story in the belief that it will please his mistress. The story, which the author relocates to a small town in Maine, recounts numerous adventures of Joe and the other animals and people in and around the "Morris" household and the little barn and barnyard that serves as a playground for children and a home for a variety of animals. Above all, "Beautiful Joe" is a call for an end to cruelty to animals, a message which it delivers effectively in the course of a story enjoyed and loved by generations of readers young and old.

Saunders’ most famous novel Beautiful Joe, tells the true story of dog that has had a difficult puppyhood with many obstacles including a cruel owner. It is told from the dog's point of view. When the book was published, both the book and its subject received worldwide attention. It was the first Canadian book to sell over a million copies, and by the late 1930s had sold over seven million copies worldwide.

Beautiful Joe was a dog from the town of Meaford, Ontario, whose story inspired the bestselling 1893 novel Beautiful Joe, which contributed to worldwide awareness of animal cruelty. The real Beautiful Joe was an Airedale-type dog. He was medium-sized, brown, and described as likely being part bull terrier and part fox terrier. Saunders was so touched by Joe's story that she wrote a novel-length, fictionalized, autobiographical version of it.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.