Books with title Black Beauty

A novel that has enjoyed remarkable success and enduring popularity, Black Beauty is the classic story of a courageous horse.A fictional tale told from an animal's point of view, Black Beauty offers the listener a unique perspective of the human world. Through tales about his various owners, he encourages the virtues of having a kind and compassionate spirit, particularly toward animals. Upon its first publication, Black Beauty was an immediate success, and author Anna Sewell passed away knowing that her words had indeed encouraged others to treat animals well.

A perfect first illustrated introduction to the classic horse story for younger readersBlack Beauty has been sensitively abridged and retold to make it suitable for sharing with young children, while retaining all the key parts of the story including Black Beauty's friendship with Ginger, his treatment at the hands of his owners, and fascinating historical detail about how how horses had many different uses in the days before cars.

Continuously in print and translated into multiple languages since it was first published, Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty is a classic work of children’s literature and an important text in the fields of Victorian studies and animal studies. Writing to “induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses,” Sewell realistically documents the working conditions of Black Beauty, who moves down the social scale from a rural carriage horse to a delivery horse in London. Sewell makes visible and tangible the experience of animals who were often treated as if they were machines. Though she died shortly after it was published, Sewell’s book contributed significantly to late nineteenth-century campaigns for humane treatment of horses and remains a seminal anti-cruelty text today. The Broadview Press edition reproduces the first edition of 1877, restoring material often abridged in other modern editions. Appendices include materials on contemporary animal-rights movements, “equine management,” and Victorian understandings of animal emotions.

The story begins in a meadow of 19th century England, where the young horse, Black Beauty, has just been born. There, his mother nurtures him, raises him and gives him advice which he remembers and acts on for the rest of his life: do good and give your best effort always and everything will work out. The story of his life is this advice in living form. As his youngest days pass in that meadow, he witnesses the death of his own brother and a rider in a hunting accident. Soon after, he must undergo the breaking-in process where his trainer gently teaches him to bear a rider, wear a saddle and bridle and respond to the rider’s driving signals. After this coming-of-age training, he is ready to leave the meadow of his youth. He is sold to Squire Gordon, a man who takes a liking to this strong, young, beautifully dark coated horse. Squire Gordon’s residence, Birtwick Park, thus becomes Beauty’s new home. There he meets those who will become among his dearest friends: Ginger, Merrylegs, John Manly and James. John is his new coachman, and a good, wise, gentle old fellow. James and Joe, his two successive grooms, were also quite caring and well-intentioned. So he soon falls in love with his new home and is happy there, except for one problem: he misses his liberty. Never again is he left to do just as he wishes; instead, he will be ordered and ridden by this human or that human without break. The earliest days of his youth are over and he can no longer roam around meadows and spend his days resting with his mother anymore. Despite this loss of liberty, Beauty is still happy to be in this situation rather than a situation where the owner was cruel or neglectful, and soon enough he becomes accustomed to the life-long burden of servitude towards humans. One day when in conversation with his friends Ginger and Merrylegs, he hears stories of wicked masters. The former horse, a powerful, lively mare, tells of her harsh upbringing and how it scarred her for life to have a neglectful master. Thus the horses of Birtwick begin their long discussion amongst themselves concerning the faults in humans rule over horses and the cruelties horses often face.

A classic tale of adventure—straight from the horse’s mouth.This classic story allows the reader to hear about the adventures of a horse’s life, as told by the horse himself! Anna Sewell’s dependence on horses for transportation gave her keen insights into the lives of animals that most people of her day took for granted, and with Black Beauty, she wove a timeless tale of kindness and compassion for humans and beasts. Bound in a beautiful cloth cover with full-color illustrations inside and foil stamping on the front, this unabridged volume in our Illustrated Classics series will be a welcome addition to any home library.

•Writer’s point of view•Character details that have never been spoken aboutBlack Beauty was born on a farm in the English countryside.He and his mother and the other field horses spent the first four years of his life there. The good farmer trains Beauty to wear a saddle and a bridle when he turns 4 and shows him how to bear a horse. Beauty is sold to Squire Gordon once the training is finished. Beauty makes friends with a pony called Merrylegs and a poorly behaved mare called Ginger at Squire Gordon's home. Ginger's former owners have treated her unfairly and exploited her, so she doesn't trust people. When time passes, Beauty and Ginger are partnered and become good friends. Beauty thrives in his new home under the coachman's guidance, John Manley, and becomes a favourite of his master and family. On many times, elegance proves its value. He fails to cross a bridge on a stormy night because he fears that something is wrong. The storm washed away the bridge. He saves the lives of John and Squire Gordon by trusting his intuition. The strength of Beauty makes Ginger get the courage to run to safety when a barn at a hotel catches fire. And when the mistress gets ill, it's hard for Beauty to get the doctor back in time to save her. Squire Gordon is forced to sell Beauty amid all this because his wife gets too ill to stay in the country. Both Ginger and Beauty are sold to nearby Earl. This new home has a bearing rein that damages the neck of Beauty and makes driving the wagon tougher for him. Although the job is more complicated than in his old home, Beauty is well cared for until the stableman returns to London with his parents. The stables were rented to a man named Ruben Smith. Ruben fights alcoholism and slips back into his old vices one day. Drunk, Ruben flies Beauty with a loose boot, something he'd be easy enough to repair if he were sober. Beauty hurts his foot when the boot comes off and stumbles to his feet. Ruben, who hurts his head and dies, is thrown into the pit. The collision leaves Beauty on his knees with permanent scars. He is considered deficient and not good enough to be a horse in the carriage. Beauty is sold to a livery stable where it is rented to novice drives seeking a day carriage. He remains there until he is accepted by a lady. This man suggests buying Beauty from his friend, Mr. Barry. Mr. Barry doesn't know how to look after a horse and hires a trainer to do the job for him. He hires the first person to steal the food of Beauty to feed his chickens. The second one is pointless and lazy. He's not washing the stall of Beauty, which makes Beauty very sick. Jerry is not a wealthy man, but he works hard to support his family and takes care of his other cab horse, Beauty and Captain. Beauty always has to rest on Sundays and Jerry and his friends handle it very well. Beauty sees several masters abusing their horses during his time with Jerry. Beauty's time with Jerry comes to an end when his master becomes ill and takes up a job in the country that is going to make life easier for him and give his family more opportunities. Beauty is being marketed as a carthorse. In his new position, he is working very hard and almost dies. Beauty is sure to need rest before he can return to work, but his master is not interested in using his time or money on Beauty and decides to sell it. When his granddaughter thinks they should help him, a man named Farmer Thoroughgood buys Beauty. Black Beauty returns to its old strength after many months of resting in the country, and Farmer Thoroughgood decides it's time to sell it to a good home. Three women who are looking for a good, reliable horse bring him to the home. Joe Green, their groom, comes to observe Beauty and welcomes him. Joe worked under John Manly and remembers Black Beauty until they took their toll in years of bad treatment. He tells his mistresses that Beauty is a fine horse, and the women choose to keep it. Black Beauty finds its final home in their love