Books with title Black Beauty - Large Print Edition: An Autobiography of a Horse

"Black Beauty" is Anna Sewell's classic tale of a horse living in 19th century England. The novel follows the story of a young colt through its life and the experiences it has as it passes from master to master. Black Beauty's experiences are one of both cruelty and kindness. "Black Beauty" masterfully explores the relation between men and animals and strives to impress upon the reader that all animals should be treated with kindness and compassion. The Autobiography of a Horse With fifty million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time. Its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated well. While promoting animal welfare, Black Beauty also teaches how to treat people with kindness, sympathy, and respect. The tale has been a favorite with animal-loving children for over a century. Black Beauty was recently listed at number 58 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

From its first publication in 1877, Black Beauty has been one of the best-loved animal stories ever written. The dramatic and heartwarming tale is told by the magnificent black horse himself, from his idyllic days on a country squire’s estate to his harsh fate as a London cab horse and his merciful rescue by two kindly old ladies. Filled with vivid anecdotes about animal intelligence, the novel derives a special magic from the love of all creatures, great and small, apparent on every page. But the book’s lasting impact comes from its descriptions of a human society struggling to find the goodness within itself and its plea for kindness to all creatures - a message so powerful that this favorite classic began a crusade for animal welfare that continues to this day. Anna Sewell was born in England in 1820. As a young girl, she witnessed great and frequent abuse of horses. A knee injury at 14 left her disabled, but she rode and drove horses very well, controlling them with voice alone, never a whip. She wrote Black Beauty in her 50s and died about a year after it was published in 1877. The book has had a tremendous impact in creating a new wave of humanist thinking towards animals.

The story is told in the first person (or "first horse") as an autobiographical memoir told by a highbred horse named Black Beauty - beginning with his carefree days as a foal on an English farm, to his difficult life pulling cabs in London, to his happy retirement in the country. Along the way, he meets with many hardships and recounts many tales of cruelty and kindness.