BLACK BEAUTY

A sensitive and kind-hearted horse, Black Beauty recounts his life, starting with his idyllic early days as a colt on a farm in the English countryside, where he is eventually put to work pulling carriages for successive owners on various estates, before ending up as a cab horse in London. In his account he describes the hardships he endures and the contrasting treatment he receives from his different masters, as well as his friendships with some of his fellow horses.

An instant classic when it was published in 1877, Anna Sewell's only novel highlighted the plight of mistreated horses in Victorian England, which led to changes in the law and a shift in people's attitudes towards domestic animals. By employing a talking horse as its narrator, Black Beauty also pioneered the genre of animal fiction, providing an enduring influence on children's fiction to this day.