Black Beauty

There will be tears

Sewell, Ana. Black Beauty. New York : Children's Classics, 1998.

Plot: An autobiography of a horse in nineteenth century England. Black Beauty enjoys his early life on a manor with kind masters. Eventually, he makes friends of other equines on the manor, who give dire warnings of poor conditions elsewhere. His later years prove the legitimacy of their fears. He suffers repeated mistreatment in the name of fashion, economics, and ignorance. Bearing reins, poor care, reckless work, and bad luck ruin his health. Yet, he may still find some peace waiting for him.

Genre: Animals

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: King of the Wind, The Winter Pony

Personal Thoughts: Reading the title as an adult differs greatly from reading it as a tween. As a tween, it was a sad story about an innocent horse. As an adult, I realize it is an animal rights novel.  To Sewell's credit, though, she also explores the plight of the horses' abusers. Most do not want to harm their animals. However, due to their employers' demands, poor working conditions, and unreasonable customers, many of the owners are forced to place their animals in unsafe conditions. Such conditions also damage the horsemen, especially the cab drivers. At the time of the novel, blaming the working class for poor animal care was the default expectation. However, Sewell pointed out much, if not the majority, of the damage began with the upper class.

As a result of the novel, the bearing rein that plagued the horses were eventually outlawed.

The title inspired a number of films and theater productions, both good and bad.