 First edition, Jarrold and Sons, London | |
| Author | Anna Sewell |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Jarrold & Sons |
Publication date | 24 November 1877 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 255 |
| Text | Black Beauty at Wikisource |
Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horse is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was written from a horse as main character's perspective. She wrote it in the last years of her life, during which she was bedridden and seriously ill.[1] The novel became an immediate best-seller, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, but having lived long enough to see her only novel become a success. With fifty million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time.[2]
While forthrightly teaching animal welfare, it also teaches how to treat people with kindness, sympathy, and respect. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 58 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.[3] It is seen as a forerunner of the pony book.
- ^ Merriam-Webster (1995). "Black Beauty". Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature.
- ^ The Times on Black Beauty: "Fifty million copies of Black Beauty have been sold in the years since Anna Sewell's publisher paid her £20 for the story." (29 February 2008)
- ^ "BBC – The Big Read". BBC. April 2003, Retrieved 18 October 2012