Black Beauty is a timeless classic. It is read by countless children, studied in childrens litterature classes, and loved by readers around the world.

Black Beauty is a horse who goes around from owner to owner in the 19th century England. Some owners are kind while others are cruel. Black Beauty also gets to know other horses and their experiences.

This is a book that would make a perfect choise for horse lovers and those interested in the rights of animals. The horses are almost human in their emotions and how they express themselves. What are considered to be tough creatures who are hardened for work or racing, are personified into tender, loving creatures.

Anna Sewell is best known for Black Beauty. She braught her own observations and perspective into her writing. During the time period when she was growing up in England, horses were terribly mistreated. They were overworked, forced to work under terrible conditions, beaten and improperly groomed and hornessed. Since the wrote from beautys point of view, the reader can begin to empathise with the suffering and pain he experienced.

Her faith (she was a quaker) and her own physical difficulties led Sewell to have enormous compassion for horses as well as all leaving creatures. In fact Black Beauty was based on a horse owned by her brother, named Bessie, and the character Merrylegs was based upon a favourite grey pony of Sewell`s

Black Beauty was published in 1877, when Sewell was in her fifties. Unfortunately, she died only a year after it was published. However, her work made a great impact in her society and how it treated horses.

Over one hundred years later, over 30 million copies of Black Beauty have been printed, a record for a work of fiction. Without a doubt, this novel will continue to reach readers with a very important message: that animals do feel pain.