Black Beauty; illustrated by Lionel Edwards/ Anna Sewell

First published under the full title: Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions. The Autobiography of a Horse. Translated from the Equine, by Jarrold and Sons London in 1877, the novel now known as simply Black Beauty was written by English author Anna Sewell. The first American editions from 1890 have the added title ' The “Uncle Tom's Cabin” of the Horse' as promoters of the novel hoped it would do for animal welfare what Stowe's novel did for the abolition of slavery. Anna Sewell was born in 1820 in Great Yarmouth, England. She suffered an accident as a child that left her crippled and dependent on carriage horses as her main source of mobility. She began writing Black Beauty in 1871, and continued through 1877 though her health was deteriorating. In December 1876 she wrote in her diary "I have been confined to the house and to my sofa, from time to time, when I am able, been writing what I think will turn out a little book, its special aim being to induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses". Her mother, Mary Wright Sewell, was a successful children's author, and Anna helped edit her books, and later her mother helped Anna transcribe Black Beauty . An animal autobiography, told by the magnificent black horse himself, this is the dramatic and heartwarming tale of Black Beauty's life-from his idyllic days on a country squire's estate to his harsh fate as a London cab horse. Although not originally intended as a children's novel, but for people who work with horses, it soon became a children's classic. Two years after the release of Black Beauty in the United States there were one million copies in circulation. Today Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books in history, with over 50 million copies sold in 50 different languages. The earliest dated inscribed copies are Christmas 1877. Although the book was an immediate bestseller, Sewell lived just long enough to see her first and only novel become a success – she died on 25 April 1878.

Read More: Identifying first editions of Black Beauty; illustrated by Lionel Edwards/ Anna Sewell

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