Sewell, Anna - Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse

"Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse" is a novel written by the British author Anna Sewell. The book was published in 1867 and the main theme is cruelty towards horses.

The Life of Black Beauty

The story is about the life of the Black Beauty horse. He lives in a prairie with his mother Duchess and six other restless foals. At the age of 4, his master sold him to the coachman John Manly, in the meadows of Mr. Gordon. At the stables, he meets a small, friendly pony, Merrylegs, who tells him how he works and how the character of the other horses is.
A few days later, the day came, for Black Beauty, to try to transport a carriage, along with another mare, Ginger.

He was not very happy because she said he was very sullen. But Ginger said to Black Beauty that she was affectionate, only occasionally nervous because she had really cruel masters in the past.

Things kept going well, the owners took great care of the horse, and he went out of his way to make them proud.

The Sale and the New Home

But one autumn day, her mistress fell seriously ill, and Mr. Gordon and his wife had to leave for a warmer city.

All the horses were sold to different neighbors, while Black Beauty and Ginger, went together by the Wodsworth family.
The place was comfortable; the stalls were big and clean, there was plenty of food and the owner was a kind man. The only problem was his wife. A cruel woman who forced her husband to put the bearing on the horses every day. It was uncomfortable and hurt a lot.

Black Beauty had a good teaching from her mother when she was a child; he comes from a noble family and has always had the best of himself, in all situations.

But it is not like that for Ginger, and when the lady got into the carriage, she began to kick wildly, and the coachman York fell. So the mistress ordered to take Ginger away, and to have the carriages transported to Black Beauty, with her new partner Max.

The Journey to London

One day later, Mr. York had to leave for London and entrusted the horse to the coachman Reuben Smith; honest and kind man, but also of business and therefore often drunk.

In fact, one afternoon he rode Beauty to the city and left him at the stables, telling the groom that he would come to pick it up for 4 p.m. The boy checked the horse and saw that an iron in the front leg had melted and could not move in those conditions.