As I run out of horse poetry to post I’ve began searching for more horse literature to share. In doing so I ran across a treasure trove including Black Beauty which was first published in 1877.
Breaking Ground
This realistic, bittersweet tale is written from the animal’s point of view, giving it a unique twist. Anna Sewell claims to have only translated the tale into English (from equine) for us humans to learn from.
This type of autobiography was the first of its kind, not only was it written from the horses perspective, but the horse was never given human traits.
Still in Style
Obviously Sewell’s intention was to promote humane treatment of horses – which is a plight that is still very relevant today. This book has undeniably had a profound effect on horse lovers around the world, but also managed to change public attitudes about treatment of animals in general.
In the weeks to come I’ll post the entire book, chapter by chapter (on Tuesdays) for interested readers.
Read Online
The chapters are short and make a quick read, if you don’t want to read weekly, I’ll collect them into one page so you can read at your leisure. Believe it or not, Black Beauty was the only thing Anna Sewell ever wrote (or published anyway) and she sold the manuscript for very little. It is still read around the world and every bit as relevant today as it was when she wrote it. See you next Tuesday for chapter 1!