Black Beauty was the only book written by Anna Sewell, although its continued popularity among children, particularly girls, has justified that effort. Sewell was, remarkably, paid only twenty pounds for the book and it was published three months before her death, in 1877. However, its immediate success gave her great pleasure and she died in the knowledge that the book had indeed encouraged people to treat animals less cruelly. It is the autobiography of a horse, the Black Beauty of the title, who narrates it. Through various owners who ask different tasks of Black Beauty, he grows and has numerous adventures. He goes from being a riding and carriage horse through being a mistreated town cab horse to eventual happiness in a secure home. Notably, the animal keeps strength and good temper throughout his suffering and the story was extremely influential as pro-animal propaganda but it is also an extremely exciting and moving children's story.
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