Black Beauty

Title: Black Beauty

Author: Anna Sewell

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Classic

Number of Pages: 245

Publication Date: 1877

Publisher: Scholastic

Summary: As a young horse, Black Beauty is well-loved and happy. But when his owner is forced to sell him, his life changes drastically. He has many new owners - some of them cruel and some of them kind. All he needs is someone to love him again...

Whether pulling an elegant carriage or a ramshackle cab, Black Beauty tries to live as best he can.

For the month of July my TBR Challenge was to read a book that I have never finished. I found this challenge really hard, I don't stop reading books unless they are really bad but as I was looking over my bookshelves I saw it...Black Beauty. I'm not really sure why I have never finished this book (considering my never ending obsession with horses and books), I have picked it up to read so many times before but I just seem to never quite reach the end. However, those days are behind me.

Black Beauty was originally published in 1877 and most people have heard something about this incredible story. This classic children's book will break your heart while at the same time being heart warming. This book is told from the perspective of Black Beauty from his time as a foal at his mother's side up until he is approximately 14 years old. The story follows Black Beauty as he goes through many owners, some good and some bad. This story is inspirational in the way that Sewell gets inside the head of the horse. Somehow she manages to capture the essence of how a horse would feel and think going through life.

This book is a quick read and while I did struggle with the younger audience language it was also part of its charm. The story is very direct in what is happening to Black Beauty even if the reasons for why some of the horrible things are happening aren't. After all the story is being told from the perspective of a horse. Sewell's story is inspirational in how people treat not just horses but people and other animals too. Sewell is especially clear in her contempt for the bearing rein (which causes a horse to hold its head back and it's neck in an arch) a cruel yet fashionable way of having horses pull a carriage during the Victorian era.

I would recommend this story to anyone of any age who loves animals or even just to someone who wants to read something that inspires you a little. So I give this book a solid 4 stars.