Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horses
Written in an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell whilst she was critically ill and bedridden, Black Beauty is a unique novel as it is written from the animals perspective. It is a story about animal welfare and teaches how to treat both animals and humans with kindness, sympathy and respect.
Black Beauty
This novel is an autobiographical memoir of a horse named Black Beauty beginning with his carefree days with his mother as a foal on an English farm, to the hardships of pulling cabs in central London and finally to his happy retirement in the country.
Black Beauty encounters many situations of cruelty as well as kindness and in each chapter there is a life lesson that relates to kindness, sympathy and treatment of animals.
With detailed observations and extensive descriptions of horse behaviour this book was very influential in stopping cruel practices involving animals and led to the beginning of the animal welfare movement.
Not only a novel for children, this story makes us look at how we live and whom we inadvertently harm. A must read.
Jessica Millott
Jess is a talented and versatile actor whose narration of Black Beauty is sympathetic and amiable. She loves reading and Black Beauty is one of her favourite books from childhood.
"I had forgotten what a fantastic story Black Beauty is and I have so enjoyed reading it out loud. I just know that people are going to love it."
Chapter One
Read by Jessica Millott
Example Curriculum
- Chapter 1 - My Early Home (5:18)
- Chapter 2 - The Hunt (7:21)
- Chapter 3 - The Breaking In (9:55)
- Chapter 4 - Birtwick Park (7:20)
- Chapter 5 - A Fair Start (8:33)
- Chapter 6 - Liberty (3:21)
- Chapter 7 - Ginger (8:06)
- Chapter 8 - Ginger's Story continued (8:06)
- Chapter 9 - Merrylegs (5:54)
- Chapter 10 - A Talk in the Orchard (12:12)
- Chapter 11 - Plain Speaking (6:28)
- Chapter 12 - A Stormy Day (6:36)
- Chapter 13 - The Devil's Trade Mark (5:56)
- Chapter 14 - James Howard (6:11)
- Chapter 15 - The Old Hostler (5:46)
- Chapter 16 - The Fire (7:44)
- Chapter 17 - John Manly's Talk (7:42)
- Chapter 18 - Going for the Doctor (7:40)
- Chapter 19 - Only Ignorance (4:35)
- Chapter 20 - Joe Green (5:45)
- Chapter 21 - The Parting (5:36)
- PART TWO Chapter 22 - Earlshall (7:35)
- Chapter 23 - A Strike for Liberty (6:06)
- Chapter 24 - The Lady Anne, or A Runaway Horse (12:25)
- Chapter 25 - Reuben Smith (7:22)
- Chapter 26 - How It Ended (5:43)
- Chapter 27 - Ruined and Going Downhill (5:35)
- Chapter 28 - A Job Horse and His Drivers (7:06)
- Chapter 29 - Cockneys (12:24)
- Chapter 30 - A Thief (5:02)
- Chapter 31 - A Humbug (6:05)
- PART III - Chapter 32 - A Horse Fair (7:01)
- Chapter 33 - A London Cab Horse (7:50)
- Chapter 34 - An Old War Horse (10:20)
- Chapter 35 - Jerry Barker (10:43)
- Chapter 36 - The Sunday Cab (9:08)
- Chapter 37 - The Golden Rule (6:33)
- Chapter 38 - Dolly and a Real Gentleman (8:00)
- Chapter 39 - Seedy Sam (7:19)
- Chapter 40 - Poor Ginger (4:33)
- Chapter 41 - The Butcher (5:49)
- Chapter 42 - The Election (3:21)
- Chapter 43 - A Friend in Need (7:56)
- Chapter 44 - Old Captain and His Successor (8:06)
- Chapter 45 - Jerry's New Year (11:11)
- PART IV - Chapter 46 - Jakes and The Lady (6:43)
- Chapter 47 - Hard Times (8:16)
- Chapter 48 - Farmer Thoroughgood and His Grandson Willie (7:02)
- Chapter 49 - My Last Home (6:09)