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Black Beauty
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Black Beauty Mp3 cd -

by Anna Sewell; Read by Jeff Harding

About this book

First published under the full title: Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions. The Autobiography of a Horse. Translated from the Equine, by Jarrold and Sons London in 1877, the novel now known as simply Black Beauty was written by English author Anna Sewell. The first American editions from 1890 have the added title 'The “Uncle Tom's Cabin” of the Horse' as promoters of the novel hoped it would do for animal welfare what Stowe's novel did for the abolition of slavery.

Anna Sewell was born in 1820 in Great Yarmouth, England. She suffered an accident as a child that left her crippled and dependent on carriage horses as her main source of mobility. She began writing Black Beauty in 1871, and continued through 1877 though her health was deteriorating. In December 1876 she wrote in her diary "I have been confined to the house and to my sofa, from time to time, when I am able, been writing what I think will turn out a little book, its special aim being to induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses". Her mother, Mary Wright Sewell, was a successful children's author, and Anna helped edit her books, and later her mother helped Anna transcribe Black Beauty.

An animal autobiography, told by the magnificent black horse himself, this is the dramatic and heartwarming tale of Black Beauty's life-from his idyllic days on a country squire's estate to his harsh fate as a London cab horse. Although not originally intended as a children's novel, but for people who work with horses, it soon became a children's classic. Two years after the release of Black Beauty in the United States there were one million copies in circulation. Today Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books in history, with over 50 million copies sold in 50 different languages.

The earliest dated inscribed copies are Christmas 1877. Although the book was an immediate bestseller, Sewell lived just long enough to see her first and only novel become a success – she died on 25 April 1878.


From the publisher

Black Beauty is a novel by English author Anna Sewell published in 1877. The story is told in the first person and is a fictional autobiographical memoir told from the perspective of a horse named Black Beauty. The story follow this horses life, from his young days on an English farm with his mother, to the more dreadful years of pulling cabs in London, and ending with his happy retirement in the country. The book at the time of its publication, somewhat inadvertently helped gain justice for mistreated animals (specifically horses) in the London cab industry, as well as to help those cab drivers combat unfair government regulations. It has sold over 50 million copies making one of the best-selling books of all time.

First Edition Identification

First editions of The Autobiography of a Horse. Translated from the Original Equine were published by Jarrold and Sons in London on November 24, 1877. 247 pages with 8 pages of publisher’s advertisements in the rear. The 'C' binding was probably the standard trade issue, with 'A' and 'B' being either publisher's presentation bindings, or a more expensive deluxe issues. 

The first US edition was published in Boston by The American Humane Education Society in 1890. First US edition. First issue with Introductory Chapter dated February 12, 1890 and ads on endpapers dated March, 1890.

Details

  • Title Black Beauty
  • Author Anna Sewell; Read by Jeff Harding
  • Binding MP3 CD
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Dreamscape Media
  • Features Unabridged
  • ISBN 9781520030371 / 1520030371
  • Weight 0.1 lbs (0.05 kg)
  • Dimensions 4.9 x 5.5 x 0.4 in (12.45 x 13.97 x 1.02 cm)
  • Ages 08 to 11 years
  • Grade levels 3 - 6
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 19th Century
    • Cultural Region: British
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

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