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November 24 – Black Beauty Captures Hearts

November 24, 2016

nPostednon November 24, 2016

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Onnthis date in 1877, the world was treated to the story of a horse’snlife – through a horse’s point of view! n

nThenbest-selling novel Black Beauty is a sort of autobiographicalnmemoir – a fictional one, of course! – of a horse. We start withnBlack Beauty’s happy colt-hood on an English farm, we learn about hisntroubles while pulling cabs in London, we rejoice in his happynretirement at the end of the story. n

Thenauthor of Black Beauty, Anna Sewell, was disabled as a youngnteen by an accident, and she was basically unable to walk. She had tonrely on horses for transportation, and she spent many hours drivingnher father to and from work via horse-drawn vehicles.

nSewellnalso helped out her mother – a popular author of children’s books –nlearning about writing while helping her mother edit her books.

nAnnanSewell only wrote one book – but Black Beauty was a hugenhit. A more-than-fifty-million-copies-sold kind of hit! Anone-of-the-best-selling-books-of-all-time kind of hit!

nAnhas-been-adapted-to-seven-movies-plus-two-TV-series kind of hit!nThere has even been an LP adaptation and a theatrical adaptation ofnthe well-loved story.

nThenbook was not particularly meant for kids – it was meant tonencourage people who work with horses to be kind to them – but itnis thought of (at least now) as a kids’ book. It is preachy and teachy, but thenpreaching and teaching are all about treating people and animals withnkindness and sympathy. Here is one quote:

n“….n[T]here is no religion without love, and people may talk as much asnthey like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to bengood and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham….”

nIncan dig that, can’t you?