Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

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TheRealityBugBlog
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Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Post by TheRealityBugBlog »

The classic children's tale, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is one of few novels told from the perspective of an animal as the main character. Some more recent comparable tales would include Watership Down by Richard Adams and the also equine themed War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.

Within its 255 page count, Sewell magically breathes life into her horsey characters through their first person (or animal in this case) stories of struggles and triumphs. It follows the life of the titled Black Beauty from colt-hood with his mother in England all the way through to his final retirement in the country and all of the terrible and wonderful things that happened to him in between. Sewell fantastically describes his companions as well as the lovely and sometimes unsightly scenery along the way. Each of the heart-straining moments of tenderness and inhumanity that they all face along the way creates an enchanting tale that has been read and reread to children around the world for over a century.

This book is by far one of my favorites, so much so that I collect antique editions and display them in my home. Has anyone else read this either recently or in the past? What did you think? I love the simple character development and the emotion that you feel through the characters. Although I am much older now and read at a much higher level, this is always going to be found on my to-read list during the holidays.
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Post by JudyM5 »

i think it is good to revisit childhood favourites. I think BB can be read and enjoyed on a different level as an adult. Firstly it is not mawkish or sentimental in any way, and secondly there is such a wealth of period detail.
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Veda
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Post by Veda »

I was just reading Black Beauty to my cousin's kid the other day and fell in love with the book all over again... I agree with Judy in that now that I'm revisiting children's classics, I find deeper meaning in them as an adult.
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Post by JudyM5 »

And also they have a nice nostalgic feel to them. I have re-read the Secret Garden recently, and Silas Marner too, and really enjoyed them both. The only downside is it makes you remember how much more time you had to read all those years ago...
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Post by Jjnessie 33 »

i love the book and the movie read it when i was in elementry school
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Post by BookLover2015bra »

Black Beauty was the very first book I ever owned. I fell in love with reading because of the way it was wrote. Sewell wrote it so that you could feel and see everything that Beauty was experiencing. At times you would cring and cry with Beauty's treatment. Also feel the love that Beauty felt.
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Post by Jennalyn »

I am actually related to Anna Sewell. I found out when I was working on a Genealogy project for church. My Grandma's maiden name is Sewell (mom's mom), so I did more research and voila....I uncovered a story!!!!
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Post by Acwoolet »

Black Beauty was one of my favorites while growing up, I've realized that there are so many novels that I need to go back and re-read.
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Post by CarrieMe »

Black Beauty was one of my favorites as a child. Even now, I read it at least every few years. Does anyone else end up sobbing every time?
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Post by Lennycat »

I loved this book so much. I remember as a child feeling so strongly about Beauty's predicament and how badly he was treated sometimes. I cried and cried after some of the scenes. It truly gave me a view through an animal's eyes and permanently changed how I feel about animals.
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Post by shish_by_design »

This book was my favourite as a kid and I got my nieces and nephews to love it too. Its now the official bedtime story, though I don't think they get its deeper meaning right now, but they will later on. Because I too got the real meaning of the book once I was old enough to understand. Its a great classic

-- 30 Jun 2017, 23:51 --

This book was my favourite as a kid and I got my nieces and nephews to love it too. Its now the official bedtime story, though I don't think they get its deeper meaning right now, but they will later on. Because I too got the real meaning of the book once I was old enough to understand. Its a great classic
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Post by Naval Aulakh »

I read Black Beauty when I was in school. I liked it and the way the writer has described the horse is very good. I would recommend this book to all the children. They are going to learn some good lessons from this book.
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Post by Jeyasivananth »

I recently read an abridged version of this book with my daughter and relived my memories of reading it when I was young Its a great juvenile fiction, poignant and moving.
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Beti134
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Post by Beti134 »

During my childhood , this book was my faviourite and i loved it and i like the way its written .its an awsome book and encourage people to read it
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Post by Eileen R »

I remember the first time I read black beauty. I was hooked. It's still one of my favorite books of all time. I'd encourage everyone to read it, it's a great classic.
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