Black Beauty (Oxford World's Classics) - Softcover

Sewell, Anna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199608520 ISBN 13: 9780199608522

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

Synopsis

Now a classic of children's literature, though not originally published for children, this new edition of Anna Sewell's famed "Autobiography of a Horse" is the only available critical edition, with illuminating features not found elsewhere. One of the bestselling novels in English, Black Beauty was originally written to expose and prevent cruelty to horses. Told by Black Beauty himself, this moving story recounts his idyllic colt-hood and his experiences at the hands of a variety of owners, good and bad. Describing his life as a horse in Victorian England, he tells of the unthinking brutality to which horses were often subjected. A sympathetic hero who faces danger and excitement, Black Beauty taught powerful lessons that influenced animal welfare in England and America. Indeed, the novel was known in America as "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of the Horse."

This edition is edited by Sewell's biographer, Adrienne E. Gavin, whose wide-ranging introduction draws on the latest scholarship to examine the multiple ways in which the story has been read: as children's classic, protest novel, horse-care manual, feminist text, slave narrative, autobiography, and more. Also included are illustrations and material from the first American edition, such as an appendix on "Killing Animals Humanely." In addition, there is a glossary of equine terms and an appendix of variants between the first British and American editions.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

About this title

Review:

"A horse is a horse of course unless of course the horse is Black Beauty. Animal-loving children have been devoted to Black Beauty throughout this century, and no doubt will continue through the next. Although Anna Sewell's classic paints a clear picture of turn-of-the-century London, its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness.

Black Beauty tells the story of the horse's own long and varied life, from a well-born colt in a pleasant meadow to an elegant carriage horse for a gentleman to a painfully overworked cab horse. Throughout, Sewell rails--in a gentle, 19th-century way--against animal maltreatment. Young readers will follow Black Beauty's fortunes, good and bad, with gentle masters as well as cruel. Children can easily make the leap from horse-human relationships to human-human relationships, and begin to understand how their own consideration of others may be a benefit to all. (Ages 9 to 12)"

From the Publisher:

Black Beauty's tale, as told by himself, is the fascinating story of the life of a horse a hundred years ago, when horseswere a part of everyone's life.

Although his colthood and early life were happy, Black Beauty tastes the bitterness of cruel grooms and indifferent masters as he passes from hand to hand, progressing from the country to London and back again.

This, the most famous horse story ever written, is a must on everyone's reading list.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0199608520
• ISBN 13: 9780199608522
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224
• Editor: Gavin Adrienne E.