Anna Sewell (1820-78) was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Black Beauty, her only book, was completed and published in 1877, just a few months before she died, so she did not live to know of the book's huge success. Apart from being a good story, Black Beauty was instrumental in changing people's attitudes towards horses, and domestic animals in general.

Through the eyes of Black Beauty, Anna Sewell opens our hearts to the welfare of working animals in this tale of adversity and altruism, featuring illustrations by Cecil Aldin and an afterword by author Lauren St. John