Audiobook · read by volunteers
Black Beauty (The Autobiography of a Horse)
Anna Sewell (1820–1878)
Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023), Kristin LeMoine, Brad Bush, Betsie Bush, Fox in the Stars, Judith Brown, fastfinge, Chris Peterson, Sean McGaughey, Cynthia Lyons (1946-2011) · 49 chapters · 6 h 14
About the book
Black Beauty begins in a sunny meadow, where a young colt learns the ways of the world from his gentle mother. Told entirely in the horse’s own voice, this is the story of a life lived at the mercy of other people. Black Beauty passes from a kind country estate to the bustle of London streets, from careful hands to careless and cruel ones, and meets companions of every temper along the way: a spirited mare with a bitter past, a mischievous pony, a faithful groom. Each short chapter is a single episode, a lesson in patience, courage or compassion seen from a point of view we rarely consider. The book is tender without being sugary, and it never lectures for long, because the narrator’s honest observations do the work. Listen for the change of tone as his fortunes rise and fall, and for the quiet hope that carries him through.
Introduction
Anna Sewell (1820–1878) wrote Black Beauty late in a life shadowed by poor health, which kept her close to home and made carriages and horses part of her daily world. It was her only novel, and it appeared in 1877, not long before her death in 1878. She meant it as a plea for kindness toward the animals that pulled the loads of Victorian Britain, and she chose to let a horse speak for himself. It is worth remembering that she wrote it slowly, over several years and in great difficulty, often dictating to her mother, and that she lived only a few months after its publication.
The book is often counted among the first great animal narratives written in the first person, and it is generally credited with helping to change attitudes toward the treatment of working horses. Practices that were routine in her day, such as the tight bearing rein, are shown here as sources of real suffering, and readers responded. The story has stayed in print ever since and has been adapted many times for stage, screen and television.
This recording is divided into 49 short chapters and runs for about six hours and a quarter. It was read by a team of LibriVox volunteers, so the voices change from chapter to chapter, rather like the masters Black Beauty serves.
Why listen now? Because the story is still a gentle, moving argument for empathy, and because Sewell’s plain, clear prose carries beautifully when it is read aloud. It suits a family listening together as well as a quiet evening alone.
Public domain
Anna Sewell died in 1878: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text