Book review: The story of a horse and of hope

Black Beauty, written by Anna Sewell in 1877, remains a classic over 150 years after it was written.

The story is told from a horses point of view and the things he experienced in England following the Industrial Revolution. It is meant to teach a lesson against animal cruelty. Black Beauty starts off happily with the young horse living on a farm with other horses and people who care for him. He eventually becomes an overworked horse pulling heavy taxis around the English countryside seven days a week. Later, he gets passed on to a new family that cares for him in his old age, a family that realizes the challenges that horses face during the era before cars and other vehicles that rely on motors rather than animals.

The dated writing actually enhances the story, giving it a vintage country feel as, chapter by chapter, the novel shares a series of moral lessons against animal cruelty. The story was actually written to share the horrors of the treatment of animals at the time and , for animal lovers, the challenge of recognizing the cruelty that was being argued against may be difficult. The happy ending, however, is rewarding and worth the wait.