Anna Sewell – 19th-century English novelist, author of the single but enduring classic Black Beauty. Afflicted by illness, she was largely unable to walk and spent much time around horses. Her novel, told from a horse’s perspective, became a plea for kindness and transformed attitudes toward animals in Victorian England.
🐴 Black Beauty (1877) was Sewell’s only book, yet it earned global fame. 📖 One of the first novels to advocate for animal welfare through fiction. 💔 Sewell died just months after its publication, never witnessing its success. 🌍 The book sold tens of millions of copies and has been translated into 50+ languages. ✨ Influenced British laws against cruelty to horses. 🏡 As a child, she often used a horse-drawn cart due to limited mobility. 📚 Today it is taught in schools as both literature and ethical study. 😂 Fun fact: in the U.S., the novel was long marketed as a “children’s story,” only later recognised as a serious social critique.