This was such a sweet book! Sad, but also sweet. I didn't realize this book was entirely from the horse's perspective and I loved that! Even better, this was written in the 1800s when horses were used as vehicles and means to drive carts, so this author took pains to showcase bad behavior towards animals and how it affects them...genius! If I read this back then, I would have been up in arms and joined leagues with PETA to get these assholes away from horses!

Anywho, we follow Black Beauty over the course of his life. He is trained and then sold, over and over and over, and has all manner of owners and jobs. Some good, some bad, some horrible, and some amazing. The saddest part was when his friend Ginger detailed the hard, hard life she lived until her death. I don't know that I can stomach any of the movies if they show some of the mistreatment in this book, but it was very good and I'm glad I read it!

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This was a firm favourite in childhood. In fact a good portion of my beloved books back then involved horses, The Black Stallion, Flicker, The Bumper Girls Collection of Horse Stories. I'm pretty sure I dreamed of having my own horse too, sadly I had to share Barbie's with her instead. Scarred for life.

Set in turn of the century London this book was a moving and powerful read for me, I recall feeling quite emotional in parts and read it numerous times. I was in love with Black Beauty, like many other girls of a similar age. This one will always be a favourite book ever and it's still a book that today will make readers really happy. A 5 star classic.