Black Beauty
Complete textBlack Beauty tells the story of his life as a horse, beginning in a peaceful meadow and passing through different owners and kinds of work. Good care and thoughtless treatment alter his fortunes in a world where animals have little control over their circumstances.
Continue readingAbout Black Beauty
The horse's first-person voice turns equipment, stable routines, and driving habits into immediate experiences rather than background details. Other horses add their histories, widening the account beyond one animal. Its plainspoken attention to pain and kindness asks readers to examine ordinary conduct, including practices that people excuse as custom or necessity.
Reading focus
Understand animal welfare through a horse's account of work, changing owners, and the practical difference made by attentive care.
This reading edition contains 59,605 words in 50 original sections. Read the text online with adjustable type and three colour themes, or keep a printable PDF.
Author: Anna Sewell. Language: English. Reading edition: 28 October 2026.
Opening excerpt
The Autobiography of a Horse
Contents
All sections- Title and dedication1 min
- Part I — 01 My Early Home4 min
- Part I — 02 The Hunt5 min
- Part I — 03 My Breaking In7 min
- Part I — 04 Birtwick Park5 min
- Part I — 05 A Fair Start6 min
- Part I — 06 Liberty3 min
- Part I — 07 Ginger8 min
- Part I — 08 Ginger's Story Continued6 min
- Part I — 09 Merrylegs5 min
- Part I — 10 A Talk in the Orchard9 min
- Part I — 11 Plain Speaking5 min
- Part I — 12 A Stormy Day6 min
- Part I — 13 The Devil's Trade Mark5 min
- Part I — 14 James Howard5 min
- Part I — 15 The Old Hostler5 min
- Part I — 16 The Fire7 min
- Part I — 17 John Manly's Talk6 min
- Part I — 18 Going for the Doctor6 min
- Part I — 19 Only Ignorance4 min
- Part I — 20 Joe Green5 min
- Part I — 21 The Parting5 min
- Part II — 22 Earlshall7 min
- Part II — 23 A Strike for Liberty6 min
- Part II — 24 The Lady Anne, or a Runaway Horse10 min
- Part II — 25 Reuben Smith6 min
- Part II — 26 How it Ended5 min
- Part II — 27 Ruined and Going Downhill5 min
- Part II — 28 A Job Horse and His Drivers6 min
- Part II — 29 Cockneys10 min
- Part II — 30 A Thief4 min
- Part II — 31 A Humbug5 min
- Part III — 32 A Horse Fair6 min
- Part III — 33 A London Cab Horse7 min
- Part III — 34 An Old War Horse8 min
- Part III — 35 Jerry Barker9 min
- Part III — 36 The Sunday Cab8 min
- Part III — 37 The Golden Rule6 min
- Part III — 38 Dolly and a Real Gentleman7 min
- Part III — 39 Seedy Sam6 min
- Part III — 40 Poor Ginger4 min
- Part III — 41 The Butcher5 min
- Part III — 42 The Election3 min
- Part III — 43 A Friend in Need7 min
- Part III — 44 Old Captain and His Successor7 min
- Part III — 45 Jerry's New Year9 min
- Part IV — 46 Jakes and the Lady6 min
- Part IV — 47 Hard Times7 min
- Part IV — 48 Farmer Thoroughgood and His Grandson Willie6 min
- Part IV — 49 My Last Home5 min
Reading & download help
Is this the complete Black Beauty?
This edition contains the complete English literary text, with 50 sections and 59,605 words. This reading edition preserves the checked English text and its section order. No study notes have been added.
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