Black Beauty (AmazonClassics Edition) Kindle Edition

Thought I was getting the whole novel, not so this is a very short, abridged version. No were does it say that in the description. Still trying to find the full version not this edited down version.

"Black Beauty" is often dismissed as a children's book, or only for girls who love horses. In actuality, it's not only a novel that adults can enjoy as well as kids, but it's a powerful statement on animal welfare, and on treating animals with respect and not just living machines. And while it does feature an animal main character, it handles this realistically and not like a children's "talking animal" book, so it's more in the vein of "Watership Down" than "Zootopia." And even over 100 years after its publication, it's still worthwhile reading.The title character, a black horse aptly named Black Beauty, lives a good life in the care of a wealthy nobleman, and believes all men to be as gentle and caring as his master. He gets a rude awakening when the family's circumstances change and he is sold... and over the years he changes hands and knows a variety of masters, some caring, others ignorant, and still others outright cruel. And as he and his foal-hood friend Ginger struggle to survive in a world where humans view horses as little more than fur-covered engines, he realizes that man has a great capacity for cruelty... and for redemption and kindness as well.Anna Sewell wrote this book in reaction to the often-harsh treatment of horses in Victorian England, and even then it was a serious wake-up call to how horribly horses were treated. And while horses WERE bred to be domestic creatures and beasts of burden, she makes it clear that just because they're working animals doesn't mean that they should be treated like objects rather than living creatures. The book went a long way towards reforming how horses were treated, including the almost-complete elimination of the check-rein (a device meant to hold a horse's head erect). And while the treatment of Beauty, Ginger, and other horses in this book may be distressing, it's a clear warning that animal abuse still exists, and needs to be treated seriously.As this book was written primarily for its message, this can mean that plot falls by the wayside. There's really not much of a plot to this book aside from "a horse grows up and changes hands multiple times before being retired," and Beauty himself is a rather passive character (perhaps intentional on the part of the author, as animals have almost no control over who owns them). But the writing is still solid, and the horses are given a surprising amount of character without being overly humanized."Black Beauty" is still a well-deserved classic after all this time, and is not only a call to treat animals kindly but a vivid but still realistic account of a horse's life. Not just for kids -- adults can enjoy this novel as well.

The book is fine but it is the abridged version.

In my 7th decade, I have re-read this book for the first time in 60 years. I gave it to my 10 yr old granddaughter recently and thought I’d read it again myself. I now realize that it was probably this novel that made me, from about age 10, a socialist at heart! Or possibly I am reading much more into it than there is, but this book changed my life from childhood to young adulthood and made me want to be like Black Beauty and his good masters: thoughtful, kind, and hard-working not just for oneself but for one’s community. May it do as much for my granddaughter!

We bought this to give to our 7-year-old granddaughter for Christmas. She is an avid reader and loved the book so much that she took it to school to read before class every morning and for show-and-tell to tell about her grandfather writing in the book for Christmas. We are so proud of her love to read, and this is a great book for young readers. We had trouble finding an unabridged version, so we were especially happy to find this one.

I bought the hardback version of this book for my granddaughter, who is in second grade.I find it totally acceptable. I opened it properly, as I was taught to open new books by my high school librarian to protect the binding from breaking, and looked at the pages as I went.Yes, the paper is thinner and you can almost see the print on the other side, but I don't think it's enough to be a distraction. The black line drawings are very reminiscent of what was in the book I owned and read to pieces when I was a little girl.I'm hoping she'll love it as much as I did.

I loved how this elegant horse by the name of Black Beauty, narrated this charming book, telling me, (and all readers), in a sort of personal narrative, about his various homes and the secrets to his mild manners. Black Beauty describes his friendships with other horses, such as Ginger, Merrylegs and Captain; and how John Manly and Jerry were his favorite groomers.Sewell made me feel as if I was there, in Beauty’s stall, listening, galloping along, running from fire, hearing the master of the Birtwick or Earlshall manors fret over serious issues, while rumors of being sold were often circulating. Sometimes, Beauty lived with incompetent or drunken stable hands that created havoc, sickness and broken bones, and yet, against many odds, he managed to maintain his dignity. Together, we rode through the cobblestone streets of London driving the rich to elections and important meetings. Finally, at the end, which came too soon, I stood in a meadow wondering what would happen next.Though written over one hundred years ago, the story flows and is easy, enjoyable reading. I recommend it for many reasons, but mostly because Black Beauty is waiting to share his story with you!

My son is 10 and we really enjoyed reading this out loud together. There are some times of abuse and neglect in this book, and while that’s sad it is also a true part of life that needs to be spoken of and this book teaches morals and integrity surrounding those circumstances. For example, people speaking out when they saw the injustice of abuse, as well as the contrast between an abusive owner who is undeserving of their animal and a loving owner who is. It teaches very good lessons and has acceptable language. The only other thing I would point out Is that the writing style and punctuation is incorrect and outdated; there are so many semi-colons and commas that a sentence can run on for an entire paragraph. I had to break them up quickly in my mind as I read to make the story flow more smoothly. I’m not sure if that is just this printed version or not, but that’s why I took off 1 star.

I bought this for my 87 year old mum who has recently had a stroke and didn't even want to read the newspaper any more. I asked her what her favourite story was when she was a girl and she said 'Black Beauty'. Not very hopeful, I ordered her this copy and am absolutely delighted that she has nearly finished it. It has bought lovely memories back to her. It is an excellent size for her to hold and the print is just perfect. I will be ordering her more books, especially childrens classics as these are easy for her to read. Thank you publishers, a really great book.

I do have a confession to make, which I have mentioned before on this site, and that is that I had never read this as a child. For myself then, one of the world’s most loved children’s books has only now been read by me. An instant success on first publication this was Anna Sewell’s only book, and she died a few months after publication, although I am sure she was gratified by its success, which did help to raise awareness by many to animal cruelty and make changes in laws and people’s perceptions and attitudes to the use of animals.When this was first written, as with so many of our books that we give to children to read, this was actually meant for adults Brought up a Quaker and a definite horse lover so this book is really an autobiography attributed to the horse of the title, as he narrates his life and stories of other horses that he meets and works with, or shares stables with. Today of course the novel has perhaps lost some of its righteousness due to its audience and the way things have changed and are still changing with regards to animal welfare. At the time this first came on the market though, things were different and some groups even gave copies of this to people who worked with horses to wake them up to what was happening, making it probably one of the most important, and possibly the most important publication on animal welfare. Attributed to the stoppage of check reins and people discussing and advocating the abolition of other practises and looking for improvements, so this novel of course makes us think not only of animals but of ourselves as well, as we all know the quotation from the bible which tells us to ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, which of course you do not have to be of a religious frame of mind to understand. Full of incident and a sheer joy to read, as well as thoughtful it is no wonder that so many people enjoy this, and I am glad that I have actually had the time to read it myself.

I found the purchase of this book very tedious. I looked in all the bookshops and all were equally unhelpful. There are so many versions of this book, you really don't know what you're getting.So I bought blindly. I bought the Wordsworth Classic version, which is a cheap and cheerful version.It is complete and unabridged so perhaps not great for children if you don't want them to read a somewhat graphic description of Gingers death.

This wonderfully illustrated version of the classic horse story is well worth buying for its art work alone. The illustrator has clearly done his research well as the painting of Pulteney Street, in Bath was instantly recognisable by a native of the town. The line drawings as well as the full colour illustrations capture wel;l the emotions of the text. If buying this as a "special" present, I can highly recommend it.

i read this as a child, but didn't really appreciate it much. And usually i'm not one for the classics, since i tend to find them rather overrated. However, when i reread Black Beauty, i was so impressed. Sewell brilliantly tells the story from the point of view of Black Beauty himself, and his life in various stages, and all the things he learns about humans and other horses. He goes from loving, gentle owners, to some who mistreat him near to the point of death. The author does an amazing job of conveying their distaste with those who mistreat animals, without being too preachy.What i find so sad is that so many of the issues raised in this book are things that are still issues today, animal cruelty, bad use of animals for fashion, overworking etc. It's sad that in the many years since this was written, things may have changed, but not improved.definitely worth a read for adults, as it really hammers home some heartbreaking points, but is still a beautiful story.