History Literature / BlackBeauty

''Black Beauty'' is an 1877 polemic novel by Anna Sewell, tracing the life of the titular fictional horse from colthood to retirement. Today it is considered a classic of children's literature; however, originally it was not written for children, but as an effort to draw attention to the wildly varying treatment of horses in Victorian England. As a result it contains mini-lectures on everything from bits and blinkers to broken knees. Along the way Beauty also provides a horse's perspective on the human capacity for cruelty and kindness, and comparisons between the treatment of animals and the treatment of poor working-class humans.

!!This novel provides examples of:

* {{Xenofiction}}

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: Averted for the most part as the animal abusers in the story are usually portrayed as monsters viewing and treating horses as little more than machines to be used and disposed of. There is one instance, however, where Jerry scolds a fellow cab driver he sees with a malnourished horse, with the cab driver retorting that he'd love to feed his horse more if he could, but the cab driver wages are so bad he literally has to choose between either feeding his horse, or feeding his family. Naturally, his family has to come first, with both he and Jerry lamenting how unfair the state of things are that it's come to that.

* PromotedToLoveInterest: Ginger to Beauty in many adaptations.

** Similarly, in the republished versions that are clearly meant for modern children, Black Beauty turns out to be wrong about [[spoiler: Ginger dying]], as she and Merrylegs are reunited with Beauty in the end.

** On another note, the 2020 Creator/DisneyPlus adaptation will feature Black Beauty, who is a stallion in most incarnations, as a ''mare''.

** In a scene exclusive to the book, Beauty spots a small pony being cruelly whipped and looking very worse-for-wear. While he can't be sure, Beauty claims he thinks the pony looked liked Merrylegs.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Jerry Barker goes out of his way to ensure that his horses are well fed and cared for, refuses to ride at high speeds to make up for the lateness of customers, and speaks out against cruelty to animals wherever he sees it. He also decides to put Captain out of his pain instead of selling him after Captain is injured as it is the kinder thing to do.

** On another note, the 2020 Creator/DisneyPlus adaptation will feature Black Beauty, who is a male horse in most incarnations, as a ''mare''.

** On another note, the 2020 Creator/DisneyPlus adaptation will feature Black Beauty, who is a stallion in most incarnations, as a ''mare''.

* GenderFlip: In a 1995 animated adaptation, Joe was changed into a girl named Jenny.

** A drunkard is warned that one of Beauty's shoes has come loose, but he rides him anyway. The shoe eventually comes off en route and Beauty gets a stone lodged painfully in his hoof, causing him to injure himself and [[AccidentalMurder accidentally throw his rider to his death]] when the pain causes him to stumble and fall on his knees.

* DeathByAdaptation: An uncertain case. In the book, Beauty only gets a glimpse of a dead horse that could be [[spoiler:Ginger]], but he's not sure whether or not it actually is. In the film it's clearly shown, and Beauty knows beyond a doubt, that it's her.

* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Ginger]]. Poor thing just never caught a break.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: You're damn right that horse has to earn his happy ending.]]

* AuthorTract: Anna Sewell suffered a serious injury in childhood which eventually left her unable to stand or walk unaided, and hence needing horses/ponies to get around. This constant exposure to them and their welfare was the motivation behind her book, to get people to be a little more conscious about the way they treated animals. Giving particular weight to the moral was that if religion did not teach people to be kind to animals, it was a sham (remember, this was read by Victorian Britons). Boy, did it work: an outpouring of concern about animal welfare resulted, and the use of the bearing rein lost almost all favor[[note]]specifically, the particular use of it for style reasons; the piece of equipment in question is still part of the kit as it's used to prevent reins from getting tangled, but it's only tightened as far as it needs to be to serve the safety function, rather than the trend in the book of using it to force the horse's head up just to create a better look[[/note]]. The book also inspired several pieces of anti-cruelty legislature, as well as changes to laws in order to ease financial strain on cab drivers, which in turn led to better treatment of their horses.

* AuthorTract: Anna Sewell suffered a serious injury in childhood which eventually left her unable to stand or walk unaided, and hence needing horses/ponies to get around. This constant exposure to them and their welfare was the motivation behind her book, to get people to be a little more conscious about the way they treated animals. Giving particular weight to the moral was that if religion did not teach people to be kind to animals, it was a sham (remember, this was read by Victorian Britons). Boy, did it work: an outpouring of concern about animal welfare resulted, and the use of the bearing rein lost almost all favor[[note]]It's still used as a piece of safety equipment to prevent reins from getting tangled, but no longer tightened to the point of forcing the horse's head up.[[/note]]. The book also inspired several pieces of anti-cruelty legislature, as well as changes to laws in order to ease financial strain on cab drivers, which in turn led to better treatment of their horses.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Jerry Barker goes out of his way to ensure that his horses are well fed and cared for, refuses to ride at high speeds to make for the lateness of customers, and speaks out against cruelty to animals wherever he sees it.

* HollywoodAtheist: One of Jerry's fellow cab riders, Larry, doesn't believe in religion. He's also the hardest on his horses, is willing to drive them more harshly for an extra shilling, and of all the cab drivers is going through horses the most frequently because he wears them out with his harsh treatment.

** Early in the novel a nobleman's son treats Ginger like a furry motorcycle to hop on, ride at top speed through long and rigorous race courses, then dump back in the stall. The strain on her body permanently damages her bronchial track to the point that she can never run or jump as well again. Rather than give her the year of pasture rest she needs to heal, she's sold as a work horse, which strains her physical health more and more until [[spoiler: she's driven to an early death]].

* MatureAnimalStory: While the novel does not contain any material that is inappropriate for children, much of it would probably go over their heads.

* OneBookWonder: ''Black Beauty'' is sadly the only book Anna Sewell wrote before her death, but is still remembered today as a timeless classic.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Beauty ends up in a good home with the promise of never being sold again. Ginger however continues to suffer under one cruel owner after the other, ultimately killing her. Combine that with Beauty [[TearJerker seeing her dead body, hoping her pain is finally at an end, and the ending with him dreaming about the days the two were together, along with Merrylegs]]]] and you'll find yourself in serious need of a tissue.

** Many adaptations cut out the part early on where Beauty with his mother witness a fox hunt going terribly wrong when one horse stumbles into a ditch, killing both him and his rider. Beauty later finds out said horse was his brother.

* SpiritedYoungLady: Lady Anne, based on what we see of her.