Dog-Eared Serendipity

Anna Sewell  1820 - 1878

Anna Sewell's only published work was the children's classic, "Black Beauty".  Anna lived in England, and when she was 14 she slipped and severely injured both of her ankles.  For the rest of her life, she had mobility problems, and had to use a crutch and couldn't walk very far.  Consequently, she used horse-drawn vehicles for greater mobility.  Thus her love and concern for horses grew.  

"Black Beauty" was written in Anna's later years, as her health was deteriorating.  For the most part, she was bedridden and too weak to write. She often dictated, and her mother would write it down for her.  It took several years to write the book, from 1871 - 1877.  Her goal in writing the book was to help people who worked with horses to learn kindness, sympathy and a greater understanding of the treatment of horses, but instead, it became a children's classic.

Anna Sewell died 5 months after her book was published.   Her only book remains a classic.


Keep on keeping on,

Deb