Genre
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell

Black Beauty: Genre 1 key example

Key Examples in Black Beauty

Genre
Explanation and Analysis:

At the time of writing, Anna Sewell's Black Beauty occupied a unique space in the literary world. It's widely acknowledged to be the first book in the genre of animal "autobiographies." Before Black Beauty, literature largely overlooked the possibility of animals "narrating" their own life stories. Sewell's novel breaks the mold by presenting a narrative "by" a horse, giving voice to a creature that society then considered a mere "dumb beast." Through Black Beauty's perspective, the reader is given access to the intimate experiences and emotions of horses: their loyalties and affections, the hardships they face, and the simple joys they cherish. Horses and humans are portrayed as being equally emotionally complex and intelligent. This novel laid the groundwork for other stories that focus on the inner lives of animals, which quickly became a staple of children’s literature in the Victorian period.