Black Beauty (version 4)
Anna Sewell
Read by Ayesha Ashraf
Black Beauty follows the life of a young foal from his early days in the countryside onwards. As he is bought and sold, Black Beauty is exposed to all manners of trades and lifestyles a horse could find themselves in Victorian England: a squire's riding horse, a hard-driven cab horse, a cart-horse. On this journey, Black Beauty sees the best and worst of mankind through his ever-changing masters and mistresses, and the stories of the other horses he encounters and befriends.
Told from the titular character's perspective, the story focuses on the treatment of horses at the time, but honesty and dishonesty, kindness and cruelty, and other themes of virtue and vice are explored throughout. - Summary by Ayesha Ashraf (4 hr 59 min)
Chapters
| My Early Home | 4:07 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Hunt | 5:27 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| My Breaking In | 7:21 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Birtwick Park | 5:02 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Fair Start | 6:21 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Liberty | 2:51 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Ginger | 7:31 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Ginger's Story Continued | 6:21 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Merrylegs | 4:43 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Talk in the Orchard | 9:23 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Plain Speaking | 5:15 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Stormy Day | 5:36 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Devil's Trade Mark | 4:50 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| James Howard | 4:48 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Old Hostler | 4:48 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Fire | 6:37 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| John Manly's Talk | 6:02 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Going for the Doctor | 6:26 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Only Ignorance | 3:48 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Joe Green | 4:41 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Parting | 4:55 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Earlshall | 6:32 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Strike for Liberty | 5:31 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Lady Anne, or a Runaway Horse | 10:07 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Reuben Smith | 5:55 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| How it Ended | 4:46 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Ruined and Going Downhill | 4:43 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Job Horse and His Drivers | 5:55 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Cockneys | 10:36 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Thief | 4:20 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Humbug | 4:52 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Horse Fair | 5:58 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A London Cab Horse | 6:49 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| An Old War Horse | 8:32 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Jerry Barker | 9:07 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Sunday Cab | 7:29 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Golden Rule | 5:36 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Dolly and a Real Gentleman | 6:40 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Seedy Sam | 6:10 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Poor Ginger | 4:01 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Butcher | 4:57 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| The Election | 3:07 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| A Friend in Need | 7:07 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Old Captain and His Successor | 7:24 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Jerry's New Year | 10:02 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Jakes and the Lady | 6:14 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Hard Times | 7:25 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| Farmer Thoroughgood and His Grandson Willie | 6:38 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
| My Last Home | 5:42 | Read by Ayesha Ashraf |
Reviews
wonderful book!
Brooklyn B.
This story lets you see all the different ways horses lived in that time period, as well as teaching common horse terms throughout. Educational as well as beautiful!
Delightful book, delightful reader
Jane Heinze
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this recording. What a fascinating insight into life in England two centuries ago, from a unique perspective.
great book!
Michele Fry
Engaging from page one and the reader is great. I understand why this book is considered a classic.
Lovely
Elizabeth Bullock
This is a beautiful story and well read.