556 The Story Behind a Children's Classic - Anna Sewell and the Writing of 'Black Beauty' (with Celia Brayfield)

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Books, Arts

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2023

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Born in 1820, the devout Quaker Anna Sewell was in her fifties - and terminally ill - when she decided to write a book that would change the way the public viewed and treated animals. Although her novel Black Beauty has since become a familiar classic, Sewell did not live to see its success, dying just five months after its publication. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Celia Brayfield (Writing Black Beauty: Anna Sewell and the Story of Animal Rights) about a remarkable book and its remarkable author. PLUS Jacke continues his stroll through the selected poems of Emily Dickinson with a look at Poem 224 ("An awful Tempest mashed the air -"). Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey folks, it's Jack. Do you ever find yourself wondering about the little mysteries in life?
0:06.0	Like how refrigeration happened? Or just how many times did the CIA try to assassinate
0:12.0	Fidel Castro anyway? If you find yourself going down rabbit holes like these, then I recommend
0:18.1	a trip to the podcast, History of Everything. Hosted by History lover Steven Bell and
0:24.4	scientist Gabby Bell, the show dives into all the cool but weird little details that make
0:30.3	our world what it is today. You can count on them to cover literally the history of everything,
0:36.9	from potatoes to the crusades. So don't miss out, listen to History of Everything wherever
0:42.4	you get your podcasts and tell them I sent you. Hello, it was a new kind of book, The Autobiography
0:49.9	of a Horse. Think about that for a moment, The Autobiography of a Horse. And it earned its
0:57.1	author 20 pounds. Her name was Anna Sewell. And the book, which we know as Black Beauty,
1:03.6	went on to sell more than 50 million copies. We'll talk to our guest Celia Brayfield about this
1:09.8	unlikely author and her enduring legacy today on the History of Literature.
1:20.6	Okay, hello everyone. Welcome to the podcast. I'm glad you're here. This is a great story full of
1:26.3	struggle and tragedy, but also perseverance and ultimately triumph, literary triumph. It's hard
1:34.5	not to admire Anna Sewell. And we will hear all about it when our guest arrives. But first,
1:41.0	we will see if we admire another poem in our merry jaunt through the selected poetry of Emily
1:46.6	Dickinson handpicked for us by critic Helen Vendler. Why do I suspect we will admire this
1:53.4	poem? Maybe because Emily is batting a thousand so far. Today we're up to poem number 224,
2:00.8	which like our last installment, which looked at the sunrise and sunset, 224 is a description of
2:07.8	some natural phenomena. The first line is a killer. It's maybe not safe in their alabaster chambers,
2:15.7	but it's a very, very strong first line. This poem is 13 lines total, three stanzas of four lines
2:24.8	and then five lines and then four lines. Here we go, poem 224. An awful tempest mashed the air.
	...

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