Crying in the School Pickup Line (Again)
Okay, so I wasn't expecting a book about a horse to absolutely wreck me in the Target parking lot, but here we are. I'd promised Emma we'd read a "classic" together—she's seven and going through a major horse phase—and I figured, why not listen to Black Beauty during my solo time and then we could talk about it? Good mom move, right?
Wrong. Well, not wrong exactly, but nobody warned me that this book was basically designed to make you sob into your steering wheel while other moms walk past with their carts giving you concerned looks.
The Voice That Made Me Stay
Cori Samuel has this warm, steady British voice that just... works. She's not doing anything flashy—no dramatic accents for every stable hand or over-the-top emotional performances. She reads it almost like she's telling you a story by a fire, which is exactly what this book needs. Because honestly? The story itself is heavy enough without someone performing the sadness at you.
What I really appreciated was how she handled Beauty's perspective. This horse is literally narrating his own life, which could feel weird or gimmicky, but Samuel makes it feel natural. Almost meditative. The pacing is gentle—maybe too gentle for some people, I'll be honest—but for me, listening during nap time or in my sacred car-in-the-garage moments, it was perfect. I could zone out for a minute when Sophie started screaming through the monitor, come back, and still follow exactly what was happening.
Survived 47 pauses and still made sense. That's the highest compliment I can give.
What Actually Happens (And Why It Hits So Hard)
So here's the thing about Black Beauty that I'd forgotten since I was a kid: it's basically a series of vignettes about this horse's life, from happy beginnings to some really rough middle years to (thankfully) a peaceful ending. Each chapter is its own little story—Beauty gets a new owner, something happens, he moves on. It's episodic in a way that actually works great for audiobook listening because you're not trying to remember seventeen subplots and who's related to whom.
But also? Some of these chapters are genuinely upsetting. There's cruelty. There's exhaustion. There's a horse named Ginger who... look, I can't even talk about Ginger without tearing up again. Anna Sewell wrote this book in the 1870s specifically to make people treat horses better, and she did NOT pull her punches.
The thing is, even though it's sad, it's not hopeless. There's kindness woven throughout—good grooms, gentle owners, moments of real tenderness. And the ending is satisfying in that old-fashioned, everything-works-out way that I desperately needed after the middle section gutted me.
Satisfying ending - exactly what I needed. Even if I had to ugly-cry to get there.
Fair Warning: This Is Not Just a Kids' Book
I know Black Beauty gets shelved in children's classics, and yes, I'm going to read parts of it with Emma. But honestly? This is a book for adults who can handle some heavy themes about suffering and resilience and what it means to be treated with dignity. The language is old-fashioned (it was written almost 150 years ago, after all), and some of the pacing is slow by modern standards.
If your kids are sensitive—or if YOU'RE sensitive, like me—just be prepared. This isn't a romp. It's beautiful and important and ultimately hopeful, but it earns that hope.
At 5 hours and 44 minutes, it's totally doable in a week of normal mom-listening. I finished it in about five days of drop-offs and nap times and car-sitting. The length feels right—not so short that it's over before you connect, not so long that you forget what happened three chapters ago.
Who Should Listen
Perfect for multitasking moms who want something meaningful but not mentally exhausting. Great for anyone doing a reread of childhood classics (you'll be surprised how much more it hits as an adult). Good for horse-loving kids IF you're prepared to have some conversations about hard stuff.
Skip it if you need fast pacing or can't handle animal suffering, even when it's ultimately redeemed. Also maybe skip if you're already having a rough week emotionally. This book will find your feelings and it will not be gentle about it.
Cori Samuel's narration is soothing enough that I'd actually recommend this for bedtime listening too—just maybe not the middle chapters if you want to sleep peacefully.
The Verdict
Made me cry at school pickup. Worth it though.
This is one of those books that reminds you why classics become classics. It's not groundbreaking by today's standards, but sometimes you don't need groundbreaking. Sometimes you need a gentle, sad, ultimately hopeful story about a horse who just wants to be treated kindly. And sometimes you need to cry in your car about it.
My book club will love this (if I ever have time for book club again). Emma's already asking questions about what happens to Beauty, and honestly? I think we're both ready to find out together.
