Finding Black Beauty

Josie loses everything when her father dies in a hunting accident. Being a girl, she is unable to inherit their large estate -and when her horrendous cousin takes over, making life unbearable, she flees.

The only thing Josie has ever known is horses, so, chopping off her beautiful hair, she disguises herself as a stable boy and finds work caring for a spirited colt called Black Beauty. When they are separated 'Jo' follows Beauty to London, where she meets some surprising people from her past.

This is a lovely reimagining of Black Beauty - in this case, told from the point of view of 'Jo', the inexperienced stable boy who makes two brief appearances in Anna Sewell's original novel. It is a well-written, richly detailed adventure story and readers need not be familiar with the first book in order to enjoy this lively, endearing retelling.