Black Beauty

I made a poor selection of library books this time so I resorted to my own bookshelves. I picked out Black Beauty, the story of a carriage horse which was written 1877. I found it a fascinating insight into the life of a working horse at that time. This edition was published in 1947 and has my name on the fly leaf in childish writing with, underneath, Anna’s name, also in a childish hand. I remember Anna reading the book, and she got very upset when Black Beauty was treated badly. She was always mad about horses, and used to go riding every week. I wonder whether this passion for horses started when she read Black Beauty when she was very young. The little silver horse was given to her by her grandmother. Sadly we could never afford for her to have one of her own.
It’s raining! A lovely steady rain, the first for very many days. just what the garden needed.