Write your own Black Beauty story

Black Beauty (Darkie)

A well-bred black horse with one white foot and a white star on his forehead, born on Farmer Grey's meadow and originally named Darkie before being renamed Black Beauty by Squire Gordon's wife. He is the narrator, prized for his gentle temper, fine paces, and courage, and passes through several owners including Squire Gordon, Earlshall Park, and cab driver Jeremiah Barker. His brother is the horse Rob Roy, both born to the mare Duchess.

Duchess (Pet)

Black Beauty's mother, a wise old mare of good breeding whose sire won a race at Newmarket. She is called Duchess formally but nicknamed 'Pet' by her first master. She teaches young Beauty manners, telling him never to bite or kick and always to do his work willingly. She is later revealed to also be the mother of Rob Roy, the horse killed in the hunting accident.

Farmer Grey

Black Beauty's first, kind master, who owns the meadow and farmhouse where Beauty is born. He speaks gently to his horses, dismisses the cruel ploughboy Dick for throwing stones at the colts, and personally breaks Beauty in with patience, introducing him gradually to bit, saddle, harness, iron shoes, and the sound of passing trains.

Old Daniel

The gentle horse-keeper on Farmer Grey's farm who assists in breaking in young Black Beauty, holding his head steady while the saddle is first fitted. He is noted as being as kind and patient as the master himself.

Dick the Ploughboy

A farm boy who used to torment the colts in the meadow by throwing stones and sticks at them for amusement. He is caught in the act by the master, boxed on the ear, and dismissed from the farm, never to be seen again.

Squire Gordon

The kind, thoughtful owner of Birtwick Park who purchases Black Beauty at age four. He personally examines and tries Beauty before approving him, never uses harsh methods, and later is forced to break up his household and move abroad when his wife falls ill, selling his horses to trusted friends rather than at auction.

Mrs. Gordon

Squire Gordon's wife, who names the horse 'Black Beauty' for his sweet face and intelligent eye. She falls seriously ill one night, prompting John Manly's desperate midnight ride for the doctor, and is later ordered abroad to a warm climate for her health, leading to the breakup of the Birtwick household.

John Manly

The skilled, gentle coachman at Birtwick Park who breaks Beauty in for riding and driving, rides him eight miles at a gallop in the night to fetch Dr. White and save Mrs. Gordon's life, and never uses a whip or check-rein on his horses. After the Gordons leave England, he takes work as a colt-breaker and horse-trainer.

James Howard

The kind, capable stable boy at Birtwick Park who cares for Black Beauty and Ginger alongside John Manly. He is bitten on the arm by Ginger before Beauty's time but remains patient and fair, and is noted for scolding boys who mistreat Merrylegs.

Merrylegs

A fat, handsome gray pony at Birtwick Park who carries the young ladies Jessie and Flora and sometimes pulls Mrs. Gordon's low cart. He is famous for gently 'unseating' children who ride him too hard as a corrective lesson rather than out of malice, and is eventually given to the vicar's family on the condition he never be sold and be humanely destroyed when past work.

Ginger

A tall chestnut mare at Birtwick Park with a history of being cruelly broken in with a gag-bit, which left her biting and suspicious. Under John and James's kind treatment she becomes a reliable carriage partner for Black Beauty, but later at Earlshall Park she violently rebels against a tightened check-rein, rearing and injuring herself, and is never put in harness there again.

Rob Roy

A good-natured black horse, brother to Black Beauty (both foaled by Duchess), who is killed when he breaks his leg falling during a hare hunt; his rider, the squire's only son, dies of a broken neck in the same accident.

York

The refined, experienced head coachman at Earlshall Park who manages the stables under Lord W----. He personally dislikes the check-rein but enforces Lady W----'s demand for tightly reined carriage horses, leading to Ginger's dangerous rearing accident, for which Lord W---- later blames him.

Lord W----

The Earl of W----, owner of Earlshall Park, who purchases Black Beauty and Ginger on Squire Gordon's recommendation. He is reasonable about horse welfare in principle but defers to his wife's demand for fashionable tight check-reins, and is angered afterward when Ginger is injured because of them.

Lady W----

Lord W----'s proud, status-conscious wife who insists her carriage horses' heads be reined up higher for appearance's sake, dismissing concerns about their comfort. Her repeated demands to tighten the check-rein directly cause Ginger's violent breakdown in the carriage traces.

Max

A carriage horse partnered with Black Beauty at Earlshall Park after Ginger is removed from service. Long accustomed to the tight check-rein, he explains to Beauty that dealers deliberately train horses to carry their heads unnaturally high because fashionable buyers demand it, even knowing it shortens a horse's working life.

Jeremiah 'Jerry' Barker

A small, quick, kind London cab driver who buys Black Beauty at the horse fair for twenty-four pounds, recognizing his quality despite broken knees. He owns his own cab and two horses, drives with only a plain snaffle bit and no check-rein, and renames Beauty 'Jack' after a previous horse. He lives happily with his wife Polly and children Harry and Dolly.

Polly Barker

Jerry Barker's plump, cheerful wife who welcomes Black Beauty with a bran mash and treats him with the same gentleness her husband shows, reflecting the happy, affectionate character of the Barker household.

Harry and Dolly Barker

Jerry and Polly's children: Harry, a nearly-twelve-year-old boy who helps his father with the horses, and Dolly, an eight-year-old girl who fearlessly pats Black Beauty on his first night in their stable.

Captain

Jerry Barker's older cab horse, a tall, white, high-bred former cavalry horse who served in the Crimean War leading a regiment before being sold into cab work. He shares his war memories with Black Beauty in the Barker stable.

Dr. White

The physician summoned in the night by John Manly to attend to the gravely ill Mrs. Gordon. Finding his own horse exhausted, he borrows Black Beauty to reach Birtwick Park in time, riding him hard on the return journey.

Joe Green

A young, well-meaning but inexperienced stable boy at Birtwick Park who cares for Black Beauty after his exhausting midnight ride, inadvertently making him worse through inexperienced nursing. He later cares for Merrylegs at the vicarage after the Gordons leave.

Birtwick Park

The country estate of Squire Gordon, where Black Beauty spends three happy years. It features a roomy four-stall stable with a box stall, a swinging window, and a coachman's cottage. It is considered by Beauty one of the best places a horse could live, thanks to the kindness of the Gordons and the groom John Manly.

Earlshall Park

The grand estate of the Earl of W----, far larger than Birtwick but, in Beauty's view, less pleasant. It has extensive stabling overseen by the head coachman York, and it is here that Lady W---- insists on tightly checked carriage horses, leading to Ginger's violent breakdown and permanent removal from carriage work.

The Horse Fair

A crowded market where horses of every condition are bought and sold, from fine young animals to broken-down, starved old horses with visible ribs and old sores. Black Beauty, now bearing broken knees from an unnamed accident, is sold here for twenty-four pounds to Jeremiah Barker, a London cab driver, after being passed over by rougher buyers.

London Cab Trade

The world of London hackney cab drivers who wait for fares at cabstands beside busy streets and churchyards, ranging from rough, unkind men to decent, hardworking family men like Jerry Barker. Cab horses in this trade face long hours, hard city streets, and owners of widely varying character, making the choice of driver a matter of life or death for the horse.

The Check-Rein (Bearing-Rein)

A harness strap used to force a carriage horse's head up into a fashionable high, arched position, favored by status-conscious owners like Lady W---- despite the pain and breathing difficulty it causes. Black Beauty and Ginger both suffer under progressively tightened check-reins at Earlshall Park, and it is depicted as a widespread cruel fashion imposed on London and country carriage horses alike.

Box Stall

A large stable stall in which a horse is left loose rather than tied, considered a significant comfort and luxury for a horse. Black Beauty is given a fine box stall on his arrival at Birtwick Park, described as clean, sweet, and airy with iron rails allowing him to see the rest of the stable.

The Hare Hunt

An early formative memory for Black Beauty: a fox-hunt-style chase after a hare crosses through his home meadow, ending with the hare's death, one horse (Rob Roy) killed after breaking a leg, and a young gentleman rider (the squire's son) killed with a broken neck. It plants Beauty's mother's skepticism about the cruelty and pointlessness of blood sports.

Breaking In

The process by which a young horse is trained to accept a bit, bridle, saddle, harness, collar, crupper, and iron shoes, and to obey a rider or driver without fear, temper, or will of its own. Black Beauty undergoes a careful, humane breaking-in by his first master, including deliberate exposure to passing trains, which he credits with making him fearless for life.

The Midnight Ride for the Doctor

A dramatic night when Black Beauty, ridden hard by John Manly, gallops eight miles to fetch Dr. White after Mrs. Gordon falls gravely ill, arriving just in time to save her life. The strenuous ride and subsequent chill leave Beauty seriously ill with inflammation, nursed back to health by John.