Black Beauty is among the most enduring works of children's literature. First published in 1877, the book alerted adults to the widespread abuse of horses, and provoked immediate positive changes. Yet Black Beauty's appeal is literal as well as political: for young readers it offers a magical perspective---a story told from a horse's point of view. Beauty has an idyllic and heroic youth. His master and coachman treat him gently, and the horse responds...