Anna Sewell was an authoress and only daughter of the Mary Sewell. She was born in Yarmouth, Norfolk, England on 30 March 1820.

The severe spraining of both ankles in early childhood lamed her, and made her an invalid for life.

In 1871 she began in the intervals of sickness to write her attractive Autobiography of a Horse; it was published in 1877 under the title of Black Beauty, and had a remarkable success (nearly a hundred thousand copies had been sold by 1894, when a new edition appeared). It was translated into French, Italian, and German. Its general aim was to induce kindness and sympathy towards horses, while it specially denounced the use of the bearing-rein; it was warmly recommended by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Miss Sewell died in April 1878.

 - A Biography from Dictionary of National Biography,
1885-1900, Volume 51