Anna Sewell was born in 1820 and lived with her family in Norfolk and then in a village on the outskirts of London. At the age of fourteen Anna injured her ankles in a fall, and was severely disabled for the rest of her life.

She had to travel everywhere in horse-drawn carriages, and so Anna was always concerned with the treatment of the animals she so relied upon.

She wrote Black Beauty in order to convince a wide audience of the importance of the humane treatment of animals. It is her only novel, and Anna Sewell died shortly after it's publication, little guessing how well-known and widely loved her story would become.

Ruth Brown is the creator of some of Britain's best loved children's books, that have been shortlisted for many awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal. She has created a great many picture books for Andersen Press and is highly respected as an author and illustrator. She was born in Devon and now lives in London and Kent.