"Black Beauty" is narrated as an autobiographical memoir told by the titular horse named Black Beauty—beginning with his carefree days as a colt on an English farm with his mother, to his difficult life pulling cabs in London, to his happy retirement in the country. Along the way, he meets with many hardships and recounts many tales of cruelty and kindness.

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor degree.