“Black Beauty,” Anna Sewell’s only book, was published in 1877. There’s a good reason it has sold 50 million copies and is said to be the sixth-most popular novel in English: The horse is the narrator, and he has a great story to tell. After a happy childhood, he heroically saves lives, survives abuse and injury, and, finally, enjoys late-life peace. As he did in “A Christmas Carol,” Jesse Kornbluth has abridged a book too long for young readers. And Paige Peterson once again contributes illustrations that are as unforgettable as this courageous, noble horse.

As a journalist, Paige Peterson has contributed to Marin Magazine, New York Social Diary and the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations. She is the author of “Growing Up Belvedere-Tiburon.” She illustrated “Blackie: The Horse Who Stood Still,” which she co-authored with Christopher Cerf. As an illustrator, she has collaborated on “A Christmas Carol” and “Black Beauty,” adapted by Jesse Kornbluth. As a painter, she is represented by Gerald Peters Gallery in New York and has been honored by The Guild Hall Academy of the Arts in East Hampton.  She is the Author and Artist in Residence at Literacy Partners, a Board Member of Catmosphere, National Council on U.S. Arab Relations and Safari West Wildlife Foundation. Raised in Belvedere, California, Ms. Peterson has two grown children and lives in New York City. paigempeterson.com

As a magazine journalist, Jesse Kornbluth has been a Contributing Editor at the New York Times Magazine, New York, and Vanity Fair. From 1997 to 2003, he was Editorial Director of AOL. Since 2004, he has edited a cultural concierge site, HeadButler.com. He has published four books of non-fiction and two novels: “Married Sex” and “JFK and Mary Meyer: A Love Story.” He has recently completed “The Next Dalai Lama,” a novel about the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in Merrick, a Long Island suburb of New York City. In collaboration with Paige Peterson, he has abridged “A Christmas Carol” and “Black Beauty.” JesseKornbluth.com.

 

Paige Peterson photo courtesy of Harry Benson. Jesse Kornbluth photo courtesy of © Ira Fox.