In this book, the tale is told by the black horse himself, from his idyllic days on a country squire’s estate to his harsh fate as a London cab horse. Filled with vivid anecdotes about animal intelligence, the novel has a special magic that comes from the love for all creatures, great and small, apparent on every page. But the book’s lasting impact comes from its moving depiction of a human society struggling to find the goodness within itself, and its plea for kindness to all creatures.