Born into a deeply devout Quaker family, English author Anna Sewell is best-known for her childhood classic Black Beauty. Critically injured as a child, Sewell was unable to walk without aid, and became highly skilled at driving horse-drawn carriages. These close interactions with horses led to an interest in their ethical treatment, and inspired Black Beauty, which was written in declining health late in her life, and which remains her only novel. Sewell died of hepatitis in 1878.