Full Description
Mary Sewell is best remembered as the mother of Anna Sewell, the author of Black Beauty. But before she played a pivotal role in the creation of one of the most famous novels of all time, Mary had already enjoyed a career as a bestselling poet. Her verses about ordinary people and their lives sold by the million. Until now, however, they have been lost to readers.
This volume, edited with an introduction by Thomas Ruys Smith (UEA), reproduces some of her most popular and powerful ballads and stories in verse and gives us a new understanding of the extraordinary woman who wrote them. As a committed philanthropist who was deeply concerned with the suffering of humans and animals alike, Mary would be pleased to know that this edition has been produced in collaboration with Redwings Horse Sanctuary, the proud custodians of Anna Sewell House in
Great Yarmouth where Mary lived just after her marriage in 1819. Every copy of this edition sold will contribute
directly to Redwings' mission to value every horse and try to see the world from an equine point of view.
Contents
7 Introduction - Before Black Beauty: Looking for Mary Sewell Thomas Ruys Smith
45 - Homely Ballads for the Working Man's Fireside (1858)
Faith, Hope and Charity 47
The Funeral Bell 53
The Miller's Wife 55
Abel Howard and his Family 61
The Thieves' Ladder 66
The Guilty Conscience; or Hell begun 70
The Poor Little Boy 74
The Common 75
The Working Woman's Appeal 77
Mrs Godliman 81
A Religious Woman 85
The Young English Gentleman 94
The Primrose Gatherers 96
Boy Going to Service 98
The Drunkard's Wife 99
The Young Nurse Girl 102
The Bad Manager 105
Sixty Years Ago 107
111 - Stories in Verse for the Street and Lane (1861)
The Chaffinch's Nest 113
Widow Haye; or, The Gossiping Neighbours 118
Miriam 125
The Boy and the Rooks 133
The Lady's Dilemma 135
The Drunkards 139
A Sad Story 144
The London Attic (Another Story) 150
The Green Hill Side 153
The Traveller and the Farmer 155
The Little Schismatics; or, Irreligion 159
Marriage as it May Be 166
The Bad Servant 170
A Ghost Story 173
Crazed 177
The Two Noblemen 179
191 - Mother's Last Words (1860)
207 - Children of Summerbrook (1859)
