Twenty Stories. One Norwich. The City of Stories.
Marking twenty years of championing the city, VisitNorwich presents an ambitious year-long cultural celebration: Twenty Stories. One City. The City of Stories. Written by local guest authors our stories range from medieval rebels and mystics to pioneering reformers, artists, entrepreneurs and unsung heroes, these are the people who shaped Norwich – and whose legacy can still be discovered across the city today.
Anna Sewell (1820 – 1878)
Anna Sewell was the Norfolk author of beloved 50-million best seller Black Beauty, published by local publishers Jarrolds of Norwich. Her one and only book, she lived just long enough to see some of its success after it was published at Christmas in 1877. Black Beauty was one of the first English novels to be written from the perspective of an animal.
Step Into The Story- a city you don’t just read about, you experience
A memorial fountain to Anna is located where Constitution Hill and St. Clement’s Hill in Norwich meet, which is also the entrance to Sewell Park, once part of Anna’s brother’s estate. At Upper St Giles, visit the Norwich Book Bench where Anna Sewell and Black Beauty are commemorated.
At Redwings horse sanctuary in Aylsham (free entrance), meet Maya – their real life Black Beauty. And in Great Yarmouth visit Anna Sewell House– her birthplace, where Redwings are the custodians.
Did you know Black Beauty helped change attitudes towards horses’ welfare in Victorian times, with Anna Sewell’s book originally intended to educate working-class men and boys who worked with horses?
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