'Good People, Great Impact'

 

“My doctrine is this: If we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt. Cruelty and oppression … is everybody’s business to interfere with when they see it.” – Anna Sewell 

 

Born in Great Yarmouth, England on this date in 1820, Sewell embedded herself in our culture and concern for animal welfare with her classic novel Black Beauty, written in 1877 while she was nearing death from tuberculosis.  It is her only published work. The novel, since made into several movies as well, is one of the best-selling books of all time. 

 

Sewell died in April of 1878, less than five months after Black Beauty’s publication, but she lived long enough to see the beginnings of its impact and success.  Although originally written for those who worked with horses, it also reflects Sewell's views on how to treat people with kindness, sympathy and respect.

 

“It is good people who make good places,” Sewell said.