Beautiful Joe

Marshall Saunders "Beautiful Joe" (1893) is a remarkable classic exploring issues of animal cruelty told from the point of view of one dog, Joe. This work was an instant success upon its release in Canada, becoming the first book to sell over a million copies in that country. Written as a kind of dog's autobiography, the work was innovative in its narrative technique. Often compared to Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty", the novel tracks the true story of a terrier in Maine named Joe. As Joe tells his…