National Velvet: HarperCollins Children's Classics

The most famous and loved racing story of all time. National Velvet is a classic tale of dreams, ambition and one girl's belief in a horse.

Velvet'll sit on a horse like a shadow and breathe her soul into it … I never seen such a creature on a horse.Fourteen year old Velvet is mad about horses. When she wins a piebald horse in a raffle, she knows he's something special. His heart is as big as the five-foot fences he jumps, and he'll do anything for Velvet. Soon, she and her friend Mi have their sights set on the biggest race in England. But can a girl win the Grand National?Perfect for horse and ponly lovers from nine to ninety nine years old. The book that inspired the classic film starring Elizabeth Taylor, National Velvet is a true classic of print and screen. Alongside Black Beauty and My Friend Flicka it is one of the great horse books for children.‘My childhood dreams were based on this book – it was the only place I'd ever seen them come true' Clare Balding

About the author

Enid Bagnold, who died in 1981, is best know for National Velvet and for her play The Chalk Garden, both of which were made into movies.