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She belonged to a deeply religious family, her mother expressed her religious faith most noticeably by authoring a series of evangelical children's books, which Anna helped to edit.

When Anna was 14 an injury to her ankles caused her to become an invalid. Likely, because of mistreatment of her injury, Anna was unable to stand without a crutch or to walk for any length of time for the rest of her life. For greater mobility, she frequently used horse-drawn carriages, which contributed to her love of horses and concern for the humane treatment of animals.

Sewell's only published work was Black Beauty, written in the period between 1871 to 1877, after she had moved to Old Catton, a village outside the city of Norwich in Norfolk. During this time her health was declining. She was often so weak that she was confined to her bed and writing was a challenge. She dictated the text to her mother and from 1876 began to write on slips of paper which her mother then transcribed.

Sewell sold the novel to local publisher Jarrolds on 24 November 1877, when she was 57 years of age. Although it is now considered a children's classic, she originally wrote it for those who worked with horses. She said "a special aim [was] to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses".

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