The Little Princess

A Little Princess, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett was an inspiring story teaching a valuable lesson. Sara Crewe had everything she ever wanted when she went off to boarding school in London. Her fashionable dresses, high quality jewelery, and numerous accessories made her one of the elite. Sara's life was almost perfect, until her eleventh birthday, when a devastating tragedy occurred changing her life forever. Sara received news very abruptly that her father had died, leaving her "penniless". Sara's teacher, Ms. Minchin despised her because she had become poor, and treated her cruely. Now Sara must face her troubles and prove to everyone that she can be strong and perservere through her difficult times. This book's moral states that everyone can be a princess when they put their minds to it. Being a princess is not about the fame and fortune, but about how you act in the situation into which you have been placed. You can be kind, or you can be mean; you can be content, or you can be greedy; you can be upset, or you can be optimistic. The book really relates to people who are going thruogh tough times in their lives and need reasurance and confidence.

I first read this book when I was ten years old. I still remember being transported from my Boise, Idaho sunroom, circa summer vacation 1976, back to the foggy gaslit streets of Victorian London. I don't believe that I moved off that sunroom couch until I had devoured this entire book. I loved the whole idea of A Little Princess -- the beautiful clothes (watered silk and petticoats!), the food (gruel!), and Sara's suffering in the garrett. Sara's life was so different from mine. Reading this book was like travelling to a different continent.In some ways, this is a formula book for girls -- although it might be fair to say that this book invented the formula: plucky, mistreated orphan (mysteriously stripped of her fortune), who never loses hope and remains truly good transformed through a mysterious benefactor into a girl rich beyond her wildest dreams (see also: the Boxcar Children; Little Orphan Annie, etc).Sara is an extremely engaging character. She is almost too good to be true -- kind to the servants, smarter than the headmistress, and able to tell stories that ensnare her listeners. Sara's stories enable her, first to make friends, and then later, to cope with the rather significant blows that life (and the author) deal her. And, in the best of tradition of this type of story, Sara is rescued, her wealth is restored, she remains a perfectly lovely little girl, and the horrible headmistress who mistreated her gets her comeuppance. All is right with the world once again.

This book has familiar fairy tale figures, such as a wicked stepmother-like Miss Minchin, a fairy godfather, and an orphan protagonist who is a princess in disguise. It's the story of a little girl who endures some setbacks but reaches a happy ending not only for herself, but for those around her whom she helps even when she's pretty downtrodden.The writing is charming and Sara comes through as a person who is determined to maintain her values, through good times and bad. She has a definite personality and that is a good role model for any child. She stays true to her beliefs in being kind, mannerly, charitable and above all, herself. The magic in this book is unsurpassed in children's literature. When Sara comes home, wet and cold and neglected, to find that a magician has transformed her world, you can't help but be enchanted. I will admit to reading it again now and then as an adult. The charm is still there. Just a fun factoid; A Little Princess was originally a shorter story titled Sara Crewe, in a volume of children's novelettes by Burnett.

I read this book in third grade, after seeing the motion picture and loving it. That was five years ago - and this incredible story is still fresh in my mind. Sara Crewe's father sent her to a boarding school in London to keep her from the ill conditions of their home in India. All her life, Sara had been pampered and indulged in her every wish - but she is far from being spoiled and selfish. She obediently attends Miss Minchin's School for Girls and tries to ignore her longing for her father, who returns to business in India. Surrounded by admirers, expensive toys and clothes, Sara is just like the princess she makes believe she is. But then, her father dies of fever in India, penniless. Poor Sara is made a servant and is treated terribly. It is only her imagination that keeps her going - striving to remain a princess inside, her gentle and sweet manner is what finally brings her her reward.A Little Princess is another wonderful story (one of my favorites of all time) by Francis Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Tasha Tudor.

This book was a favorite of mine in my childhood, and, when I returned as an adult to re-read it to my own daughter, I discovered it all over again.This is a story about a different kind of princess than one might imagine; a princess that is an orphan - lonely, cold, hungry and abused. Sara Crewe begins life as the beloved, pampered daughter of a rich man. When he dies a pauper, she is thrown on the non-existent mercy of her small-minded, mercenary boarding school mistress. Stripped of all her belongings but for one set of clothes and a doll, Sara becomes a servant of the household. Hated by the schoolmistress for her independent spirit, Sara becomes a pariah in the household, with only a few secretly loyal friends. But through her inner integrity and strength of will, Sara Crewe maintains the deportment, inner nobility and generous spirit of a "real" princess. It is a fabulous story of the triumph of human will, and good over evil. This story is a real classic, and needs no re-writing to be as enjoyable and readable today as it ever was. Ask my 8-year-old daughter, who has already re-read it twice. Accept no substitutes, re-writes, abridgements or copies! This is a work of art, and should not be tampered with.