Miss Sara Crewe, a pampered young lady who grew up with her Captain father, is sent to live at Miss Minchin's dreary and dismal boarding school for well-off young ladies in London when her father travels to India. Sara becomes the bright spot for the young ladies of the school, showing nothing but naive kindness to the students and staff alike. She befriends the pupils, as well as the staff and they begin to consider her their princess--a title she accepts.
But after a few years Sara's charmed life falls apart--her father goes missing while searching for a diamond mine and is considered dead, his business partner goes missing and Sara's fortune dries up, and the previously kind headmistress, Miss Minchin, becomes Sara's jailer. The woman is dissatisfied with being saddled with a presumed penniless orphan, of whom she was already jealous for her charm and grace, so she moves Sara from her position as 'wealthy pupil' to an attic servant.
The servants and students of Miss Minchin's boarding school abuse Sara; starving her, forcing her to run errands in dangerous weather, and to teach the younger students. But over the next few years Sara's good cheer doesn't fade; she carries out her duties, despite the sudden change in position and lifestyle and the loss of her only parent with the help of her active imagination. Her optimism and persistence are rewarded when the house next door is let by a mysterious man, who turns out to be a childhood friend and business partner of her father, Mr. Carrisford. Sara meets his servant, Ram Dass, who secretly brings her exotic foods and gifts on behalf of Mr. Carrisford, but Sara doesn't keep these gifts to herself, she shares them with the other servant girl living in the attic, as well as the few students who are still her friends.
Sara discovers the identity of her benefactor when she returns his escaped monkey. Mr. Carrisford has been looking for Captain Crewe's daughter since the death of his friend and takes Sara in when he discovers who she is. Miss Minchin comes to retrieve Sara, but is told she will remain with Mr. Carrisford and that her fortunes have been restored with the success of her father's diamond mine. Miss Minchin asks Sara to return as a student, but she is rejected and Sara brings her attic roommate to live with her as a companion and lady's maid.
Sara's story is about maintaining a positive outlook on life, no matter what it throws at you. She is the perfect princess who doesn't let her circumstances get the better of her, and the notice of Londoners throughout the story label her a 'princess'. This classic is considered a children's story, but is written for a late-elementary or middle school crowd. It is understandable, but there are times when Sara seems too good to be true. Her happiness is infectious though, and A Little Princess captures her spark against a dark background of grimy London.
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