A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

By Al R. Young

In A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the world of Sara Crewe is all tenderness and love. Alone in the center of her father's affections, she has the comfort of his companionship and all that wealth can do to insulate her from every form of coldness in the world. Her story is the story of character, of sterling quality within that responds to abrasion with luster, and keeps its shape whether tarnished or bright.

In this well-loved story, the unsuspecting Captain Crewe leaves his daughter in the icy care of Miss Minchin's London boarding school for young ladies. In Miss Minchin, the world's way of valuing a person is all compacted into a single grasping character whose nature unfolds as Sara's fortune changes. First Sara is parted from her father when he leaves for India. Later she is parted when disease takes him from her. And there is such a circumstance associated with the Captain's death that Sara is plunged from wealth to penury in an instant.

Cruelty of almost every kind is visited upon her, but, like a princess, she bears it well and proves her character refined. This is a beautifully told story about integrity and goodness. For as Sara's fortune changes for the worse, she makes the best of unfair circumstances and reaches out to help others. Then, as her fortunes take a magical turn for the better, she continues to share. There is plenty of irony and suspense in this enthralling story that helps young and old feel good about genuine goodness.