( 95796 customer ratings)
Kiddy Monster Publication, December 2012
A Little Princess
FEATURES:
• Beautiful 21 original illustrations are included
• FREE audio book link and Movie link at the end of the book
• Active Table of Contents
• High formatting quality and standards, manually crafted by professionals
A Little Princess
It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine. According to Burnett, she had been composing a play based on the story when she found out a lot of characters she had missed. The publisher asked her to publish a new, revised story of the novella, producing the novel.
Plot
A Little Princess opens with seven-year-old Sara Crewe and her father, Captain Crewe, arriving at Miss Minchin's boarding school for girls in London. Captain Crewe is very wealthy and states that Sara is a destined for a lavish, comfortable future. Despite being pampered all her life in India, Sara herself is very intelligent, polite, and creative. Headmistress Miss Minchin is secretly jealous and dislikes Sara for her cleverness, but openly praises and flatters her because of her father's wealth. Before departing for India, Captain Crewe purchases Sara an elegant wardrobe and a doll whom Sara adores and names "Emily." Sara's friendliness and love for pretending and storytelling makes her popular with most of the school's students. They soon begin regarding her as a princess, which she embraces. Sara befriends Ermengarde, the school dunce; Lottie, a spoiled four-year-old student; and Becky, the scullery maid.
A few years later, Sara receives word from Captain Crewe that he and a childhood friend have become partners in a scheme to gain control of a diamond mine which could potentially multiply his wealth enormously. Miss Minchin later treats Sara to a very luxurious eleventh birthday party per Captain Crewe's request. Captain Crewe's lawyer arrives unexpectedly and tells Miss Minchin that Captain Crewe has died of jungle fever and his partner has gone missing. He then adds that business troubles that rendered him completely poor, leaving Sara an orphaned beggar. Enraged that she will never be reimbursed for all the services and goods spent on Sara since receiving the last check, Miss Minchin seizes all of Sara's possessions except for an outgrown black frock and Emily. Miss Minchin then tells Sara that she will live in the attic next to Becky and work as a servant in order to continue living in the school.
For the next several years Sara is made to teach the younger students and run errands in all weathers; she is starved and abused by Miss Minchin, the cook, and the other servants. She is consoled by Ermengarde, Lottie, and Becky, who visit her during the night, as well as Emily and a rat she names Melchisedec. Sara extensively uses her imagination as a means of coping, pretending that she and Becky are prisoners in the Bastille. Sara also continues pretending she is still a princess, and continues to be kind and polite to everyone, including her offenders. One day Sara finds a fourpence in the street and uses it to buy six buns from a friendly baker. The baker witnesses Sara give five of the buns to a beggar girl before leaving. The baker regards Sara as a princess and invites the beggar girl to live with her.
Meanwhile, a man from India, Tom Carrisford, moves into the house next door. Sara becomes interested and sympathetic when she learns about Mr. Carrisford, who is sickly. It is revealed that Mr. Carrisford was Captain Crewe's childhood friend and partner. During their time in India, they had both caught high fevers, and in his delirium, Mr. Carrisford abandoned Captain Crewe. However, the diamond mine scheme had not fallen through as they both had initially believed, and Carrisford became extraordinarily wealthy. Mr. Carrisford feels extremely guilty that Captain Crewe's daughter is missing because of the ordeal and seeks to find her. Her name and school are unknown to him, following leads in Paris and Moscow. Sara meets Ram Dass, Mr. Carrisford's servant, when his pet monkey escapes into her room through her skylight. Ram Dass immediately admires Sara when she speaks to him in Hindustani. Ram Dass climbs across the roof into Sara's room to retrieve the monkey and sees the poor condition of her room. Ram Dass tells Mr. Carrisford of Sara, who becomes interested in her. Mr. Carrisford decides to secretly send food and gifts to Sara and Becky. Sara is very thankful but does not know who her "mysterious friend" is. The following days become less burdensome to Sara and Becky, to Miss Minchin's confusion.
One night, the monkey escapes into Sara's room through the skylight; Sara decides to return the monkey to Mr. Carrisford the next morning. Sara mentions she had lived in India to Mr. Carrisford, who then subsequently learns that Sara is the missing daughter of Captain Crewe. Sara learns that Mr. Carrisford was her father's friend and forgives him when she realizes that he is the mysterious friend who helped her. When Miss Minchin visits to reclaim Sara, she is informed that Sara will be living with Mr. Carrisford and her entire fortune has been restored. Miss Minchin kindly asks Sara to come back and continue being a student at her school, but Sara rejects her offer. Becky is invited to live with and be the personal attendant of Sara. With her newfound wealth Sara makes a deal with the baker, proposing to cover the bills for food given to any hungry child. Sara thus proves her worth as a true "princess."
If you use one of Kobo's free reading apps you won't need to worry about download options most of the time. Your Kobo reading app can easily add Kobo Store books to your library for a seamless reading experience.
Download options matter when:
In both of these cases you will need to:
You can also use Digital Editions to transfer the book to your eReader. See here for more information on Digital Editions.
You can read this item on your computer using our free Kobo Desktop Application. This application lets you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones. Check out our demo for more information!
Learn More »You can read this item on your Kobo eReader (or other select electronic reading devices). The Kobo eReader lets you carry your whole library with you, so that you can read on the go.
Visit kobo.com/ereaders »You can read this item on select tablets using one of our free Kobo apps. These apps let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.
Learn More »You can read this item on your Kobo Vox eReader. The Kobo Vox eReader lets you read books with color, sound or interactive elements. Check out our demo for more information on the Kobo Vox.
Learn More »You can read this item on your Kobo Arc using the Library app. This app lets you read, manage your library of eBooks, and shop for new books.
Learn More »You can read this item on any Android device (phone, tablet) with one of our free Kobo apps. These apps let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.
Learn More »You can read this item on the free Kobo app for iPhone. This app let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.
Download the iPhone App! Learn More »
By: {2}
Available on: {3}
Coming soon
Secure TransactionSubtotal
Store Credit
Total
We'll charge your credit card {4} on {3}.
We'll charge your credit card {4} when the book is added to your Library.
Your store credit covers the cost of this purchase, so we don't charge your credit card
Use Quick Buy for all eBook purchases.{2} is now in your library. You'll receive an email confirming your purchase very soon.
{2} has been pre-ordered. You'll receive a confirmation email confirming your pre-order very soon.
You were charged:
You will be charged: on {3}
You will be charged: when the book is added to your Library
Rakuten Super Points earned: {1}
Rakuten Super Points {1} earned after the book is added to your Library