natural when reading children’s stories as an adult but still the cause of such wonderment is the comfort a story such as a little princess creates thanks to the whimsical feel of the prose of frances hodgson burnett in this rags-to-riches, princess to pauper tale.

encapsulating a childhood many of us will understand on some level, and if not can conjure up such an experience easily, where our titular character, sara crewe, remains brave and resilient throughout the many hardships she faces, is a story that would inspire anyone, especially the children it is intended for, making for a truly delightful read at any age.

“she liked books more than anything else, and was, in fact, always inventing stories of beautiful things, and telling them to herself.”

- 4.5 stars!

This was just what I needed. This book was beautifully heart-warming, and I must confess, my heart is most certainly warmed. I remember loving the film of "A little Princess" many years ago, and it has remained a firm favourite with me. Even though the story in the film is slightly different to the original book, I enjoyed both, in a similar way. Actually, I now have a distinct urge to go and watch the film!

"If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.”

I enjoyed the first half of the book more, in comparison to the second. Maybe this is because I feel it follows the film more, plus, there are some beautiful and incredible quotes, that really touched me. It also became apparent rather quickly, that there are many more villains in the book, which really, I think is slightly strange for a children's book. But damn, I have to say, I despised Ms Minchin. She really was such a terrible person, and each time she abused Sara, I felt quite angry inside. (Yes, some books have a profound effect on me.)

Overall, this is a wonderful story, with a prominent message, and I think I could definitely enjoy this again, at some point in the future.

A charming and beautiful book! I’m glad I purchased it. It makes me want to read more childhood classics.

I had no idea the movie changed a huge thing around.

Book #3 for #booktubeathon is DONE!

I finished this audiobook on the way to work this morning and MAN do I love this story. I've loved the movie for a long time and I loved this book just as much, although the endings and elements of the story were different. Sarah is such a fantastically beautiful character with such a big heart for others. I loved reading about her adventures and how she continued to have the attitude of a princess, regardless of her circumstances.
JUST A GREAT CHILDREN'S BOOK, ERRYONE READ IT.

Buen libro, súper fácil de leer.

Cada nuevo día es una completa sorpresa. Intentamos controlarlo todo, programar lo que haremos por la noche, al siguiente día, en el fin de semana, en las vacaciones, pero por más que tengamos planes para el futuro hay situaciones inéditas que afectan completamente aquella ruta de viaje programada. Esto ocurre porque en el fondo, ese control que creemos poseer solo es una ilusión, y por más que sintamos que nuestro porvenir depende de nosotros mismos la verdad es que no es así. Hay infinidad de situaciones, posibilidades y caminos, que en caso de presentarse alteraría completamente nuestra vida: desde nuestro trabajo, hasta nuestra vida sentimental. No nos gusta reconocerlo porque nos sentiríamos vulnerables, pero de una u otra forma dependemos de lo que hacen los demás. Si se muere el dueño de la empresa donde trabajamos, ¿seguiremos teniendo empleo? Si algún sector productivo de nuestro país deja de funcionar, ¿seguiremos disfrutando de las comodidades que podemos disfrutar? Si se presentan desastres naturales cerca a nuestro hogar, ¿tendremos la fortuna de que nuestros familiares sigan con vida? Si sufrimos una enfermedad, ¿tendremos la capacidad física y mental para seguir nuestro plan de vida al pie de la letra? Pues bien, de esto es lo que trata esta obra.

En, La princesita, conoceremos la historia de Sara Creewe, hija del Capitan Creewe, que de la noche a la mañana se convierte en una niña pobre, a pesar de que antes había gozado de todas las comodidades posibles que le brindaba su padre. La historia está clasificada en el género Drama/Infantil por lo que naturalmente no encontraremos escenas excesivamente sombrías o crueles; sin embargo, aquí la autora hace el intento de plasmar de una forma tenue la visión de cómo un infante puede quedar expuesto en un mundo de miseria donde la desigualdad social es la que prima en todas partes. La autora hace un gran trabajo al describir correctamente esas situaciones, especialmente con el cambio de actitud de las personas hacia Sara cuando se enteran de la nueva situación económica de la protagonista. Es una crítica muy interesante que nos ayuda a reflexionar sobre los prejuicios que tenemos como sociedad hacia las personas con menos recursos. Es como si juzgáramos a las personas por la cantidad de dinero que poseen en sus bolsillos y no por las habilidades o inteligencia que puedan poseer para sobrevivir en el mundo. Personalmente, creo que fue un gran acierto de la autora primero describir ese mundo «color rosa» para luego mostrar la otra faceta de la vida, ese mundo «color mierda».

El argumento de la historia me ha parecido muy bueno, la prosa también porque he logrado leer el libro a una velocidad rápida, e incluso el vocabulario me ha parecido bastante claro y fácil de entender: Lógicamente, al tratarse de un libro enfocado para un público infantil y juvenil, debía ser así. Sin embargo, quizás por mi historial de lectura, fue una obra que no logró conmoverme por la historia de la protagonista. No sé, me pareció todo como muy leve, nunca tan grave. Lo sé, no puedo exigir en este libro orientado para un público juvenil más situaciones lúgubres para la protagonista, pero en caso de que se hubieran presentado escenas más dramáticas, más giros inesperados, más dificultades, y más miseria, sería una obra maestra en todo el sentido de la palabra. No obstante, no significa que no me haya gustado la obra o que mi experiencia sea negativa. Nada de eso. Lo que ocurre es que a veces nuestra mente nos hace creer que el contenido que acabamos de consumir pudo ser mejor.

Otro aspecto del libro importante para mencionar es sobre la protagonista. Sara, es una niña muy bien educada, sabe comportarse, controlar sus emociones, es amable, solidaria con las más necesitadas, tiene una imaginación increíble, y en verdad que es una niña ejemplar. Sara tiene el tipo de personalidad adecuada para la historia, ya que justamente es en las situaciones adversas cuando vale la pena observar sus reacciones y comprobar si es capaz de mantener su actitud temple todo el tiempo. No obstante, no fue un personaje que se ganara mi cariño y simpatía. Quizás también es un tema personal, algo relacionado a la química que siento con ciertas personalidades, pero siento que un poco de picardía y rebeldía hubiera sido perfecto para Sara. Al fin y al cabo era una niña, por lo que esa docilidad con la que se comportó todo el tiempo no me terminó de convencer. Sin embargo, es un personaje correcto, cumple su rol, y quizás a otros lectores si les guste su participación.

En resumen, una obra con una idea interesante, una autora que escribe de forma amena, una crítica social que nos invita a la reflexión, y una lectura que recordaré como una experiencia agradable, a pesar de que la resolución de la historia es bastante predecible desde casi el inicio del libro. La calificación de tres estrellas me parece apropiada: Menos sería injusto, pero más ya sería demasiado generoso. Buen libro.

Though I wallowed in Burnett’s A Little Princess as a girl, in re-reading it as an adult and considering the movie adaptations, it is hard not to view it through a postcolonial lens.

The 1995 movie adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess begins with the voice-over of Sara Crewe, the main character, stating, “A very long time ago there lived a beautiful princess in a mystical land known as India . . ..” Against the otherwise blank screen, a small circular image of the imaginary princess appears, then dilates to reveal the fantastic space of Sara’s story, admitting the audience into its secret spectacle.

The “mystical land known as India”--this exotic spectacle--functions as a key element in both of the original Burnett works, the 1995 movie, and two earlier movies (the 1986 Wonderworks film and the 1939 Hollywood film). Indeed, though the 1995 film’s first scene does not derive directly from any part of Burnett’s story, it reinscribes a number of ideas that do appear in Burnett’s novels and the other two films. Access to the vision of India is, in all of them, a connection to the power of empire. Sara is a “little princess” because she imagines India.


In the 1995 film, Sara tells a story about Princess Sita and her husband, Prince Rama. Rama attempts to protect Sita by drawing a magic circle around her, explaining, “So long as you stay inside it, no harm can come to you.” But when Sita hears what seems to be Rama’s voice calling for help, she leaves her circle and is soon threatened by a ten-headed demon. Although Sara appears to be controlling events in this “mystical land” by narrating them, and while the plot of her story suggests her own ability to transgress boundaries, Sara’s symbolic authority remains circumscribed and entirely derived from her father. It is Ralph Crewe’s position as a wealthy Englishman and an officer of the Raj that enables the representation of India as a commodity and spectacle--as Crewe calls it, “the only place that stirs the imagination.” He passes on to Sara his view of imagination as a resource, a “magic [which:] has to be believed, that’s the only way it’s real.” Or, as Sara refers to it in Burnett’s book, “the Magic that will never let the worst things quite happen.”

Sara, a dutiful daughter in all three film adaptations and Burnett’s two versions of the story, faithfully produces “magic” whenever she becomes particularly needy, and--like her father--uses the spectacle of India as her impetus. It is this dependence on colonialism that marks the story as essentially Victorian, even more than the references to period objects, class relations, and so forth [Burnett’s first version of the story, Sara Crewe, was published in 1888; the longer novel, A Little Princess, was published in the 1905.:] Sara may lose her father (permanently in the Burnett novels, temporarily in the films), she may seem to lose her social position and become a servant, she may seem to be rebellious or transgressive, but she is still a “princess,” a true daughter of the Empire.

Imperial India is hyperreal, in Jean Baudrillard’s term: an object fetishized by its loss, a reality rendered unreal by its “hallucinatory resemblance to itself” (“Symbolic Exchange and Death”). Producing language, narrating India, Sara is also reproducing the same ideological structures that generate the plot-problems she is trying to overcome. Her every effort to retain self-respect in her poverty reinforces her difference from the story’s other poor characters; her friendly gestures toward the Indian servant Ram Dass reiterate her standing as a member of the Raj’s officer class; her ability to survive without her father demonstrates her dependence on the symbolic economy she inherited from him. A Little Princess, in text and film versions, sets forth the hyperreal spectacle of empire in a particularly clear way.

A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Little Princess is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905.

Captain Crewe, a wealthy English widower, has been raising his only child, Sara, in India where he is stationed with the British Army. Because the Indian climate is considered too harsh for children, British families living there traditionally send their children to boarding school back home in England.

The captain enrolls his young daughter at Miss Minchin's boarding school for girls in London, and dotes on his daughter so much that he orders and pays the headmistress for special treatment and exceptional luxuries for Sara, such as a private room for her with a personal maid and a separate sitting room, along with Sara's own private carriage and a pony. Miss Minchin openly fawns over Sara for her money, but secretly and jealously despises her for her wealth. ...

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «سارا کوچولو: یا ماجراهای خانه خانم مین چین»؛ «سارا کوچولو»؛ «سارا کروو»؛ «ساراکرو»؛ «س‍ارا ک‍ورو: ش‍اه‍زاده‌ خ‍ان‍م‌ ک‍وچ‍ک‌»؛ نویسنده: فرانسس هاجسون (هاجسن) بارنت (برنت)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز هفتم ماه آگوست سال2006میلادی

عنوان: سارا کوچولو: یا ماجراهای خانه خانم مین چین؛ نویسنده: فرانسس هاجسون (هاجسن) بارنت (برنت)؛ مترجم علی کاتبی؛ تهران، نشر اشاره؛ چاپ سوم سال1370؛ در82ص؛ چاپ چهارم سال1372؛ چاپ پنجم سال1375؛ موضوع: داستانهای کودکان از نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده20م

عنوان: سارا کوچولو؛ نویسنده: فرانسس هاجسون (هاجسن) بارنت (برنت)؛ مترجم: هادی عادلپور؛ تهران، کوشش، سال1375، در192ص؛

عنوان: سارا کروو؛ نویسنده: فرانسس هاجسون (هاجسن) بارنت (برنت)؛ مترجم: مهدی فیاض؛ مشهد، نشر موحد؛ سال1376؛ در96ص؛

عنوان: ساراکرو؛ نویسنده: فرانسس هاچسون برنت؛ مترجم: مترجم: حسن قائم مقامی؛ تهران، شهر کتاب، هرمس؛ سال1382؛ در320ص؛ شابک9643632121؛

عنوان: س‍ارا ک‍وچ‍ول‍و؛ ن‍وش‍ت‍ه‌: ف‍ران‍س‍ی‍س‌ ه‍اج‍س‍ن‌ ب‍رن‍ت‌؛ مت‍رج‍م: ه‍روس‌ ش‍ب‍ان‍ی‌؛ وی‍راس‍ت‍ار: اح‍م‍د س‍ل‍طان‍ی‌.؛ تهران، بلوط، سال1376؛ در152ص؛ شابک9649096612؛

عنوان: س‍ارا ک‍ورو: ش‍اه‍زاده‌ خ‍ان‍م‌ ک‍وچ‍ک‌؛ نویسنده: ف‍ران‍س‌ه‍اج‍س‍ن‌ ب‍رن‍ت‌؛ مت‍رج‍م: رام‍ک‌ ن‍ی‍ک‌طل‍ب‌؛ ت‍ه‍ران‌ ق‍دی‍ان‍ی‌، ک‍ت‍اب‍ه‍ای‌ ب‍ن‍ف‍ش‍ه‌‏‫، سال1383؛ در246ص؛ شابک9789644175909؛‬ چاپ پنجم سال1390؛ چاپ هفتم سال1391؛ چاپ دهم سال1397؛

پرنسس کوچک یک رمان کودکانه اثر «فرانسس هاجسون برنت» است، که نخستین بار به شکل کتاب در سال1905میلادی چاپ شد؛ این رمان نسخه‌ ای گسترش یافته از داستان کوتاه «سارا کرو: یا، آنچه در مدرسه خانم مینچین اتفاق افتاد» است؛ درباره شخصیتی به نام «سارا» است که پس از ورشکستگی و مرگ پدرش و دچار شدن به فقر، کوشش می‌کند روحیه‌اش را از دست ندهد، و عزت نفس خود را نگاهبانی کند و اگر چه بی‌چیز است، هماره همانند شاهزاده‌ها رفتار می‌کند؛

نقل از متن برگردان «رام‍ک‌ ن‍ی‍ک‌طل‍ب‌»: («ارمنگارد» و «لوتی» همیشه نمی‌توانستند به دیدن «سارا» بروند؛ بیشتر وقت‌ها این کار خطرناک بود؛ باید ابتدا از بودن «سارا» در اتاقش مطمئن می‌شدند؛ بعد باید مراقب می‌بودند که «آمیلیا» هنگام بازرسی شبانه آنها را نبیند؛ برای همین، به ندرت «سارا» را می‌دیدند؛ زندگی «سارا» عجیب بود؛ گاهی در پایین، بیشتر از بالا احساس تنهایی می‌کرد؛ هنگام کار کسی با او حرف نمی‌زد؛ وقتی به خرید می‌رفت، هیکل کوچک حزن‌انگیزی بود که سبدش را به سختی می‌کشید و سعی می‌کرد کلاهش را در بادهای شدید بر سر نگه‌دارد؛ وقتی باران می‌بارید و خیسش می‌کرد، مردم بی‌توجه و با عجله از کنارش می‌گذشتند و این کارشان تنهایی‌اش را بزرگ‌تر می‌کرد؛ زمانی که «شاهزاده سارا» بود، با آن کت‌ها و کلاه‌های قشنگ و دیدنی، با صورتی شاد و درخشان و همراهی و مراقبت مریت در کالسکه می‌نشست و توجه مردم را به خود جلب می‌کرد؛ مردم به تماشایش می‌ایستادند، و تا مدت‌ها نگاهش می‌کردند، و لبخند می‌زدند؛ این روزها کسی به «سارا» نگاه نمی‌کرد؛ انگار هیچ‌کس او را نمی‌دید؛ قدش بلندتر شده بود و با آن لباس نازک و قدیمی، مشکوک به نظر می‌رسید؛ از لباس‌های گرم و گران‌بها خبری نبود و باید آنچه را که داشت، تا آنجا که می‌توانست، می‌پوشید؛ گاهی وقت‌ها که در ویترین یا آینه‌ی مغازه‌ها خودش را می‌دید، خنده‌اش می‌گرفت و گاهی سرخ می‌شد و لبش را گاز می‌گرفت و می‌دوید.)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 23/01/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

3.5 stars, personally.

I read this book back in elementary school and would have said it was my favorite compared to The Secret Garden, but now I would say I enjoyed Mary and her adventures in the garden more now. Sarah Crew is a lovely and imaginative little girl; there’s definitely a reason this is a classic because of her good attitude even when life is rough and people are mean, but I preferred the story of Mary this read (listen) through.

I listened to the audio book for the first time when doing room improvements (

Now as much as Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess is and remains both a childhood and adulthood favourite for me, in some if not actually many ways, main protagonist Sara Crewe and her entire demeanour do at times appear as being simply and frustratingly just a bit too good to be true. And while I have indeed always liked Sara's story tremendously, I also must admit that I have never loved A Little Princess as much as, say, The Secret Garden (also, of course, by Frances Hodgson Burnett) or the Anne of Green Gables and the Emily of New Moon series (Lucy Maud Montgomery). For in all of these here novels, the main characters are presented as having their share of faults (and at times even seriously problematic and major ones), while in A Little Princess, Sara Crewe seemingly has little or no such peccadilloes (except perhaps that she does at times appear almost patronising in her goodness and her feelings for the populace, but I think that the author, that Frances Hodgson Burnett actually does not mean this to be considered as a fault, and it is just our more modern sensibilities which tend to make us consider this kind of noblesse oblige feeling to be not entirely, not altogether praiseworthy anymore).

And actually, one important consideration to keep in mind is that A Little Princess was published quite a few years before The Secret Garden (the fomer was published in 1905, I believe, and I think The Secret Garden was not published until 1911 or so, and the novella on which A Little Princess is based, Sara Crewe, Or What Happened At Miss Minchin's was actually published even earlier, around 1888). And thus, perhaps Frances Hodgson Burnett's attitude towards children had matured by the time she penned The Secret Garden, and she might have by then realised that it would be better to have main characters who are not perfect, but also have their share of not so stellar character traits. But on the other hand, I also have to wonder whether the author, whether Frances Hodgson Burnett might not have deliberately portrayed Sara as a faultless princess-like character because she wanted to portray her as some kind of magical, fairy tale like entity (a child-goddess of compassion, helpful, patient, accepting, but ultimately too good to be true, a bit like the type of character Dickon represents in The Secret Garden, similarly godlike and unrealistic, but then, Dickon is a supporting character and not the main character, like Sara is in A Little Princess).

Still, A Little Princess truly is and always will be a lovely and sweet tale (somewhat of an upside down fairy tale, a riches to rags and then back to riches story) and a novel that although written more than a century ago, is still enjoyable, readable and for most children, sufficiently approachable (and I bet many adults are like me, having not just fond childhood memories of A little Princess, but also of repeated rereads).

Last week I read a novel Maud Martha and wondered as I was reading it, and when done, where I was for all of these years and never heard of that book prior to being on Goodreads. Today as I was reading this book the exact same question popped into my head. I guess better late than never.

Simply perfect. It was everything I hoped it would be and I don't know why it took me so long to actually get around to reading it. No wonder it is a classic.

Short story about a little girl named Sara aged 7 who used to live with her father in India. Father being concerned of her education, decides to send her to a boarding school in London. There she lives in luxury than other pupils and everyone was envied because of her intelligence and luxurious lifestyle. However her father, Captain Crewe dies from a high fever, leaving Sara penniless. He had put all his money in the diamond mines business along with his friend, who went missing after seeing some losses.

The news of Captain Crewe’s death changed Sara’s life completely in the utter misery and mercy of Miss Minchin. She was made to live like a maid who worked for hours, ran errands and taught young pupil lessons. She was a very bright child and a quick learner, who loved reading and creating stories. Her father’s friend who ran away, searched for Sara everywhere and finally finds her after two years, as he happened to move to the house next to the boarding school.

He tells her the entire story and gives her every comfort she deserved as she was the owner of half the fortunes from diamond mines, which were later discovered. Sara always pretended and acted as if she was a princess and in the end with the help of magic (she liked to believe that) she lives her life as a princess, who was kind, well-mannered, caring and above all loved sharing her goodness with others.

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