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A Little Princess

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To prepare his daughter, Sara, for society, wealthy widower Captain Ralph Crewe enrolls her in Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies. Unspoiled and genial, Sara is given all the luxuries her father can afford - and the obsequious Miss Minchin is happy to indulge. But when her father dies and his fortune is lost, Sara is forced into servitude, stripped of her privileges and possessions, and subjected to Miss Minchin's true cruel nature.

But as A Little Princess proves, with cleverness, resilience, selfless goodwill, and true friends, a child can be rewarded with infinite riches.

AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature's most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.

Revised Previously published as A Little Princess, this edition of A Little Princess (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

Audible Audio

Published December 22, 2017

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About the author

Frances Hodgson Burnett

1,505 books5,006 followers
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).
Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Cheetham, Manchester, England. After her father died in 1853, when Frances was 4 years old, the family fell on straitened circumstances and in 1865 emigrated to the United States, settling in New Market, Tennessee. Frances began her writing career there at age 19 to help earn money for the family, publishing stories in magazines. In 1870, her mother died. In Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1873 she married Swan M. Burnett, who became a medical doctor. Their first son Lionel was born a year later. The Burnetts lived for two years in Paris, where their second son Vivian was born, before returning to the United States to live in Washington, D.C. Burnett then began to write novels, the first of which (That Lass o' Lowrie's), was published to good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886 and made her a popular writer of children's fiction, although her romantic adult novels written in the 1890s were also popular. She wrote and helped to produce stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess.
Beginning in the 1880s, Burnett began to travel to England frequently and in the 1890s bought a home there, where she wrote The Secret Garden. Her elder son, Lionel, died of tuberculosis in 1890, which caused a relapse of the depression she had struggled with for much of her life. She divorced Swan Burnett in 1898, married Stephen Townesend in 1900, and divorced him in 1902. A few years later she settled in Nassau County, New York, where she died in 1924 and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery.
In 1936, a memorial sculpture by Bessie Potter Vonnoh was erected in her honor in Central Park's Conservatory Garden. The statue depicts her two famous Secret Garden characters, Mary and Dickon.

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Profmarianne.
170 reviews3 followers
December 30, 2024
Oh my goodness. How have I never read this book before? It's so heartwarming and perfect.
6 reviews
March 25, 2025
4.5 Better than expected. I remember watching this movie over and over as a little girl and it was still just as magical every time. When I started reading this I was so afraid it was going to be as disappointing as cool-aid (you think it's the best drink in the world as a kid then you try it as an adult and realize its just nasty red syrup). That wasn't the case for this book. It still kept that nostalgic feel, while at the same time showed me a deeper appreciation for the moral lessons this story portrayed through the magical imagination of a little girl.
"If Nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that, - warm things kind things, sweet things- help and comfort and laughter-...." This is definitely a book I plan to read with my kids.
Profile Image for Vy Meow.
284 reviews12 followers
March 3, 2024
A nice ending for little girl 👧
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

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