A Little Princess

by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Edited by Kathryn Lindskoog
Illustrated by Barbara Chitouras

Republished Spring, 2002
P&R Publishing

A Little Princess is the story of Sara Crewe, a wealthy young student at a London boarding school. When tragedy suddenly strikes, Sara finds herself at the mercy of the cruel schoolmistress, Miss Minchen. Overwhelmed by terrible trials, Sara must find the strength to survive. But soon she finds hope in a wonderful secret -- a secret that magically transforms even the lowliest of beggars into true royalty.

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was a born storyteller. Even when she was a young child living in Manchester, England, her greatest pleasure was in making up stories and acting them out, using her dolls as characters. When she was sixteen, she was brought from England to Tennessee by her fatherless, poverty stricken family. There she started to write stories in a cold little attic room, and they eventually made her rich and famous. She published over fifty books, but the most beloved are Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden, and Little Princess. She said of herself, "With the best that was in me, I have tried to write more happiness into the world."

"This book is just about the most interesting, funny, sad, exciting, wonderful story anybody ever told."--Phyllis McGinley, author of Plain Princess, Sixpence in Her Shoe, and The Most Wonderful Doll in the World.

I met little princess Sara Crewe when I was nine years old and we quickly became best friends. We had a lot in common--fathers whose work took them away from us, love of books and beautiful things, financial hardship, and mistreatment by unkind people. Sara understood me. She also taught me about courage, kindness, determination, and hope. She helped me believe that dreams really do come true, that God and his human helpers somehow always find ways to deliver delightful surprises into the dark places of our lives."-Ranelda Mack Hunsicker, author of Secrets and The Hidden Price Greatness