A Little Princess · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Chapter 1
The Whole of the Story
The author reflects on the untold parts of a story, explaining how the play 'A Little Princess' revealed new characters and events that were omitted from the original 'Sara Crewe'. She describes how Lottie, Becky, Ermengarde, and Melchisedec emerged from the story's shadowland, leading to this expanded version.
Chapter 2
A Little Princess
Sara Crewe, a young girl with a vivid imagination and a kind heart, is brought to Miss Minchin's Seminary for girls by her wealthy father, Captain Crewe. She is given special treatment due to her father's wealth, which creates jealousy among some students and teachers. Sara befriends Ermengarde and Lottie, and shows kindness to the scullery maid, Becky. She uses her imagination to cope with loneliness and to comfort others, often pretending to be a princess. The chapter establishes Sara's character and the dynamics at the school before her fortunes change.
Chapter 3
Sara
Sara Crewe, a seven-year-old girl, arrives in London from India with her father, Captain Crewe, to attend Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies. She is a thoughtful, imaginative child who feels older than her years. Before her father departs for India, they go on a shopping spree, buying an extravagant wardrobe and a special doll named Emily, whom Sara treats as a real companion. The chapter establishes Sara's close bond with her father and her rich inner life.
Chapter 4
A French Lesson
Sara Crewe begins her first day at Miss Minchin's Seminary. She is introduced to the schoolroom and immediately becomes the object of curiosity and envy among the other pupils, particularly Lavinia Herbert. During a French lesson, Miss Minchin assumes Sara knows no French, but Sara reveals she is fluent, having learned from her French mother. This embarrasses Miss Minchin and creates a grudge against Sara, while the other pupils are impressed by her elegance and imagination.
Chapter 5
Ermengarde
Sara meets Ermengarde St. John, a dull but good-natured girl who struggles with her lessons. Sara befriends her, shares her imaginative world, and reveals her deep love for her absent father, showing her resilience and inner strength.
Chapter 6
Lottie
Sara Crewe's life at Miss Minchin's Seminary is marked by praise and privilege, but her natural humility and kindness prevent her from becoming spoiled. She becomes a leader among the students not through dominance but through generosity and empathy. When she encounters the crying Lottie, who laments having no mother, Sara comforts her with an imaginative story about heaven and offers to be her 'mamma,' winning Lottie's adoration and solidifying her role as a motherly figure to the younger children.
Chapter 7
Becky
Sara's greatest power is her storytelling, which captivates her schoolmates. One foggy afternoon, she notices a poor scullery-maid, Becky, peering at her through the area railings. Later, Becky sneaks into the schoolroom to listen to Sara's story about a princess and a merman. Sara befriends Becky, promising to tell her the rest of the story daily. When Sara finds Becky asleep in her room, exhausted from work, she feels compassion and decides to treat her kindly, pretending to be a princess scattering largess.
Chapter 8
The Diamond-Mines
Captain Crewe writes to Sara about his investment in diamond mines, which captures the imagination of the entire school. Sara's 'princess' pretense becomes a topic of discussion, and she defends it gracefully. Her friendship with Becky deepens as she secretly shares food and stories with the scullery-maid. The chapter ends with preparations for Sara's eleventh birthday and a letter from her father expressing worry over business matters.
Chapter 9
The Diamond-Mines Again
Sara's eleventh birthday is celebrated at Miss Minchin's seminary with a grand party and the presentation of the Last Doll. Miss Minchin gives a speech highlighting Sara's future fortune from the diamond mines, which provokes jealousy from Lavinia. After the party, Sara learns that her father has died and she is now penniless. Miss Minchin cruelly banishes her to the attic and strips her of her possessions. Becky, the scullery-maid, shows compassion for Sara and offers to serve her, but Miss Minchin refuses.
Chapter 10
In the Attic
Sara Crewe is forced to adapt to her new life as a servant after her father's death. She is moved to a cold, rat-infested attic and given menial tasks, including teaching younger children and running errands. Despite her hardships, she finds comfort in her friendship with Becky and struggles with her changed status among the other pupils, particularly in an awkward encounter with Ermengarde.
Chapter 11
Melchisedec
Lottie discovers Sara's new attic home and is comforted by Sara's imaginative perspective. Later, Ermengarde visits Sara in the attic, where Sara introduces her to her pet rat Melchisedec and explains their secret communication system with Becky through knocks on the wall, framing their lives as a story.
Chapter 12
The Indian Gentleman
Sara continues her lonely life in the attic, finding solace in observing the 'Large Family' across the square. One evening, young Guy Clarence mistakes her for a beggar and offers her a sixpence, an encounter that deeply humiliates Sara but also touches her. Meanwhile, a mysterious new neighbor moves in next door—a solitary, ill man whom Becky believes to be a heathen. Sara learns he is the 'Indian gentleman,' setting the stage for future events.
Chapter 13
Ram Dass
Sara continues to endure Miss Minchin's cruelty with dignity, imagining herself a princess to maintain her composure. After a confrontation where Miss Minchin boxes her ears, Sara boldly declares she was thinking what she would do if she were a real princess. Later, Ram Dass retrieves his monkey from Sara's attic, treating her with profound respect that stirs memories of her past life in India. Alone, Sara reaffirms her inner strength, resolving to be a princess inside regardless of her circumstances.
Chapter 14
The Other Side of the Wall
Sara imagines the lives of those living next door, particularly the Indian gentleman (Mr. Carrisford), whom she has adopted as a friend. She learns from the servants that he suffered a brain fever after nearly losing his fortune in diamond mines, and she sympathizes with him, wishing she could comfort him as she once did her father. Meanwhile, Mr. Carrisford and Mr. Carmichael discuss the search for Captain Crewe's daughter, whom Carrisford desperately seeks to find. On the other side of the wall, Sara sits in her attic, talking to Melchisedec and longing for her father.
Chapter 15
One of the Populace
Sara endures a harsh winter day, running errands in the cold and rain without dinner as punishment from Miss Minchin. While walking, she finds a fourpenny piece in the gutter and buys six hot buns from a baker's shop. Seeing a hungrier beggar child, she gives away five of the buns, keeping only one for herself. The baker-woman, moved by Sara's kindness, offers to help the beggar child in the future. Sara returns to the square, observing the Large Family preparing for a journey.
Chapter 16
What Melchisedec Heard and Saw
While Sara is out, Ram Dass and the Indian gentleman's secretary secretly enter her attic through the skylight. They observe the room's poverty and make notes to later transform it into a comfortable place, inspired by Sara's own visions. Melchisedec the rat watches them, frightened but unnoticed.
Chapter 17
The Magic
Sara uses her imagination and 'Magic' to transform her attic into a banquet hall, using old items from her trunk. Ermengarde visits and reveals she has a box of food from her aunt. Sara invites Becky, who was falsely accused of stealing, and they share a feast of pretense and real food.
Chapter 18
The Visitor
Sara continues to receive mysterious comforts in her attic, including a fire, supper, and new clothing, which baffle Miss Minchin and give Sara a radiant demeanor despite her punishment. Miss Minchin grows suspicious and angry at Sara's apparent happiness, while Lavinia and Jessie gossip about her. Sara resolves to keep the secret of her benefactor, and the chapter ends with her receiving more parcels addressed to 'the Little Girl in the right-hand attic.'
Chapter 19
It Is the Child!
Mr. Carmichael returns from Moscow with disappointing news that the child he investigated is not the one they seek. Mr. Carrisford, despondent, discusses searching London schools. Ram Dass brings Sara, who has returned the runaway monkey, into the room. Through questioning, Sara reveals she was born in India, her father was Captain Ralph Crewe who died penniless after trusting a friend, and she is now a drudge at Miss Minchin's. Mr. Carrisford recognizes her as the lost heiress.
Chapter 20
I Tried Not to Be
Mr. Carrisford and Mr. Carmichael inform Miss Minchin that Sara's fortune from the diamond mines has been recovered, and that Sara will live with Mr. Carrisford as her guardian. Miss Minchin attempts to reclaim Sara but is rebuffed. Sara asserts her identity as a princess despite her past suffering. Miss Amelia confronts her sister about their mistreatment of Sara, and Ermengarde receives news of the change.
Chapter 21
Anne
Sara, now living with Mr. Carrisford, shares her story of hardship and the magical banquet with the Large Family. Mr. Carrisford reveals that Ram Dass was the secret benefactor who brought comforts to her attic. Sara proposes using her wealth to feed hungry children through the bun shop, and discovers that the beggar child she once helped is now employed there as Anne.
