A Little Princess (1905) by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a beloved children's classic, the story of a brave little girl who retains her dignity, compassion, kindness, and the true demeanor of a princess through unexpected hardship and misfortune. The child of the wealthy Captain Crewe who has made his diamond fortune in India, smart and imaginative Sara Crewe is the pampered darling of the boarding school until it is discovered that her father has died and their fortune has been lost. Instantly demoted to a servant, made to live in the dingy attic and perform the hardest chores, starved and mistreated by the mean Miss Minchin and all the servants, Sara finds her only friends and allies in the kindly servant girl Becky and two classmates -- until sudden magic comes to brighten her life in the form of a mysterious benefactor