# Mr. Carrisford — A Little Princess character guide

> Mr. Carrisford in A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Carrisford, the Indian gentleman

**First appearance:** 0011-x-the-indian-gentleman

## Snapshot

A wealthy, ailing invalid next door who was Captain Crewe's business partner and cannot rest until he finds the daughter he failed.

## Who they are

Mr. Carrisford lives in the grand house beside the seminary, tended by servants and haunted by the diamond mines that ruined his friend. He loves nothing more than the memory of "the little princess in rags and tatters," and his quiet campaign to find her drives the story's middle arc from behind the wall. His guilt and his tenderness — the way he shades his eyes when Sara tells him about the bun shop — make him the novel's counterweight to Miss Minchin's coldness.

## Relationships

### [Sara Crewe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/sara_crewe)

_family_

Mr. Carrisford is Sara's father's business partner and becomes her legal guardian and benefactor, restoring her fortune.

### [Miss Minchin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/miss_minchin)

_professional_

Miss Minchin interacts with Mr. Carrisford as a former guardian of Sara, but their relationship is tense and adversarial.

### [Sara Crewe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/sara_crewe)

_family_

Mr. Carrisford is Sara's father's business partner and becomes her legal guardian and benefactor, restoring her fortune.

### [Sara Crewe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/sara_crewe)

_family_

Mr. Carrisford is Sara's father's business partner and becomes her legal guardian and benefactor, restoring her fortune.

### [Miss Minchin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/miss_minchin)

_professional_

Miss Minchin interacts with Mr. Carrisford as a former guardian of Sara, but their relationship is tense and adversarial.

### [Miss Minchin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/miss_minchin)

_professional_

Miss Minchin interacts with Mr. Carrisford as a former guardian of Sara, but their relationship is tense and adversarial.

## In the story

### [The Indian Gentleman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/x-the-indian-gentleman)

The Indian gentleman is introduced as a solitary, ill man who is carried into the house next door. He is attended by a nurse and servants, and the father of the Large Family accompanies him, indicating his importance.

### [The Other Side of the Wall](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xii-the-other-side-of-the-wall)

The Indian gentleman is revealed to be Mr. Carrisford, an Englishman who suffered a brain fever after nearly losing his fortune in diamond mines. He is haunted by the memory of Captain Crewe and the search for his daughter.

### [What Melchisedec Heard and Saw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xiv-what-melchisedec-heard-and-saw)

Referred to as the Sahib Carrisford; his plan to make Sara's visions real is being executed.

### [It Is the Child!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xvii-it-is-the-child)

Anxiously awaits news, recognizes Sara as the child he has been searching for.

### [I Tried Not to Be](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xviii-i-tried-not-to-be)

Mr. Carrisford asserts his role as Sara's guardian and defends her against Miss Minchin's accusations.

### [Anne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xix-anne)

Reveals his and Ram Dass's role in the attic comforts; becomes a new man through his friendship with Sara and supports her charitable plan.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/mr_carrisford
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters