# Sara Crewe — A Little Princess character guide > Sara Crewe in A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Sara, Little Sara, Princess Sara, Mademoiselle Sara **First appearance:** 0001-a-little-princess ## Snapshot A sharp, story-spinning heiress who rules the schoolroom as "Princess Sara" until fortune strips her of everything but imagination and nerve. ## Who they are Sara arrives at Miss Minchin's seminary rich, French-fluent, and adored, her father's idolatry making her both envied and beloved. Her defining tension is the promise she made to bear separation bravely, a discipline she tests when kindness to the scullery maid Becky becomes a secret friendship. Her habit of "supposing" — treating dolls as living, hunger as conquerable — is what the story's early arc quietly builds toward, making her the moral center everyone else orbits. ## Relationships ### [Miss Minchin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/miss_minchin) _professional_ Miss Minchin is Sara's headmistress and legal guardian after Captain Crewe's death, treating her cruelly and exploiting her as a servant. ### [Becky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/becky) _friendship_ Becky, the scullery maid, becomes Sara's close friend and ally, sharing hardships and kindness. ### [Mr. Carrisford](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/mr_carrisford) _family_ Mr. Carrisford is Sara's father's business partner and becomes her legal guardian and benefactor, restoring her fortune. ### [Emily](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/emily) _psychological_ Emily is Sara's beloved doll, treated as a confidante and symbol of her imagination and resilience. ### [Lavinia Herbert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/lavinia_herbert) _rivalry_ Lavinia is Sara's jealous and spiteful classmate who delights in her downfall and taunts her. ### [Captain Crewe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/captain_crewe) _family_ Captain Crewe is Sara's loving and doting father who indulges her imagination and provides for her before his death. ### [Ram Dass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/ram_dass) _friendship_ Ram Dass, Mr. Carrisford's servant, secretly brings Sara comforts and gifts, becoming a silent benefactor. ### [Jessie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/jessie) _social_ Jessie is a fellow student at Miss Minchin's seminary, generally neutral but sometimes influenced by Lavinia's cruelty. ### [Melchisedec](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/melchisedec) _friendship_ Melchisedec is a friendly rat that Sara befriends in her attic, sharing her crumbs and companionship. ### [Guy Clarence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/guy_clarence) _social_ Guy Clarence is a young boy from the family next door who becomes curious about Sara and shares small kindnesses. ### [Miss Minchin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/miss_minchin) _professional_ Miss Minchin is Sara's headmistress and legal guardian after Captain Crewe's death, treating her cruelly and exploiting her as a servant. ### [Miss Minchin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/miss_minchin) _professional_ Miss Minchin is Sara's headmistress and legal guardian after Captain Crewe's death, treating her cruelly and exploiting her as a servant. ## In the story ### [The Whole of the Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/the-whole-of-the-story) Central character of the story, whose experiences at Miss Minchin's are being expanded upon. ### [A Little Princess](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/a-little-princess) The protagonist, a imaginative and kind-hearted girl who arrives at Miss Minchin's Seminary. ### [Sara](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/i-sara) Introduced as a seven-year-old girl with an old-fashioned, thoughtful nature; arrives in London from Bombay with her father; loves books and storytelling; chooses a doll named Emily as her companion. ### [A French Lesson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/ii-a-french-lesson) Sara enters the schoolroom for the first time, demonstrates her fluency in French, and shows her imaginative nature by pretending her doll Emily can read and talk. ### [Ermengarde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/iii-ermengarde) Sara befriends Ermengarde, shares her imaginative stories, and reveals her pain over her father's departure. ### [Lottie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/iv-lottie) Sara demonstrates humility and kindness despite being favored by Miss Minchin. She uses her imagination to comfort Lottie and becomes an adoptive mother figure. ### [Becky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/v-becky) Sara uses her storytelling gift to captivate others and shows kindness to Becky, treating her as an equal and promising to share her stories. ### [The Diamond-Mines](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/vi-the-diamond-mines) Defends her 'princess' pretense with dignity; secretly shares food and stories with Becky; receives a letter from her father about the diamond mines. ### [The Diamond-Mines Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/vii-the-diamond-mines-again) Celebrates her eleventh birthday with a party, receives the Last Doll, and later learns of her father's death and her sudden poverty. ### [In the Attic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/viii-in-the-attic) Endures the first night in the attic, grieves her father's death, and begins her new life as a drudge, finding solace in pretending her situation is part of a war. ### [Melchisedec](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/ix-melchisedec) Sara comforts Lottie about her attic room and later shows Ermengarde her friendship with the rat Melchisedec, explaining how she uses imagination to endure her hardships. ### [The Indian Gentleman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/x-the-indian-gentleman) Sara endures her lonely and shabby life, feeling invisible as she walks the streets. She is humiliated when Guy Clarence mistakes her for a beggar, but she accepts his sixpence out of kindness. ### [Ram Dass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xi-ram-dass) Maintains her princess persona to cope with Miss Minchin's abuse; confronts Miss Minchin after being boxed on the ears; receives Ram Dass with dignity; reaffirms her inner royalty. ### [The Other Side of the Wall](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xii-the-other-side-of-the-wall) Sara imagines the lives of her neighbors, sympathizes with the Indian gentleman, and struggles to maintain her princess-like composure in the cold attic. ### [One of the Populace](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xiii-one-of-the-populace) Endures cold, hunger, and punishment; finds a fourpenny piece and buys buns; gives five buns to a beggar child, keeping one for herself. ### [What Melchisedec Heard and Saw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xiv-what-melchisedec-heard-and-saw) Mentioned as the child who is friend to all creatures, endures poverty, and inspires the secret plan. ### [The Magic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xv-the-magic) Uses her imagination to create a magical feast from old trunk items; shows empathy and kindness to Becky. ### [The Visitor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xvi-the-visitor) Sara maintains a cheerful and resilient demeanor despite Miss Minchin's punishment, buoyed by the secret comforts in her attic. ### [It Is the Child!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xvii-it-is-the-child) Brings back the monkey, reveals her past as Captain Crewe's daughter, and is identified as the lost child. ### [I Tried Not to Be](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xviii-i-tried-not-to-be) Sara is revealed as the heiress of the diamond mines and stands up to Miss Minchin, declaring she tried to remain a princess even in her darkest moments. ### [Anne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/chapters/xix-anne) Sara tells her story to the Large Family, proposes a charity for hungry children, and reunites with the beggar child Anne. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters/sara_crewe - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_little_princess_se/characters