This is the story of a little girl, Sarah Crewe, who spent her entire childhood in India with her father, Ralph Crewe. But then he decided that Sarah needed a proper education and brought her to England, where he placed her in Miss Minchin’s boarding house. For several years Sarah lived safely in the boarding house, surrounded by all possible comforts, for Captain Ralph Crewe wanted only the best for his daughter. But the ruin of her father and his unexpected death changed Sarah’s life overnight. Deprived of the only person close to her, left without a livelihood, she was forced to serve in the boarding house, where she had recently been considered the most profitable and respected pupil. Along with her situation, the attitude of the principal, the staff, and the other inmates changed. Only three people continued to have a soft spot for Sara, which prevented her from completely losing heart. So another few years passed. And life did another amazing twist, giving everyone what they deserved in the end. Sarah reminded me of the heroine of another book – Pollyanna, the same little fantasist with a big kind heart. Pollyanna had a “game of joy,” while Sarah loved to “play the princess. She imagined in all kinds of situations how she would behave as a princess, and this helped her to always maintain her nobility and dignity. When I was a child I would probably have loved this tale as much as I loved “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” which I read for the first time when I was ten and reread many times afterward. Now the story seemed to me too naive, and in some places even cloying.
