''A Little Princess'' (1986–1987) is a six-part British-American drama (based upon the 1905 novel ''

A Little Princess ''A Little Princess'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story "Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's", which was serialized in '' St. Nicholas ...

'' by

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1886), ''A Little Princess'' (1905), a ...

), directed by Carol Wiseman, and starring

Amelia Shankley Amelia Shankley is a British actress (born 18 June 1972), the daughter of actor and singer Jeff Shankley. Career Shankley is known for her role as the young Alice Liddell in the film ''Dreamchild'' (1985), from a script by Dennis Potter, and S ...

as Sara Crewe and

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, columnist and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

as Miss Minchin. It was popular in Europe and Japan.

Plot

Sara Crewe, the daughter of wealthy British aristocrat Ralph Crewe, has spent her entire life living in India after the death of her mother. Knowing she needs proper European schooling, her father brings Sara to an elite boarding school in London where her mother had been educated. Crewe spares no expense ensuring Sara will be as comfortable as possible while she is there. Before bringing Sarah to England, Mr. Crewe lends his old friend, Carrisford, a significant amount of his fortune to invest in a diamond mine in Africa. Sara and her father arrive in London and meet the school's owner and headmistress, Miss Minchin. After a tearful farewell, Sara's father departs and she begins her education. Sara quickly befriends the other students, including Lottie, a younger student Sara consoles for having lost her mother, and Ermengarde, a shy girl often made fun of for her weight, as well as the school's servant girl, Becky, who is ignored by everyone else. On the return trip, Mr. Crewe catches pneumonia. Arriving back at his estate in India, he receives a letter from Carrisford, telling him the diamond mine was empty, and his fortune has been lost. The stress of this worsens his illness and he dies soon after. In London, Miss Minchin is informed by Crewe's lawyer that she will be receiving no money henceforth due to Crewe's bankruptcy. Minchin has already amassed heavy expenses for Sara's birthday with lavish gifts and decorations, having hoped to extort more money from her father, and is furious when she finds out she'll have to pay for them out of her own pocket. Since Sara has no living relatives, Minchin considers throwing Sara out on the street, but is advised against this by Crewe's lawyer, who reminds her how poorly it would affect her reputation. She decides to turn Sara into a servant, making her clean and work in the school where she was once a student. Sara is moved out of her luxurious room and sent to live in the attic with Becky. She continues to be kind and gracious to everyone, even to Miss Minchin, despite her dire circumstances and cruelty. One cold day, Sara is sent out to run errands and spots money on the ground. Cold and hungry, she uses it to buy six buns from a nearby bakery, giving five to a beggar girl she meets and leaving only one for herself. Meanwhile, Mr. Crewe's friend, Carrisford, had received false reports about the diamond mine. It was, in fact, a great investment, making him very wealthy. Knowing that half of the diamond fortune belongs to his friend, he immediately tries to contact him. Upon finding that Crewe has died, Carrisford, distraught, begins searching for Sara. Carrisford has returned to England and actually lives right next door to Miss Minchin's school, but has never met Sara and assumes she is just a servant girl. Crewe never told him exactly where Sara was attending school, only that it was a boarding school in Europe which her mother had attended. Carrisford has his solicitor, Carmichael, whose children have constant interactions with Sara as they live opposite Miss Minchin's, start searching schools all over Europe in hopes of finding her. After searching numerous cities, including Paris, St. Petersburg, Lisbon, and Vienna, Carmichael says he cannot make any more trips himself. Carrisford remains guilt-ridden over what happened to his friend, and vows to keep looking until he finds Sara. One morning, a monkey climbs into Sara's attic room. The monkey belongs to Ram Dass, Carrisford's Indian servant. Sara brings the monkey next door to return him, and remarks about Ram Dass being a Sikh, and how she met many Sikhs while growing up in India. When Carrisford asks how she came to be a servant at the school, she tells them how she used to be a pupil, but became a servant when a friend lost all of her father's money just before he died. Sara sees a statue of Kali in Carrisford's parlour, and says it looks just like one her father had owned. When Carrisford asks what her father's name was, she tells him, "Crewe...Ralph Crewe". Stunned, Carrisford tells her the statue actually was her father's, and that he is the friend whom it had been thought lost Ralph Crewe's fortune, and he has been searching all over Europe for her. Yet all this time, she had been just next door. Carrisford tells Sara that half of his large fortune rightfully belongs to her, and that she doesn't have to return to the school. Miss Minchin arrives, assuming her servant to be bothering the neighbours, and demanding that she return to the school. Carmichael explains the situation, and chastises Minchin for her cruelty. Carrisford tells Sara that she is welcome to stay with him as long as she likes and that he will arrange private tutors to finish her schooling. Carrisford also rescues Becky, who becomes Sara's personal maid. They visit the bakery that Sara bought six buns from when she was a servant and meet the beggar girl who is now the bakers apprentice, the baker having taken her in after witnessing Sara's kind act. The girls greet each other with glee.

Cast

as Miss Minchin *

as Sara Crewe (

Sumi Shimamoto , known professionally as , is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator of film, anime and video games. She has voice acted in Hayao Miyazaki's movies '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', '' The Castle of Cagliostro'', '' My Neighbor ...

in the Japanese dub) *

Miriam Margolyes Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...

as Miss Amelia Minchin *

Annette Badland Annette Badland is a British actress known for a wide range of roles on television, radio, stage, and film. She is best known for her roles as Charlotte in the BBC crime drama series '' Bergerac'', Margaret Blaine in the BBC science fiction se ...

as Cook * Natalie Abbott as Becky * Alison Reynolds as Ermengarde * Katrina Heath as Lavinia * Joanna Dukes as Jessie *

Johanna Hargreaves Johanna Hargreaves (born 18 June 1963) is a British television actress who has been active since 1980, best known for playing "Stella" in the 1983 teenage drama ''Johnny Jarvis'' and "Linda Jordan" in the 1992 police drama '' Between the Lines''. ...

as Henrietta * Jessica Simpson as Lottie *

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor and presenter. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielb ...

as Carrisford * David Yelland as Ralph Crewe * John Bird as Mr. Carmichael *

Annie Lambert Annie Lambert (born 3 January 1946) is a British actress, best known to fans of the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' for her role as Enlightenment in the 1982 serial ''Four to Doomsday''. She grew up in East Sussex and her fir ...

as Mrs. Carmichael * Antony Zaki as Ram Dass *

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is an English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and by portraying Sanjeev's grandmoth ...

as Anna

Awards

''Winner:'' * 1988 -

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Award for Best Children's Programme (Entertainment/Drama)

References

External links

* *
''A Little Princess''
at

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

IMDb TV Amazon Freevee (stylized as freevee and fv, also shortened as Freevee, formerly known as IMDb Freedive and IMDb TV, and sometimes spelled FV) is an American ad-supported video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service owned by Amazon, with original an ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Princess (1986 miniseries), A Television shows based on American novels Television shows based on British novels Films based on A Little Princess 1987 British television series debuts 1987 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1980s British television miniseries Television shows set in India Television shows set in the British Raj Television shows set in London Television series set in the 1900s Fiction set in 1900 Television series about bullying ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios London Weekend Television shows British English-language television shows Television series based on A Little Princess

Plot

Cast

Awards

Further reading

References

External links