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A Little Princess
A Little Princess
Dec 31, 2025 10:37 PM

Author:Frances Hodgson Burnett,Julia McKenzie,Robert Glenister,Ellie Beaven,Ravin J Gunatra,Nicky Henson,Full Cast

A Little Princess

A BBC radio dramatisation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's much-loved children's story

Brought from India to chilly, fog-bound London, Sara Crewe is enrolled as a pupil at Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies. Her doting father, Captain Crewe, has provided her with fine clothes and luxuries fit for a princess, and she attracts envious attention. But Sara soon wins friends with her kindness, taking the school's misfits under her wing, and telling them wonderful stories to cheer them up. Yet despite her best efforts, her spiteful classmate Lavinia and mean headmistress Miss Minchin remain determined to dislike her.

Then one day, Sara receives some terrible news. Her father has died, and his fortune is lost. Suddenly penniless, Sara is stripped of all her possessions and forced to become a servant. Banished to the attic with only her dreams to sustain her, will her courage, warm heart and imagination see her through?

First published in 1905, Frances Hodgson Burnett's timeless tale has captured the hearts of generations, and is frequently ranked among the best children's novels of all time. This enchanting adaptation stars Ellie Beaven as Sara, with Julia McKenzie as Miss Minchin and Nicky Henson as Captain Crewe.

Production credits

Written by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Dramatised by Dave Simpson

Directed by Martin Jameson

Executive producer: Diane Whitley

Music composed by Robert Rigby

Cast

Miss Minchin - Julia McKenzie

Captain Crewe - Nicky Henson

Sara- Ellie Beaven

Saeed/Ram Dass - Ravin J Gunatra

Amelia - Fenella Norman

Monsieur Dufarge/Mr Carmichael - Timothy Morand

Mr Barrow/Removal man - Anthony Jackson

Shop assistant - Jilly Bond

Maid/Baker woman - Ali Hames

Becky - Emma Copeland

Ermengarde - Danielle Nelson

Lavinia - Lucy Kent

Jessie - Sasha Hannau

Lottie - Becky Simpson

Mr Carrisford - Robert Glenister

Janet - Sara MacDonald

Beggar girl - Carla Prosser

Donald - Max Wrottesley

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21 December 1996

©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Reviews

Short, smart and fizzy, the novel seeks out the roots of creativity with none of the solemnity that phrase implies.

—— New Statesman

Entirely captivating.

—— Time Out

Worth rejoicing in ... a banquet of whimsical delights. Each Russell Hoban book is surprising ... but you also know what you're getting, which is curiosity, wonder and a world-encompassing empathy.

—— John Self , The Guardian

Suffused with melancholy and wonder, beautifully written, Riddley Walker is a novel people will be reading for a long, long time.

—— Washington Post

This is what literature is meant to be.

—— Anthony Burgess

The strongest, most desolate and bewildered voice in modern fiction. In the mental silence that followed the closing of the last page, I wanted to applaud, through tears.

—— Cosmopolitan

The book has an evangelical effect on people ... Riddley is an absorbing character, Hoban's language has a fantastic, rough poetry and the post-apocalyptic world is chilling and convincing.

—— Rachel Seiffert , The Observer

McFarlane deftly pulls the strings of her cinematic plot, making sure it never descends into melodrama. Instead, the story remains gripping, yet thought-provoking - a poignant comment on the modern condition.

—— Stylist

Highway Blue is a beautiful, sun-drenched road novel... A novel that's in love with the idea of America, both contemporary in its concerns and deeply nostalgic

—— Observer

A furious utopia. Utterly compelling, brilliant and terrifying. Sorrowland seizes the history of white supremacy, racist medical experimentation, and the dream - and danger - of the commune and gnashes it into something magnificent and truly reparative. An epic fantasy that interweaves righteous, large-scale confrontations with power, extremely sexy and moving erotic gothic horror, and exquisite, meticulous renderings of the daily life of parenting. This is a fairy tale for adults, spangled in the wreckage of the world. A gorgeous, singular, and profound work.

—— Jordy Rosenberg, author of Confessions of the Fox

The writing is visceral and soul-clenching. The characters - bold, creative, and memorable. The action, heart-stopping. This is imaginative storytelling at its finest. Once I started, I could not put down Sorrowland until I reached the end. And then I wanted more!

—— Djèlí Clark, author of Ring Shout

Sorrowland is a raw, powerful, and visceral read. Nature, joy, science, belonging, human metamorphosis, generational oppression, strength, and sheer lust for life: if Toni Morrison, M. Night Shyamalan, and Marge Piercy got together they might, if they were lucky, produce something with the unstoppable exhilaration of this novel. Sorrowland is sui generis.

—— Nicola Griffith, author of Hild

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon contains so much wisdom and insight, wrapped in an abundance of passion and fury and tenderness. There is so much going on in this book: the spectre of what happens when rebellion is co-opted, our longstanding practice of using Black bodies for cruel and unethical experiments, the audacity of queer love. The arc of this book takes Vern and her babies away from civilization and then back to it - but they return changed, and they change everyone else, and this book restored my faith in our potential to transform just when I needed it most.

—— Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky

Lee Child on An Unkindness of Ghosts: Immediately immersive and sophisticated. This is a phenomenal piece of work.

—— Lee Child

On An Unkindness of Ghosts: Solomon debuts with a raw distillation of slavery, feudalism, prison, and religion that kicks like rotgut moonshine...Stunning.

—— Publishers Weekly

Infused with the spirit of Octavia Butler and loaded with meaning for the present day, An Unkindness of Ghosts will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Solomon's impassioned, speculative, literary book is sorely needed on library shelves.

—— Booklist

On An Unkindness of Ghosts: What Solomon achieves with this debut - the sharpness, the depth, the precision - puts me in mind of a syringe full of stars. I want to say about this book, its only imperfection is that it ended.

—— NPR

Dark and magical, Sorrowland is a fantastical tale that grapples with America's history of racism and marginalised communities

—— I Paper

Solomon captures Vern's journey in a gripping narrative that is equal parts speculative fiction and Gothic tale, all while unravelling a fictional world that is not dissimilar to our own, particularly in its depiction of racism and white supremacy.

—— TIME MAGAZINE (Europe)

Solomon's most powerful work yet.

—— The New York Times

SORROWLAND is a highly atmospheric, addictive read.

—— The White Review

[A]bsurdly well-researched, prescient and pin-sharp [...] so definitely pick it up'

—— Sirin Kale

[I]t's thrillingly, DELICIOUSLY fascinating about How We Live Now. She's a MINE of information- philosophy, science, literature, stats, all pulled together in her coolly elegant prose. I could not put it down!

—— Marian Keyes

These 242 pages are an (exhaustive, though not depressing) middle-finger to the word 'should'. A word which justifies women feeling the need to constantly scrutinise every decision; in the name of self-improvement, in order to have the Best Life Possible, at a hundred miles an hour.

—— Buro247

Energetic and compelling.

—— Olivia Sudjic

Sykes stays true to "High Low" form by using a high-low mix of vocabulary ... We have all had moments of asking ourselves if we are doing "this" - gestures vaguely - right, which makes the book all the more likeable. This is a form of learning how to succeed by failing - as it admits to being human.

—— Best non-fiction books about failure , Independent

Pandora is my personal guru on all things relating to the zeitgeist. How lucky you are that she can now be yours too.

—— Dolly Alderton

This will spark a thousand conversations and encourage us to find our own path to contentment.

—— Best nonfiction books of 2020 , Topshop

Hailed as a manifesto for modern women ... packed with her trademark wit, wisdom and philosophical references (if you know her, you know), this book is the opposite of doom and gloom. Instead, her judgement free observations are reassuring, comforting and wholeheartedly uplifting.

—— Marie Claire

A moving and captivating tale of survival and hope in a war-torn country, and confirms Mohamed's stature as one of Britain's best young novelists

—— Stylist on The Orchard of Lost Souls

A heartfelt story, handled so carefully and empathetically

—— Aisling Bea

Because Of You is a tale told with warmth by a storyteller who never takes herself too seriously

—— Sunday Express

Heartbreaking but redemptive, and lightened by French's trademark humour, this is a compelling read that will keep you poised between laughter and tears

—— Daily Mail

A tantalising story of motherhood told with Dawn French's signature warmth

—— Sainsbury's Magazine

As ever, even in the darkest of times, Dawn has found humour to inject into her novel

—— Best

A brilliant book

—— Good Housekeeping

The life-affirming and unmissable new novel

—— Eastern Daily Press

A tale told with warmth

—— Daily Record

While Dawn French's latest novel contains a dash of humour, it's also heart-wrenching

—— The Hunsbury Handbook

A fabulous emotional tearjerker of a novel

—— Silversurfers

Praise for Dawn French

—— -

Hilarious and brilliant

—— Woman & Home

I adored According to YES. It's so different to anything I've read in forever, so charming, wise, brilliantly written. I loved it all

—— Marian Keyes

Witty and wise, it'll have you burning the midnight oil. A cracker

—— Woman's Weekly

Very funny and packs an emotional clout. Brilliant!

—— Heat

An enlightening and feel-good read offering a fresh look at life and how to embrace it. Funny and enjoyable to the end

—— We Love This Book

There is lots of fun to be had reading this book. It's impossible not to warm to Rosie, a funny and open-hearted woman who acts as a salve and comfort blanket for this unhappy, inhibited family. There's something quite joyous about the way she unashamedly romps her way through the novel, changing the lives of those around her for the better

—— Express

Another hilarious novel!

—— Bella

French can spin a yarn . . . which sets According to YES apart. Think the vicar of Dibley, without the dog collar. YES YES YES indeed

—— Independent

Wise and poignant

—— Beyond the Joke

Heart-warming

—— Choice Magazine
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