Sara Crewe is a very intelligent, polite, and creative young girl. Born to a wealthy soldier in India, Sara was brought all the way to London in Victorian-era England for a formal education. At the upscale boarding school, Sara is forced to tolerate the haughty, disdainful headmistress, Miss Minchin. It only gets worse for poor Sara Crewe when a distressing event unfolds to leave her impoverished and at the mercy of the jealous Miss Minchin. Sara undergoes numerous trials as she humbly allows he