A Little Princess

By: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Sarah Crewe is treated like a princess at Miss Minchin's boarding school - until her father dies, leaving her peniless. Now she must struggle as a servant to evil Miss Minchin, but the intellgent, kind-hearted girl never loses hope. From her garrett, she soon makes friends and finds incredible adventures. And good will and imagination ultimately triumph by this book's glorious ending. This beloved classic has been continuously in publication since 1905. Experienced Shakespearean actress Wanda McCaddon captures all the drama of Sarah Crewe's adventures as well as the accents of Miss Minchin, the scullery maid, and Sarah herself.

Public Domain (P)1994 by The Audio Partners Publishing Corp.

I love the narrator, but the sound quality is poor.

I love the narrator, Wanda McCaddon (who also does narration as Nadia May and Donada Peters, and do I bought this unabridged recording even though I knew in advance from the sample that the sound quality is poor. It was worth it to me. There is a blank space in the middle of the book that lasts for half a minute or so. That’s annoying.

A great classic, classically read

Would you listen to A Little Princess again? Why?

Yes and I do, regularly. At least once a month or two. It is one of my favorite audio books.

What other book might you compare A Little Princess to and why?

The Wee Free Men: Discworld Childrens, Book 2, by Terry Pratchett. Though Wee Free Men is comedic in style, there are elements of the two characters that very much remind me of each other. I find Tiffany Aiking to be a sometimes arrogant, but otherwise thoroughly charming character. Sara Crue is thoroughly charming almost all the times and those few times when her veneer cracks she becomes even more endearing.

Which character – as performed by Wanda McCaddon – was your favorite?

Sarah, "The Little Princess."

Who was the most memorable character of A Little Princess and why?

Miss Menchant, she was so dire and austere. Having recently re-watched a sociology-anthropological study of Edwardian England, about Manor House life, one sees and is able to physically compare what Sarah and her close friend Becky live through on a daily basis. This book's telling of the era's social hierarchy was beyond accurate to the point of being visceral and real.

Any additional comments?

I have only one complaint and it's not with the book. I feel that Audible did this recording a disservice by laying the file as a single six hour piece. If not for my kindles ability to set timed sleep and bookmarks I could not go to any particular chapter. Frankly it is well below Audibles regular upload quality. How difficult is it to place some chapter markers in an audio file for crimony sake?

Additional:
Please note, I've only ever heard this book in audio form. I'm guessing on the spellings of names, having never read the text.

fun story - not easy to listen to

We all remember the Shirley Temple movie, and I don't think I'm spoiling anything to say that the ending in the book is different. That said, I did enjoy the story, but found it difficult listening. I normally have no problem w British accents, but I think this recording is not the best.

Wonderful book

I love listening to Wanda McCaddon! The recording leaves much to be desired, but I listened to this book growing up and it is very nostalgic for me and I love it!