Captain Ralph Crewe, a wealthy English widower, enrolls his young daughter Sara, who had been living in India, at Miss Minchin''s boarding school for girls in London, to prepare her for a life in high society. Crewe dotes on his daughter so much that he orders and pays the headmistress for special treatment and exceptional luxuries for Sara, such as a private room for her with a personal maid and a separate sitting room (see Parlour boarder), along with Sara''s own private carriage and a pony. Miss Minchin openly fawns over Sara for her money, but secretly and jealously despises her for her wealth. Miss Minchin''s younger sister, Amelia, is kindhearted yet her will is weak. Despite her privilege, Sara is neither arrogant nor snobbish, but rather kind, gracious and clever. She extends her friendship to Ermengarde, the school dunce, to Lottie, a four-year-old student given to tantrums, and to Becky, the lowly, stunted fourteen-year-old scullery maid. When Sara acquires the epithet of a princess, she embraces its favorable elements in her natural goodheartedness.