Storytime for Grownups – “A Little Princess: The Wrap-Up”

Host: Faith Moore | December 22, 2025

Episode Overview

In this Christmas wrap-up special, Faith Moore joyfully concludes the A Little Princess read-along, exploring why the beloved classic is not only a fairytale but also a deeply meaningful Christmas story. Through a heartfelt recap, listener letters, and insightful literary analysis, Faith ties together the story’s central themes—kindness, resilience, familial love, and the transformative magic of belief—while reflecting on the power of literature to shape us. The episode invites listeners to carry these lessons into the holiday season and beyond, before announcing what’s next for the podcast.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Housekeeping and Community Thanks

• [00:11 – 04:20]
  • Faith opens with gratitude, acknowledging the podcast’s growing community (“I have really felt that we have all... knit itself together in a really lovely or really exciting way.” [00:28]).
  • Announces this is the wrap-up of the “Victorian Craft Christmas Spectacular.”
  • Congratulates Danielle Costa as the winner of the final prize drawing.
  • Details how to claim the prize and extends a universal offer for signed book plates through Christmas.
  • Outlines the podcast’s schedule break for the holidays and return (Jan 5th: Introduction to David Copperfield; Jan 8th: Begin reading).

2. Recap of Final Chapters

• [13:30 – 15:30]
  • Key Story events:
    • Mr. Carrisford and Mr. Carmichael reveal everything to Sara.
    • Sara is rescued, Ms. Minchin attempts to reclaim her, but is rebuffed.
    • Becky is invited to become Sara’s attendant.
    • Sara arranges for the beggar girl, Anne, to be cared for permanently.
    • Sara and Mr. Carrisford, now “Uncle Tom,” set off to their new life.
  • Emphasis on full-circle closure for the characters, and happy, transformative endings rooted in kindness.

3. Why A Little Princess Is a Christmas Story

• [15:31 – 40:15]

  • Listener Letters as Jumping-off Points:

    • Paula Fernandez’s Letter: “Kindness in the midst of great adversity can transform people we come in contact with.” [17:07]
    • Elizabeth: Powerful need for love and nurturing, as highlighted by Sara’s reunion with a mother figure. [18:01]
    • Faith agrees and notes the emotional center: “I was crying at that part for exactly that reason. Even though I've read this book like a million times.” [18:58]

  • The Rescue and Cinderella Arc:

    • Parallel with fairytales: Sara’s restoration mirrors Cinderella, with a motherly and fatherly rescue restoring her place and fulfillment through love.
    • Mr. Carrisford as “prince”: “He is the one who is going to love her, become a family with her, and elevate her...” [22:56]
    • True transformation is from within; love, not material wealth, is the engine of change.

  • Theme of Heroic Kindness:

    • Sara’s “heroic kindness”—giving bread when she too was hungry—spreads magically, resulting in concrete good (Anne’s rescue, Becky’s upliftment).
    • The story contrasts Sara’s unwavering values with Miss Minchin’s self-serving behavior, leading to justice and redemption.
    • “Sara remained herself and stuck to her values no matter what happened to her.” [28:47]

  • Love as the Heart of Christmas—and the Novel:

    • “In one sense, this book is a Christmas book because it's about love. It's about giving. It's about giving even when you have almost nothing to give.” [30:11]
    • “The reward for all of Sara's hardships … is family. It's not the money. It's not the diamond mines. It's the family...” [30:53]
    • Quote from the book: “She felt as if she ought to be kissed very often because she had not been kissed for so long.” [20:53]

  • Spiritual and Universal Dimensions:

    • Faith makes a bold literary comparison: “Cinderella is the story of a highborn person who is brought low... stays completely and utterly true to herself... is spectacularly and supernaturally restored to her rightful place. ...In a sense, the Cinderella story is very much like the Jesus story. And to me, that's what makes this book a Christmas book.” [35:09]
    • Christmas is about “the supernatural … taking on literal and material form. It's about God made flesh… It's about God coming into the world via a mother, allowing himself to enter a family…” [36:26]
    • Sara’s belief in magic and goodness is an act of faith; her “pretends” have real, transformative effects just as belief and love do in the Christmas narrative.

4. The Magic of Reading: Literature’s Transformative Power

• [40:16 – 46:27]
  • Mariam (age 17) writes: “Even though [books] are only real in our imaginations, I believe reading books like this… has real effects on our lives… and on everyone we interact with after that.” [43:14]
  • Faith expands: Literature changes us by allowing us to “learn who we want to be and who we don’t want to be,” and shapes our capacity for empathy and love.
  • The “magic” in A Little Princess is the power to imagine and create better worlds, and this is what great books train us to do.
  • “Books will help you — read as many as you can. Keep listening here, and I will help you read more.” [46:00]

5. Concluding Wishes and Affection for the Community

• [46:28 – 48:10]
  • Faith offers a warm, inclusive Christmas and New Year’s wish to all listeners, reminding them that “you belong to this community.”
  • “My hope for you this Christmas and every Christmas and always is that you can reorient your life to love. Even in the hardest times and the darkest days. Choose love. Choose joy.” [47:41]
  • Looks forward to the next book and expresses heartfelt thanks for the shared experience.

6. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “This rescue ... begins with a mother being motherly, and it progresses very quickly to a father figure, Mr. Carrisford being fatherly.” [19:39]
• “The end of the story beautifully completes the arc of the Cinderella story, by causing Sara to become a princess... by performing that transformation through love.” [23:25]
• “The magic that Sara carries with her is to create kindness wherever she goes, simply by being kind—but not just kind. ... It was heroic, I think, to give those buns to the beggar girl.” [25:12]
• “Love was the magic that made Sara’s fairy tale come true.” [38:45]
• “Whether you believe in the Christmas story as fact or ... as a story, I think we can all agree that love is the most powerful magic there is.” [39:25]
• “The thing that Sara needed most, that everyone in the book needed most, was love, connection, fellow feeling, the human community.” [44:43]

Notable Listener Letters

• Paula Fernandez: On the power of kindness in adversity (17:07).
• Elizabeth: On the emotional resonance of maternal love (18:01).
• Joaquin: Insightful comparison between Sara’s fairy tale journey and the Christmas/Jesus story (34:30).
• Mariam (17): The real-world effects of reading and imagination (43:14).

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Thank yous, prizes, and next steps: 00:11 – 06:57
• How to stay engaged/subscribed: 06:58 – 09:40
• Recap of final chapters: 13:30 – 15:30
• Listener letters & emotional closure: 17:07 – 21:25
• On why it’s a Christmas book—analysis, quotes, connections: 21:26 – 40:15
• Letter from Mariam & literature’s power: 43:14 – 46:27
• Closing reflections & Christmas wishes: 46:28 – 48:10

Tone

Faith’s tone is warm, enthusiastic, and intimate—she speaks with the affection of a community leader and the insight of a literary friend. She thoughtfully blends listener voices with her own, making the wrap-up feel like the close of a meaningful family gathering.

Final Memorable Moment

• [48:11 – End]
  • The Victorian Christmas sing-along, with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” closes the episode and the A Little Princess reading in community spirit.

Summary Takeaway

This wrap-up of A Little Princess on Storytime for Grownups is more than a literary discussion; it’s a moving meditation on the meaning of Christmas, the enduring necessity of kindness and love, and the practical magic of stories in our lives. Faith Moore’s reflections, buoyed by listener insights, offer both comfort and a quiet call to action: carry the transformative spirit of Sara Crewe—and of classic literature—into your real, everyday world. Merry Christmas, and see you in January for David Copperfield!