The Little Prince is a novella written and illustrated by French writer, and military pilot, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published posthumously in France following liberation; Saint-Exupéry's works had been banned by the Vichy Regime. The story follows a young prince who visits various planets, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. Despite its style as a children's book, The Little Prince makes observations about life, adults, and human nature.
The Little Prince
Saint-Exupéry next to his downed Simoun (lacking an all-critical radio) after crashing into the Sahara about 3 am during an air race to Saigon, Vietnam. His survival ordeal was about to begin (Egypt, 1935).
The Rose in The Little Prince was likely inspired by Saint-Exupéry's Salvadoran wife, Consuelo (Montreal, 1942)
The writer-aviator on Lac Saint-Louis during a speaking tour in support of France after its armistice with Germany. He started his work on the novella shortly after returning to the United States (Quebec, 1942).
Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. He received several prestigious literary awards for his novella The Little Prince and for his lyrical aviation writings, including Wind, Sand and Stars and Night Flight. His works have been translated into many languages.
Saint-Exupéry in 1933
Birthplace of Saint-Exupéry in the Presqu'île section of Lyon, on the street now named after him, in blue at lower left
Saint-Exupéry photographed near Montréal, Québec, in May 1942, on a speaking tour in support of France after its armistice with Germany. Saint-Exupéry was highly stressed and bedridden with cholecystitis at this time in his life.
Memorial plaque for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Markkleeberg (Germany), 2022. In 1939, he came to see his German publisher Karl Rauch, who had printed the first German edition of "Terre des hommes".
