Le Petit Prince

A strange triumph of a prince

At the outbreak of World War II, the recipient of several of France's highest literary honors and a successful pioneer aviator before the war, he first flew with a reconnaissance squadron as a reserve military pilot in the Armée de l'Armee. 'Air. Force). After the defeat of France in 1940 and its armistice with Germany, he and Consuelo fled occupied France and stayed in North America, Saint-Exupéry arriving alone for the first time at the very end of December 1940. His intention for the visit was to convince the United States to quickly go to war against Nazi Germany and the Axis forces, and he quickly became one of the expatriate voices of the French Resistance. Amid personal upheaval and failing health, he produced almost half of the writings for which he will be remembered, including a tender story of loneliness, friendship, love and loss, under the form of a young prince fallen to Earth.

An earlier memoir by the author chronicled his aviation experiences in the Sahara, and it is believed that he drew on the same experiences for use as plot elements in The Little Prince.