LoveReading4Kids Says
“All grown-ups were children once, although few of them remember it”. So writes author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in the dedication of this remarkable novella; a poignant line that epitomises The Little Prince’s cross-generational power and continued resonance. If you’re looking for a literary-gift-of-a-lifetime for any little and not-so-little ones in your life, look no further than this Wordsworth Collector’s Edition of an undisputed twentieth-century classic.
Published in 1943, The Little Prince tells the unforgettable tale of a young boy with golden hair and a habit of repeating questions until they are answered. Known as the “little prince”, the boy recounts his life story while the narrator - a pilot, like the author - repairs his plane, racing against his eight-day supply of water. The little prince’s tales of other planets are enthralling and hauntingly allegorical. Once read, this is a story to return to through a lifetime, and here beautifully packaged as a hardback that will certainly survive multiple re-readings.
The Wordsworth Collector's Editions make wonderful presents for children; you can find more in the series here.
Joanne Owen
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The Little Prince Synopsis
The Little Prince is a modern fable, and for readers far and wide both the title and the work have exerted a pull far in excess of the book's brevity.
Written and published first by Antoine de St-Exupery in 1943, only a year before his plane disappeared on a reconnaissance flight, it is one of the world's most widely translated books, enjoyed by adults and children alike. In the meeting of the narrator who has ditched his plane in the Sahara desert, and the little prince, who has dropped there through time and space from his tiny asteroid, comes an intersection of two worlds, the one governed by the laws of nature, and the other determined only by the limits of imagination. The world of the imagination wins hands down, with the concerns of the adult world often shown to be lamentably silly as seen through the eyes of the little prince.
While adult readers can find deep meanings in his various encounters, they can also be charmed back to childhood by this wise but innocent infant. This popular translation contains the author's own delightful illustrations, bringing to visual life the small being at the tale's heart, and a world of fantasy far removed from any quotidian reality. It is also a sort of love story, in which two frail beings, the downed pilot and the wandering infant-prince who has left behind all he knows, share their short time together isolated from humanity and finding sustenance in each other. This is a book which creates a unique relationship with each reader, whether child or adult.
About This Edition
About Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Writer and aviator, Antoine Jean-Baptiste Marie Roger de Saint-Exupéry was born on 29 June, 1900 in Lyon, France.
Saint-Exupéry studied architecture at the Ecole de Beaux-Arts. In 1921, he began his military service with the light cavalry, and trained as a pilot in Strasbourg. A year later he obtained his license and was offered transfer to the airforce.
Due to objections from the family of his fiancée, Saint-Exupéry instead took an office job in Paris. His engagement to Leveque de Vilmorin was not to last, and for the next few years he had a series of unsuccessful jobs.
By 1926, Saint-Exupéry resumed his love for flying, and he became one of the pioneers of international postal flight. Saint-Exupéry's career as an aviator was flourishing and by 1929, he became director of Cape Juby airfield in Morocco, then moved to South America being appointed director of the Aeroposta Argentina Company. In the same year, he wrote his first book, Southern Mail. His first major work, Night Flight was published in 1931.
On December 30, 1945, Saint-Exupéry and his navigator, André Prévot, embarked on a record-breaking attempt to fly from Paris to Saigon. Nineteen and a half hours into the flight, their plane crashed in the Sahara desert. Both survived the crash but spent three days battling dehydration, limited food and hallucinations. On the fourth day, they were rescued by a camel-riding Bedouin. In part, this experience was the inspiration for The Little Prince, which begins with a pilot being marooned in the desert.
Saint-Exupéry continued to fly until World War II, during which he took self-imposed exile. He retreated to New York and stayed in the village of Asharoken, Long Island where he spent the summer and autumn writing The Little Prince. The manuscript was completed by October 1942.
On 31 July 1944, a year after his book was published, Saint-Exupéry disappeared over the Mediterranean while flying a reconnaissance mission for his French air squadron, the Armée de l'Air.
You might also be interested in The Pilot and the Little Prince by Peter Sis, a remarkable and highly original biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
More About Antoine De Saint-Exupery
