The Little Prince

Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery | First Published: April 1943 | Saint-Exupéry wrote The Little Prince while living in exile in the United States during World War II. As a pilot and writer, he had already gained recognition for works like Wind, Sand and Stars. The story reflects both his experiences as an aviator and the loneliness and moral reflection shaped by wartime displacement. The book was published in the U.S. in both English and French in 1943. It was not published in France until after the war because the country was under German occupation at the time. Tragically, Saint-Exupéry disappeared in July 1944 during a reconnaissance mission over the Mediterranean. He never saw the book become the global classic it is today.