As part of my advanced higher French course I had to study Le Petit Prince which is a short novel written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in 1943 and has since been translated and published into more than 250 languages and dialects. It is very well known all across the globe and it has become one of the bestselling books ever published.
It is a riveting story about a pilot stranded in the Sahara desert. After crashing, he meets a young boy from asteroid B-612, who tells him about his adventures. This story has captured the minds of all ages from all over the world with its inspiring messages and enchanting story. It deals with themes such as friendship and love and explores them throughout.

This book is said to have been based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s own experiences. The plane crash of the aviators at the beginning of the novel mirrors Saint-Exupéry own experience, as in1935 Saint-Exupéry crashed in the Sahara desert alongside his mechanic-navigator after 19 hours in the air. He quickly became severely dehydrated due to the heat and his lack of water and he was said to have hallucinated many things including a Fennec fox, which has many similarities with the illustrations of le renard in the book. The rose also is said to have links to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s own life. It is said to represent his wife, Consuelo Suncin, who wrote a memoir about their relationship, titled the Tale of the Rose published after Saint-Exupéry’s disappearance in 1944. It is believed that Saint-Exupéry drew inspiration for the prince off of his self when he was younger as his family would call him Le Roi-Soleil (the sun king) due to his golden curly hair, similar to the Prince’s.

It is a book that explored the themes of love and friendship throughout and often the words have deeper meaning than first thought. Due to this it can be enjoyed by people of all ages even although it is intended to be more of a children’s book. As part of the course I had to analyze the book and due to this I got to look into the deeper meanings of the book and see how powerful it really is.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has written a book that explored powerful themes whilst being a great story and has managed to create a children’s book that is actually suitable for all ages. He has written a story that seems regular on the surface but once you look deeper it is so much nore. I highly recommend taking the time to read this book and take the time to explore the themes as there is more than just love and friendship.

Many thanks, Caitlin x

(PS please feel free to comment your opinion on this book or one similar)