The Little Prince

6C Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Translated by Katherine Woods. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968 reprint.

Notes

Le Petit Prince is a poetic and philosophical novella about a young prince who travels from planet to planet, meeting unusual adults whose narrow-minded behaviors symbolize the flaws of the grown-up world. Through his journey—and especially through his friendship with a stranded pilot in the Sahara Desert—the story explores themes of love, loneliness, imagination, and the importance of seeing with the heart rather than the eyes. Though often considered a children’s book, it speaks deeply to readers of all ages with its simple language, gentle humor, and profound reflections on human nature.

The author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, was a French writer and pioneering aviator whose experiences as a pilot greatly influenced his work. He flew dangerous airmail routes across Africa and South America and drew on these adventures in several of his books. During World War II, he lived in exile in the United States, where he wrote Le Petit Prince. In 1944, he disappeared during a reconnaissance flight over the Mediterranean Sea, and his death remains one of the enduring mysteries of literary history.

Description 

Beige cloth binding with brown illustration and lettering to spine and cover. Original dust wrapper with a few splotches of soiling to upper cover. Colored and black and white illustrations throughout. Blue ink personal inscription to preliminary endpaper dated Christmas 1968. Very good condition.