ICONS OF FRANCE ❘ ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY
ICONS OF FRANCE
As 2023 marks the 80th anniversary of The Little Prince’s publication, Steve Turnbull reveals the complex character behind this classic children’s book, and a life story every bit as extraordinary
ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY
D
ésolé, dear reader, but to call yourself a true Francophile you have to know about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Not only was he the author of one of the most popular books ever written, but he was also a pioneering aviator and one of life’s great adventurers, the circumstances of whose death remain a mystery.
‘Saint-Ex’, as he was known to friends and colleagues, was born into an aristocratic Catholic family in Lyon on June 29, 1900. Despite losing his father from a stroke before the age of four and his 15-year-old brother from rheumatic fever when he was 17, he enjoyed a happy childhood. Much of this was spent at the nearby Château de Saint-Maurice- de-Rémens, owned by his great-aunt. Like many children of his generation, Saint-Exupéry was fascinated by aviation – he designed a fl ying bicycle as a child, and took his fi rst fl ight in 1912. But there were several twists and turns before his own career got off the ground. Having performed poorly at school, he failed the entrance to the École Navale twice, then left the École des Beaux-Arts without
76 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Jun/Jul 2023
graduating. Afterwards, he led a bohemian
lifestyle in Paris, relying on his maman for
fi nancial support. But in 1921 he was conscripted into the French army,
enabling him to take fl ying lessons and qualify as a pilot.
OFF TO A FLYING START Switching to the booming world of commercial aviation a few years later, he joined the Compagnie Générale d’Entreprises Aéronautiques (later to become Aéropostale), fl ying mail from Toulouse to Dakar in colonial West Africa. However, this proved far more dangerous than he’d anticipated: although technologically advanced for their time, the aircraft he and his colleagues fl ew were prone to crashes – Saint-Exupéry had several over the years. They also had an open cockpit, exposing pilots to the elements, to say nothing of the dodgy maps they were often provided with, and the pot shots taken by desert dwellers below.
These extraordinary experiences resulted in the captivating memoir, Terre des hommes (Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939). This followed Vol de Nuit (Night Flight, 1931), a fi ctionalisation of his aviation exploits in Argentina, which won the prestigious Prix Femina.
At the outbreak of the Second World
War, he joined the French Air Force, fl ying reconnaissance missions. Following German Occupation in 1940, he was demobilised and headed to the States in a bid to encourage American involvement in the war. It was here that he wrote his most famous book, Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince, 1943). While some have dismissed the novella, about the strange encounter between a stranded pilot and
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