Antoine Saint-Exupéry's legendary story is now published in the Everyman's Library Children's Classics collection. One of the best-selling books ever published, with over 140 million copies sold since publication in 1943, The Little Prince inspires generation after generation of readers.
Written during World War II, and inspired by Saint-Exupéry's own experience of his air crash in the Libyan desert, The Little Prince tells the story of a remarkable friendship between the narrator, an aviator stranded in the Sahara desert, and a mysterious boy whom he encounters there. Ruler of a tiny asteroid of which he is the only inhabitant, the Little Prince chats disarmingly about his curious adventures in space; his experiences since arriving on earth; his distant home and of his love for a beautiful and capricious rose, to whom he longs to return.
A moving and deceptively simple tale, it was described by Saint-Exupéry as a children's story for adults as he says in his dedication: "All adults were children first... (But few of them remember it). Children are captivated by its deadpan fantasy, its sense of amused bafflement at the grown-up world and the stunning watercolour illustrations by the author, which are an integral part of the book. Adults are enthralled by its hidden complexity, simultaneously working as an allegory for Saint-Exupéry's own life and the human condition.
This new, cloth-bound hardcover edition, with its full colour illustration and gold blocking, makes the perfect gift for long-standing admirers of Saint- Exupéry or to introduce new readers to this iconic tale.
PWT rating: ♥♥♥♥♥