Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Antoine de Saint-Exupery was a French writer, poet, journalist and pioneering aviator. He received several prestigious literary awards for his novella The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) and for his lyrical aviation writings, including Wind, Sand and Stars and Night Flight. They were translated into many languages. Saint-Exupery was born in Lyon to an impoverished aristocratic Catholic family that could trace its lineage back several centuries. He was the third of five children of the Viscountess Marie de Fonscolombe and Viscount Jean de Saint-Exupery. His father died of a stroke when he was four years old, leaving his mother to raise the children alone. He attended a Jesuit school in Le Mans and later a boarding school in Switzerland. He developed a passion for literature and aviation from an early age. He joined the French Air Force in 1921 and became a pilot after graduating from pilot training in 1922. He flew mail routes in Europe, Africa and South America for various airlines, and also worked as a journalist and a director of an airfield. He wrote his first novel, Southern Mail, in 1929, based on his experiences as an airmail pilot. He married Consuelo Suncin Sandoval, a Salvadoran artist and writer, in 1931, but their relationship was turbulent and marked by infidelity and separation. He published his second novel, Night Flight, in 1931, which won him the Prix Femina and the admiration of fellow writers such as André Gide and Jean Cocteau. He continued to write and fly, producing works such as Wind, Sand and Stars (1939), which won him the U.S. National Book Award and the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française. He also participated in several air races and broke several records. He joined the French Air Force again at the start of World War II, flying reconnaissance missions until France's armistice with Germany in 1940. He then travelled to the United States to help persuade its government to enter the war against Nazi Germany. He wrote three of his most important works during his stay in America: Flight to Arras (1942), Letter to a Hostage (1943) and The Little Prince (1943). The latter became his most famous work, a fable about a young prince who travels to different planets and learns about life and love. He rejoined the Free French Air Force in North Africa in 1943, even though he was far past the maximum age for such pilots and in declining health. He disappeared on July 31, 1944, while on a reconnaissance mission from Corsica over the Mediterranean Sea. His plane was not found until 2000, off the coast of Marseille. The exact cause of his crash remains unknown, but some speculate that he was shot down by a German fighter or that he committed suicide by crashing into the sea. Saint-Exupery is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century and one of the most influential figures in French culture. His works have been translated into more than 300 languages and dialects and have sold over 200 million copies worldwide. He has been honoured with numerous awards and monuments, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a commemorative coin by the European Central Bank, and a minor planet named after him.