Discover the Best Books Written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French writer, aviator, poet, and author. Raised in an aristocratic family, he fell in love with aviation at an early age after taking his first airplane ride at the age of 12. He received his pilot’s wings during his compulsory military service in 1922, around which time he also began to write. His adventures as a pilot would supply the inspiration for all of his literary endeavors, which culminated with the 1943 publication of the classic The Little Prince.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born into an aristocratic family in Lyon, France, on June 29, 1900. His father died when he was a young boy, and his mother moved him and his four siblings to a relative’s château in the east. Saint-Exupéry enjoyed a mostly carefree and privileged life, and in 1912, he took his first trip in an airplane—an experience that would have a profound and lasting impression on him.
Receiving his early education at Catholic schools in France, Saint-Exupéry was sent away to a boarding school in Switzerland after the outbreak of World War I. He returned to France in 1917 and briefly attended a college prep school in Paris before attempting to enter the naval academy. However, a historically poor student, Saint-Exupéry failed the examination and studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts instead.