Origins

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry began work on The Little Prince in 1942. The question of the genesis of Saint-Exupéry's most successful work has often been discussed and has led to various answers. 

According to the most common explanation, Saint-Exupéry met with his American publisher named Curtice Hitchcock for dinner in the spring of 1942. Saint-Exupéry had a habit of drawing fantasy figures on the tablecloth and sketched a little prince that evening. When Hitchcock asked what it was all about, Saint-Exupéry is said to have replied: "Not much, just a little fellow I carry around in my heart." 

Hitchcock is said to have been so taken with the little figure that he spontaneously suggested to Saint-Exupéry that he write a children's book that he wanted to pu...