We recently took an OOM field trip to The Morgan Library's exhibit on The Little Prince. There was so much to enjoy about this exhibit but most of all, I was entranced by learning more about the nuances of the story and the man behind the prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Considering this book and lonely character have captured our hearts and imaginations for 70 years, I probably shouldn't have been surprised that the story goes much deeper than the surface of the pages but I learned a lot.
The Morgan Library has the only known copy of Saint-Exupéry's full 140-page handwritten/drawn draft of The Little Prince. As you can imagine, with that page count there was some editing down to the story we know and love today. Two examples I found fascinating were that there was originally a figure drawn for the narrator and there were New York City references. If you've read the book, you'll know the narrator is never seen and neither is New York. I learned that is most likely to make the story easier to personalize to the reader. Subtle differences that may be part of why the story lives on today.
I also learned so much about Saint-Exupéry including that he wrote the book in its entirety during his two years in New York. These two years were at the height of WWII and he couldn't go home because France was occupied by Germany. He was determined to campaign the U.S. to join the fight during his stay and he was passionate about serving as a pilot. When you read The Little Prince with this knowledge, you can start to see war references are throughout the story. Perhaps the baobab trees represent Nazism and the king with no subjects could be Charles de Gaulle.
This exhibit was a big reminder to me that there are stories within the stories. And I’ve made a new reading goal for myself: learn more about the author and events that led to the book you are reading. I know I won’t be able to achieve this for each and every book I read but I want to promise myself to do so for at least the classics. It leads to a new perspective on history.
Have you ever been enamored when you learn more about an author and his or her influences?
And a big thank you to The Morgan Library for having us!
