Jean François de Saint-Lambert (French:[ʒɑ̃fʁɑ̃swadəsɛ̃lɑ̃bɛʁ]; 26 December 1716 – 9 February 1803) was a French poet, philosopher and military officer.
Biography
Saint-Lambert was born at Nancy and raised on his parents' estate at Affracourt, a village in Lorraine near Haroué, a seat of the Beauvau family, with whom he had close ties. He studied at the university at Pont-à-Mousson, but then spent several years at home recovering from an unidentified illness.[1] He often complained of poor health, but participated in military campaigns,[2] led a strenuous social life, and lived to be 86 years old.[citation needed]
Saint-Lambert began writing poetry in his adolescence and belonged to Françoise de Graffigny's social circle in Lunéville. By October 1733 he had already begun work on The Seasons, his major poetical work, which did not appear in print until 1769 (see 1769 in poetry).[3] All his life, he read his works in salons and to his friends, but did not rush to publish them.[citation needed]
In 1739, Saint-Lambert joined the Heudicourt regiment in the Lorraine Guards, in which his boyhood friend, Charles-Just, prince de Beauvau-Craon, was already a colonel, despite being only 19 years old. For much of the 1740s the two men fought side by side in the Italian campaigns of the War of the Austrian Succession.[citation needed]
Over the winter of 1747–48, Voltaire and his entourage took up residence in Lunéville. Saint-Lambert soon began a liaison with the great writer's mistress, Émilie du Châtelet.[5] She was in her forties, and had had many lovers, but succumbed to a mad passion for Saint-Lambert and became pregnant with their child. The baby, a girl named Stanislas-Adélaïde Du Châtelet, was born on 4 September 1749 in what at first seemed an easy delivery; but Émilie contracted a fever and died on 10 September. The infant died in Lunéville on 6 May 1751.[6]
Émilie was a brilliant and learned woman, known all over Europe for her translation of Newton. Her love affair and pregnancy created scandal and inspired satirical mirth; her death was a shock to everyone. Voltaire was shattered, and according to his friend Devaux, so was Saint-Lambert, who nonetheless moved to Paris around 1750 and to all appearances soon recovered from his grief.[7]
It was at this time that he gave himself the title Marquis de Saint-Lambert, to which he had no right; it was once claimed that he was not even of noble birth, but the evidence refuting that charge was published long ago.[8]
In 1752 he began the second of his two famous love affairs, with Sophie d'Houdetot. This relationship became noteworthy because in 1757, while Saint-Lambert was away on military duty in the Seven Years' War, Jean-Jacques Rousseau suddenly conceived a mad passion for Sophie, which he wrote about in his Confessions. In Rousseau's mind, she became identified with a character in the great novel he was then writing, Julie, ou la Nouvelle Héloïse. In the end, Sophie turned Rousseau away, saying that she loved Saint-Lambert.[9] She and Saint-Lambert remained together as a couple until his death in 1803, spending their last years in a cordial ménage à trois with her husband.[10]
Saint-Lambert resigned from the army in 1758 and devoted the rest of his life to literature. He wrote several articles for Diderot's Encyclopédie, published an essay on "Luxury" in 1764, brought out an edition of The Seasons with a selection of his other poetry and some short stories in 1769, and completed a multi-volume philosophical work in 1797–98, called Principe des mœurs chez toutes les nations ou Catéchisme universel (Principle of morals among all nations, or universal catechism).[11] He wrote the section on "Siam", and most likely also other parts of the first edition of Guillaume Thomas François RaynalsL'Histoire philosophique et politique des établissements et du commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes.[12] He was elected to the Académie française in 1770.[citation needed]
He and Sophie outlived most of their contemporaries, however, and around 1800 members of a new generation wrote about them as relics of a legendary past. Count Louis-Mathieu Molé described the fabled lover as "a little old man dressed in a hideous cotton dressing gown with a pattern of blue stripes and red bouquets, a wispy cotton bonnet on his head, using a cane walking stick with a gold knob as tall as he was to support his wobbly steps."[13]Chateaubriand used the couple as symbols of a discredited era, when he wrote that they "both represented the opinions and the freedoms of a by-gone age, carefully stuffed and preserved: it was the eighteenth century expired and married in its manner. It was sufficient to remain steadfast in one's life for illegitimacies to become legitimacies."[14]
References
Roger Poirier, Jean-François de Saint-Lambert, 1716–1803, Sarreguemines: Éditions Pierron, 2001, pp. 22–24.
Poirier, pp. 75–87.
J. A. Dainard, ed. Correspondance de Madame de Graffigny, Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 1985-- (in progress), vol. 1, p. 7.
J. A. Dainard, ed., Correspondance de Madame de Graffigny, vol. 8, pp. 156–57.
The story of this affair figures prominently in all complete biographies of Voltaire. See for example René Vaillot, Avec Mme Du Châtelet, Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 1988, pp. 355–99. For a study focussed on Saint-Lambert, and incorporating new information, see D. W. Smith, "Nouveaux regards sur la brève rencontre entre Mme Du Châtelet et Saint-Lambert." In The Enterprise of Enlightenment. A Tribute to David Williams from his friends. Ed. Terry Pratt and David McCallam. Oxford, Berne, etc.: Peter Lang, 2004, p. 329-343. See also Anne Soprani, ed., Mme Du Châtelet, Lettres d'amour au marquis de Saint-Lambert, Paris, 1997.
See D. W. Smith, "Nouveaux regards".
See D. W. Smith, "Nouveaux regards", and J. A. Dainard, ed., Correspondance de Madame de Graffigny, vol. 9.
Georges Mangeot. Autour d'un foyer lorrain: la famille de Saint-Lambert (1596–1795). Paris: Croville-Morant et Nancy: Sidot, 1913.
The story of this affair figures prominently in all complete biographies of Rousseau. The edition of Rousseau's Confessions by Bernard Gagnebin and Marcel Raymond, in the "Bibliothèque de la Pléiade" Œuvres complètes de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, vol. 1, Paris: Gallimard, 1964, provides a discussion and extensive notes about the incident, and the edition of Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse in the same series, vol. 2, ed. Henri Coulet and Bernard Guyon, Paris: Gallimard, 1964, provides similar background on Sophie's role in the composition of the novel.
Poirier, Jean-François de Saint-Lambert, pp. 301–306.
Jonathan I. Israel, Democratic Enlightenment, Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 421.
"un petit vieillard habillé d’une vilaine robe de chambre de cotonnade rayée bleu sur bleu, parsemée de bouquets rouges, un bonnet de coton à mèche sur la tête et soutenant ses pas chancelants par une canne de jonc à pomme d’or aussi haute que lui." Count Molé, Souvenirs de jeunesse, 1793–1803, quoted by Jacques-Alain de Sédouy, Le comte Molé ou la séduction du pouvoir, Paris, 1994, pp. 44–45.
François-René de Chateaubriand, Mémoires d'outre-tombe, ed. Edmond Biré, Paris: Garnier, 1899–1900, vol. 2; Part 2, Book 2; often reprinted.
Jean-François de Saint-Lambert (1716–1803) stands as a significant figure in 18th century French poetry. As a French poet, philosopher, and mathematician, Saint-Lambert contributed to the rich literary and intellectual culture of his time. His works reflect the values and style of the Enlightenment, the cultural movement that shaped much of the 18th century in France. Understanding his poetry and life provides insight into French poetry during this period.
Saint-Lambert is often remembered for his graceful and elegant verse, blending classical influences with Enlightenment ideals. He engaged with other literary figures of the time and left a legacy that contributes to the study of French poetry. This article explores the life, works, and literary significance of this important 18th century French poet. It also compares his contributions to those of his contemporaries to offer a broader perspective.
Jean-François de Saint-Lambert was born in Nancy, France, in 1716. He was raised in a noble family, which gave him access to a solid education. Early in life, he showed interest not only in poetry but also in philosophy and the sciences. This wide range of interests was typical of many Enlightenment thinkers, who sought to combine art and reason.
Saint-Lambert’s personal life was also intertwined with the literary world. He was part of important intellectual circles and was closely associated with prominent figures such as Madame de Tencin and Madame de Boufflers. His relationships and social standing allowed him to engage deeply with the cultural life of 18th century France.
Saint-Lambert’s Contribution to French Poetry
Style and Themes
Saint-Lambert’s poetry is characterized by its elegance, clarity, and refinement. Unlike the earlier Baroque poets, his work exhibits a more balanced and measured style, which was typical of the classical tradition revived during the 18th century. This style reflects the Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason, order, and harmony.
His poetry often explores themes such as nature, love, and virtue. For example, in his famous poem Les Saisons (The Seasons), Saint-Lambert praises the beauty and order of nature. This poem combines descriptive imagery with philosophical reflection, a hallmark of much French poetry during this period.
Philosophical Influence
As a philosopher, Saint-Lambert’s poetry is influenced by Enlightenment ideas. His verses often promote the values of reason, balance, and progress. Unlike some poets who preferred emotional intensity, Saint-Lambert valued intellectual clarity and moral reflection. This places him firmly within the tradition of French poetry that seeks to educate as well as entertain.
His engagement with philosophy also shows in his contributions to discussions on aesthetics and the nature of poetry. He believed poetry should elevate the mind and cultivate virtue. This ideal aligned with the broader Enlightenment project of using art and literature to improve society.
Comparison with Contemporary 18th Century French Poets
Voltaire (1694–1778), one of the most famous 18th century French poets and philosophers, shared many intellectual ideals with Saint-Lambert. Both valued reason and clarity in their writing. However, Voltaire’s poetry and prose were often more satirical and critical of social and political institutions. In contrast, Saint-Lambert’s poetry tends to be more serene and reflective, focusing on personal and natural themes rather than sharp social critique.
Voltaire’s works had a broader political impact, while Saint-Lambert’s influence was more literary and philosophical. Together, their writings illustrate the diversity of French poetry in the 18th century, showing how poets adapted Enlightenment ideals in different ways.
Jean-Baptiste Rousseau and Other Poets
Another contemporary, Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (1670–1741), was known for his lyrical and often emotional poetry. Rousseau’s style was closer to the late Baroque and early Enlightenment traditions. Compared to Rousseau, Saint-Lambert’s work is more restrained and classical in tone.
Saint-Lambert’s poetry also contrasts with the works of other Enlightenment poets such as Évariste de Parny, who embraced more sentimental and exotic themes. Saint-Lambert remained more rooted in classical forms and philosophical reflection.
Influence of Classical Poetry
Like many 18th century French poets, Saint-Lambert drew inspiration from classical authors such as Horace and Virgil. His adherence to classical rules of poetry—such as balance, symmetry, and harmony—shows the strong influence of ancient literature on French poetry at this time. This classical influence was a major feature of French poetry in the 18th century, setting it apart from the more romantic and emotional trends that would develop later.
Saint-Lambert’s Role in the Enlightenment Literary Scene
Membership in the Académie Française
Jean-François de Saint-Lambert was elected to the Académie Française in 1770, a mark of his recognition and prestige in French literary society. The Académie Française was and still is a prestigious institution responsible for overseeing the French language and literature. Membership was reserved for the most respected writers, poets, and intellectuals of the time.
This honor confirmed Saint-Lambert’s status as a leading French poet of his era. It also positioned him among those who shaped French literary standards and influenced generations of poets.
Contribution to the Encyclopédie
Saint-Lambert contributed to the famous Encyclopédie, edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert. This monumental work aimed to compile and disseminate Enlightenment knowledge. His participation highlights his commitment to the Enlightenment project of advancing knowledge and reason.
His involvement in the Encyclopédie connects his poetic work with broader intellectual movements, showing how poetry and philosophy were intertwined in 18th century French culture.
Legacy and Importance in French Poetry
Influence on Later Poets
Saint-Lambert’s poetry helped shape the transition from the classical to the more sentimental styles that appeared in late 18th century and early 19th century French poetry. While he maintained classical form and clarity, his emphasis on nature and emotion foreshadowed the Romantic movement.
Later poets looked back at Saint-Lambert’s works as an example of refined French poetry that balanced reason and feeling. His influence is often seen in poets who sought to harmonize intellectual reflection with poetic beauty.
Place in French Literary History
Though not as widely known today as some of his contemporaries, Jean-François de Saint-Lambert holds an important place in the history of French poetry. His works are studied for their elegant style, philosophical depth, and reflection of Enlightenment values.
He represents a key moment in the evolution of French poetry, bridging the gap between classical tradition and the changing tastes of the late 18th century. For students and scholars of French poetry, Saint-Lambert offers valuable insights into the cultural and intellectual life of the 18th century.
Conclusion
Jean-François de Saint-Lambert is a notable 18th century French poet whose work exemplifies the spirit of the Enlightenment. His poetry reflects the balance, clarity, and reason prized in French poetry of his time, while also embracing themes of nature and moral reflection. By comparing him with contemporaries like Voltaire and Rousseau, we see the diversity and richness of 18th century French poetry.
His role as a member of the Académie Française and contributor to the Encyclopédie highlights his importance in the intellectual culture of his era. Although his name may not be as famous today as some other poets, his contributions remain essential for understanding French poetry and literature in the 18th century.
In sum, Jean-François de Saint-Lambert stands as an influential figure whose poetic legacy helps illuminate the connections between art, philosophy, and society during one of the most dynamic periods in French cultural history.
Jean-François, Marquis de Saint-Lambert (1716–1803) was a French poet, soldier, and Enlightenment figure known for his philosophical and scientific poetry. Here are some of his most celebrated quotes:
On Genius
“Genius: Range of mind, power of imagination, and responsiveness of soul: this is genius. The man of genius has a soul with greater range, can therefore be struck by the feelings of all beings, is concerned with everything in nature, and never receives an idea that does not evoke a feeling. Everything stirs him and everything is retained within him. When the soul has been moved by an object itself, it is even more affected by the memory of the object. But in a man of genius imagination goes further: it recalls ideas with a more vivid feeling than it received them, because to these ideas are connected a thousand others more appropriate to arouse the feeling.” Famous Quotes & Sayings+1
On Beauty and Use
“Le beau ne plait qu’un jour, si le beau n’est utile.” “The beautiful pleases only one day, if the beautiful is not useful.”Dicocitations
On Human Nature and Morality
“L’homme qui se cherche dans tout, dit Bacon, se trouve dans ce qu’il aime.” “The man who seeks himself in all, says Bacon, finds himself in what he loves.”Dicocitations
On Love and Self
“L’amour d’un sexe pour l’autre nous donne, pour ainsi dire, un autre amour de nous-même ; il transporte notre amour propre dans les autres.” “Love of one sex for the other gives us, in a sense, another love of ourselves; it transports our own love into others.”Dicocitations
On Death and Mourning
“Ci-gît un vieil atrabilaire: après l’avoir fait enterrer, sa veuve, n’ayant rien à faire, prit le parti de le pleurer.” “Here lies an old rascal: after having buried him, his widow, having nothing else to do, decided to mourn him.”Dicocitations
These quotes reflect Saint-Lambert’s blend of philosophical insight, humanistic sensibility, and wit, which were hallmarks of his work in the Saisons and other writings.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (born June 29, 1900, Lyon, France—died July 31, 1944, near Marseille) was a French aviator and writer whose works are the unique testimony of a pilot and a warrior who looked at adventure and danger with a poet’s eyes. His fable Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) has become a modern classic.
Saint-Exupéry came from an impoverished aristocratic family. A poor student, he failed the entrance examination to the École Navale and then studied architecture for several months at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1921 he was conscripted into the French air force, and he qualified as a military pilot a year later. In 1926 he joined the Compagnie Latécoère in Toulouse and helped establish airmail routes over northwest Africa, the South Atlantic, and South America. In the 1930s he worked as a test pilot, a publicity attaché for Air France, and a reporter for Paris-Soir. In 1939, despite permanent disabilities resulting from serious flying accidents, he became a military reconnaissance pilot. After the fall of France (1940), he left for the United States; he remained there until 1943, when he resumed flying with his former squadron in the Mediterranean theatre. In 1944 he took off from an airfield in Corsica to conduct a reconnaissance mission over France and never returned. Sixty years later, wreckage raised from the seabed near Marseille was identified as belonging to his plane. It had probably been shot down by an enemy fighter, though the cause of the crash may never be known.
Saint-Exupéry found in aviation both a source for heroic action and a new literary theme. His works exalt perilous adventures at the cost of life as the highest realization of man’s vocation. In his first book, Courrier sud (1929; Southern Mail), his new man of the skies, airmail pilot Jacques Bernis, dies in the desert of Rio de Oro. His second novel, Vol de nuit (1931; Night Flight), was dedicated to the glory of the first airline pilots and their mystical exaltation as they faced death in the rigorous performance of their duty. His own flying adventures are recorded in Terre des hommes (1939; Wind, Sand and Stars). He used his plane as an instrument to explore the world and to discover human solidarity in the fraternal efforts of men to accomplish their tasks. His language is lyrical and moving, with a simple nobility. Pilote de guerre (1942; Flight to Arras) is a personal reminiscence of a reconnaissance sortie in May 1940 accomplished in a spirit of sacrifice against desperate odds. While in America he wrote Lettre à un otage (1943; Letter to a Hostage), a call to unity among Frenchmen, and Le Petit Prince (1943; The Little Prince), a child’s fable for adults, with a gentle and grave reminder that the best things in life are still the simplest ones and that real wealth is giving to others.
The growing sadness and pessimism in Saint-Exupéry’s view of man appears in Citadelle (1948; The Wisdom of the Sands), a posthumous volume of reflections that show Saint-Exupéry’s persistent belief that man’s only lasting reason for living is as repository of the values of civilization.
Born in Lyon to an aristocratic family, Saint-Exupéry trained as a commercial pilot in the early 1920s, working airmail routes across Europe, Africa, and South America. Between 1926 and 1939, four of his literary works were published: the short story The Aviator, novels Southern Mail and Night Flight, and the memoir Wind, Sand and Stars. Saint-Exupéry joined the French Air Force for World War II and flew reconnaissance missions until France's armistice with Germany in 1940. After being demobilised by the Air Force, Saint-Exupéry lived in exile in the United States between 1941 and 1943 and helped persuade it to enter the war. During this time, his works Flight to Arras and The Little Prince were published.
Saint-Exupéry returned to combat by joining the Free French Air Force in 1943, despite being past the maximum age for a war pilot and in declining health. On 31 July 1944, during a reconnaissance mission over Corsica, Saint-Exupéry's plane disappeared: it is presumed to have crashed.[6] Debris from the wreckage was discovered near Marseille in 2000, but the cause of the crash remains unknown.[7]
Youth and aviation
Coat of arms of the de Saint-Exupéry family since the 18th centuryBirthplace of Saint-Exupéry in the Presqu'île section of Lyon, on the street now named after him, in blue at lower left
Saint-Exupéry was born in Lyon, into the French aristocratic Catholic family that traced its lineage back several centuries. Their surname references the 5th-century bishop Saint Exuperius. He was the third child of ViscountJean de Saint-Exupéry (1863–1904) and his wife, Marie Boyer de Fonscolombe (1875–1972).[8][9][10][Note 1] His father, an executive of the Le Soleil (The Sun) insurance brokerage, died of a stroke in the train station of La Foux before Saint-Exupéry's 4th birthday. His father's death affected the entire family, transforming their status to that of "impoverished aristocrats".[12]
Saint-Exupéry had three sisters and a younger brother, François, who died at age 15 of rheumatic fever contracted while both were attending the MarianistCollege Villa St. Jean in Fribourg, Switzerland, during World War I. Saint-Exupéry attended to his brother, who he claimed was his closest confidant, beside his death bed, and later wrote that François "remained motionless for an instant. He did not cry out. He fell as gently as a [young] tree falls", imagery later recrafted into the climactic ending of The Little Prince. At the age of 17, now the only male in the family following the death of his brother, Saint-Exupéry soon assumed the role of a protector and took to consoling his family, despite still being distraught over his father's death.[13]
After twice failing his final exams at a preparatory Naval Academy, Saint-Exupéry entered the École des Beaux-Arts as an auditor to study architecture for 15 months, again without graduating, and then fell into the habit of accepting odd jobs. In 1921, Saint-Exupéry began his military service as a basic-rank soldier with the 2e Régiment de chasseurs à cheval (2nd Mounted Hunters Regiment) and was sent to Neuhof, near Strasbourg.[14] While there, he took private flying lessons and the following year was offered a transfer from the French Army to the French Air Force. He received his pilot's wings after being posted to the 37th Fighter Regiment in Casablanca, Morocco.
Later, Saint-Exupéry was reposted to the 34th Aviation Regiment at Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris, and then experienced the first of his many aircraft crashes. Saint-Exupéry, influenced by the urgings of the family of his fiancée, future novelist Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, subsequently left the air force to take an office job. The couple ultimately broke off their engagement and he worked at several more odd jobs over the next few years.[15]
By 1926, Saint-Exupéry was flying again. He became one of the pioneers of international postal flight, in the days when aircraft had few instruments. Later, he complained that those who flew the more advanced aircraft had become more like accountants than pilots. He worked for Aéropostale between Toulouse and Dakar, and then also became the airline stopover manager for the Cape Juby airfield in the Spanish zone of South Morocco, in the Sahara. His duties included negotiating the safe release of downed fliers taken hostage by Saharan tribes, a perilous task that earned him his first Légion d'honneur from the French Government in 1930.[16]
In 1929, Saint-Exupéry was transferred to Argentina, where he was appointed director of the Aeroposta Argentina airline. He lived in Buenos Aires, in the Galería Güemes building. He surveyed new air routes across South America, negotiated agreements, and occasionally flew the airmail as well as search missions looking for downed fliers. This period of his life is briefly explored in Wings of Courage, an IMAX film by French director Jean-Jacques Annaud.[17]
Writing career
Saint-Exupéry photographed near Montréal, Québec, in May 1942, on a speaking tour in support of France after its armistice with Germany. Saint-Exupéry was highly stressed and bedridden with cholecystitis at this time in his life.[18][19]
Saint-Exupéry's first novella, L'Aviateur (The Aviator), was published in 1926 in a short-lived literary magazine, Le Navire d'Argent (The Silver Ship).[20] In 1929, his first book, Courrier Sud (Southern Mail) was published. It chronicled his time flying the Casablanca-Dakar mail route.[21]
The 1931 publication of Night Flight established Saint-Exupéry as a rising star in the literary world. It was the first of his major works to gain widespread acclaim, and it won the prix Femina. The novel mirrored his experiences as a mail pilot and director of the Aeroposta Argentina.[22]
That same year, at Grasse, Saint-Exupéry married Consuelo Suncin (née Suncín Sandoval), a once-divorced, once-widowed Salvadoran writer and artist, who Saint-Exupéry described as having possessed a bohemian spirit and a "viper's tongue".
Saint-Exupéry left and returned to his wife many times—he saw her as both his muse, but, over the long term, the source of much of his angst.[23] The relationship has been described as 'rocky', with Saint-Exupéry travelling frequently and indulging in numerous affairs, most notably with the Frenchwoman Hélène de Vogüé (1908–2003), known as "Nelly" and referred to as "Madame de B." in Saint-Exupéry biographies.[24][Note 2] Vogüé became Saint-Exupéry's literary executrix after his death and also wrote her own Saint-Exupéry biography under a pseudonym, Pierre Chevrier.[26]
Saint-Exupéry continued to write until the spring of 1943 when he left the United States with American troops bound for North Africa in the Second World War.[27]
Canadian and American sojourn and The Little Prince
After France's armistice with Germany, Saint-Exupéry went into exile in North America, escaping through Portugal. He stayed in Estoril, at the Hotel Palácio, between 28 November and 20 December 1940.[29] He described his impressions of his stay in Lettre à un otage.[30] On the same day that he checked out, he boarded the S.S. Siboney and arrived in New York City on the last day of 1940,[31] with the intention of convincing the US to enter the conflict against Nazi Germany quickly.[32] On 14 January 1941, at a Hotel Astor author luncheon attended by approximately 1,500, he belatedly received his National Book Award for Wind, Sand and Stars, won a year earlier while he was occupied witnessing the destruction of the French Army.[33] Consuelo followed him to New York City several months later after a chaotic migration to the southern French town of Oppède, where she lived in an artist's commune, the basis of her autobiography, Kingdom of the Rocks: Memories of Oppède.[34][35]
Two editions of The Little Prince (lower left and upper right, artwork not shown) on display at the Saint-Exupéry exhibit at the Air and Space Museum in Paris, France. Also, upper left: Lettre à un otage (Letter to a Hostage), and bottom right: Pilote de guerre (English version: Flight to Arras)
Saint-Exupéry added the hyphen to his surname after his arrival in the United States, saying that he was annoyed with Americans addressing him as "Mr. Exupéry".[3] During this period, he authored Pilote de guerre (Flight to Arras), which earned widespread acclaim, and Lettre à un otage (Letter to a Hostage [fr]), dedicated to the 40 million French living under Nazi oppression, in addition to numerous shorter pieces in support of France. The Saint-Exupérys also resided in Quebec City, Canada for several weeks during the late spring of 1942. During their time in Quebec City, the family lived with the philosopher Charles De Koninck and his family, including his "precocious" 8-year-old son, Thomas.[38][39][Note 3]
After he returned from his stay in Québec, which had been fraught with illness and stress, the wife of one of his publishers helped persuade Saint-Exupéry to produce a children's book,[40] hoping to calm his nerves and also compete with the new series of Mary Poppins stories by P. L. Travers. Saint-Exupéry wrote and illustrated The Little Prince in New York City and the village of Asharoken in mid-to-late 1942, with the manuscript being completed in October.[38] It was published in early 1943 in both English and French in the United States, and only later appeared in France, posthumously, after the liberation of France, as his works had been banned by the collaborationist Vichy Regime.[41][42][Note 4]The Little Prince is dedicated to Saint-Exupéry's close friend Léon Werth.[44]
Return to war
In April 1943, following his 27 months in North America, Saint-Exupéry departed with an American military convoy for Algiers, to fly with the Free French Air Force and fight with the Allies in a Mediterranean-based squadron. Then 43, soon to be promoted to the rank of commandant (major), he was far older than most men in operational units. Although eight years over the age limit for such pilots, he had petitioned endlessly for an exemption which had finally been approved by General Dwight Eisenhower. However, Saint-Exupéry had been suffering pain and immobility due to his many previous crash injuries, to the extent that he could not dress himself in his own flight suit or even turn his head leftwards to check for enemy aircraft.[45]
Saint-Exupéry was assigned with a number of other pilots to his former unit, renamed Groupe de reconnaissance 2/33 "Savoie", flying P-38 Lightnings, which an officer described as "war-weary, non-airworthy craft".[46] The Lightnings were also more sophisticated than models he previously flew, requiring him to undertake seven weeks of stringent training before his first mission. After wrecking a P-38 through engine failure on his second mission, he was grounded for eight months, but was then later reinstated to flight duty on the personal intervention of General Ira Eaker, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces.[47][48][Note 5]
After Saint-Exupéry resumed flying, he also returned to his longtime habit of reading and writing while flying his single-seat Lockheed F-5B (a specially configured P-38 reconnaissance variant). His prodigious studies of literature gripped him and on occasion, he continued his readings of literary works until moments before takeoff, with mechanics having warmed up and tested his aircraft for him in preparation for his flight. On one flight, to the chagrin of his colleagues awaiting his arrival, he circled the airport for an hour after returning, so that he could finish reading a novel. Saint-Exupéry frequently flew with a lined notebook (carnet) during his long solitary flights and some of his philosophical writings were created during such periods when he could reflect on the world below him.[50]
Disappearance
Before his return to flight duty with his squadron in North Africa, the collaborationist Vichy Regime unilaterally promoted Saint-Exupéry as one of its members. Saint-Exupéry was shocked and dismayed by this, in keeping with his historical harsh criticism of the Vichy Regime. Subsequently, French General (later French President) Charles de Gaulle, whom Saint-Exupéry held in low regard, made a public statement that implied that Saint-Exupéry was supporting Germany. Saint-Exupéry became depressed by these events and began to consume alcohol heavily.[51] His physical and mental health began deteriorating. Saint-Exupéry was said, by his peers in the air force, to be intermittently subject to depression, and there was discussion about grounding him.[52][Note 6]
Saint-Exupéry's last reconnaissance mission was to collect intelligence on German troop movements in and around the Rhone Valley preceding Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. Although he had been reinstated to his old squadron with the provision that he was to fly only five missions, on 31 July 1944, he took off in an unarmed P-38 on his ninth reconnaissance mission from an airbase on Corsica.[53][Note 7] To the great alarm of his squadron compatriots, he did not return, vanishing without a trace.[55][Note 8] Word of his disappearance soon spread across the literary world and then it spread into international headlines.[47][56]
Discovery at sea
Bracelet of Saint-Exupéry found in 1998Part of the landing gear of Saint-Exupéry's plane, recovered from the Mediterranean, displayed at the French Air and Space Museum
In September 1998, to the east of Riou Island (south of Marseille), a fisherman found a silver identity bracelet bearing the names of Saint-Exupéry, his wife Consuelo, and his American publisher, Reynal & Hitchcock.[57] The bracelet was hooked to a piece of fabric, presumably from his flight suit.[26] Announcement of the discovery was an emotional event in France, where Saint-Exupéry was a national icon, and some disputed its authenticity because it was found far from his intended flight path, implying that the aircraft might not have been shot down.[58]
In May 2000, a diver found debris from a Lockheed P-38 Lightning submerged off the coast of Marseille, near where the bracelet was found. The discovery galvanized the country, which had conducted searches for his aircraft and speculated on Saint-Exupéry's fate for decades.[59] After a two-year delay imposed by the French government, the remnants of the aircraft were recovered in October 2003.[57][Note 9] In 2004, French officials and investigators from the French Underwater Archaeological Department officially confirmed that the wreckage was from Saint-Exupéry's aircraft.[59][61]
No marks or holes attributable to gunfire were found, but that was not considered significant as only a small portion of the aircraft was recovered.[60] In June 2004, the fragments were given to the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum) in Le Bourget, Paris, where Saint-Exupéry's life is commemorated in a special exhibit.[62][63]
Speculations in 1948, 1972 and 2008
In 1948, former Luftwaffe telegrapher Rev. Hermann Korth published his war logs, noting an incident that occurred at around noon on 31 July 1944 in which a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 shot down a P-38 Lightning. Korth's account ostensibly supported a shoot-down hypothesis for Saint-Exupéry.[64][65] The veracity of his log was met with skepticism, because it could have described a P-38 which was flown by Second Lieutenant Gene Meredith on 30 July, shot down south of Nice.[64][66][Note 10]
In 1972, the German magazine Der Landser quoted a letter from Luftwaffe reconnaissance pilot Robert Heichele, in which he purportedly claimed to have shot down a P-38 on 31 July 1944.[68] His account, corroborated by a spotter, seemingly supported a shoot-down hypothesis of Saint-Exupéry.[69] Heichele's account was met with skepticism because he described flying a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9, a variant which had not yet entered Luftwaffe service.[70]
In the lists which are held by the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, no victory was credited to Heichele or his unit in either July or August 1944, and the decrypted report of the day's reconnaissance does not include any flights by 2./NAG 13's Fw 190s.[71] Heichele was shot down on 16 August 1944 and died five days later.[Note 11][72]
In 2008, a French journalist from La Provence, who was investigating Saint-Exupéry's death, contacted former Luftwaffe pilots who flew in the area of Marseille, eventually getting an account from Horst Rippert (1922–2013).[62][73][74] Rippert was the older brother of the famous bass singer Ivan Rebroff, who was born in Berlin as Hans-Rolf Rippert. In his memoirs, Horst Rippert, an admirer of Saint-Exupéry's books, expressed both fears and doubts that he was responsible, but in 2003 he stated that he became certain that he was responsible when he learned the location of Saint-Exupéry's wreckage.[75] Rippert claimed to have reported the kill over his radio, but there are no surviving records to verify this account.[65][66][Note 12][Note 13]
Rippert's account, as it is discussed in two French and German books, was met with both publicity and skepticism.[77][78] Luftwaffe comrades expressed doubts in Rippert's claim, given that he held it private for 64 years.[79][80][Note 14] Very little German documentation survived the war, and contemporary archival sources, consisting mostly of Allied intercepts of Luftwaffe signals, offer no evidence to verify Rippert's claim.[81][82] The entry and exit points of Saint-Exupéry's mission were likely near Cannes, yet his wreckage was discovered south of Marseille.[76]
Though it is possible that German fighters could have intercepted, or at least altered, Saint-Exupéry's flight path, the cause of his death remains unknown, and Rippert's account remains one hypothesis among many.[66][76][83][Note 15]
Literary works
While not precisely autobiographical, much of Saint-Exupéry's work is inspired by his experiences as a pilot. One notable example is his novella, The Little Prince, a poetic tale self-illustrated in watercolours in which a pilot stranded in the desert meets a young prince fallen to Earth from a tiny asteroid. "His most popular work, The Little Prince was partially based upon a crash he and his navigator survived in the Libyan desert. They were stranded and dehydrated for four days, nearing death when they miraculously stumbled upon a Bedouin who gave them water."[85] Saint-Exupéry wrote in Wind, Sand and Stars that the Bedouin saved their lives and gave them "charity and magnanimity [by] bearing the gift of water." The Little Prince is a philosophical story, including societal criticism, remarking on the strangeness of the adult world. One biographer wrote of his most famous work: "Rarely have an author and a character been so intimately bound together as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and his Little Prince," and remarking of their dual fates, "...the two remain tangled together, twin innocents who fell from the sky."[26]
Saint-Exupéry's notable literary works (published English translations in parentheses) include:[86]
The Wild Garden (1938) – Limited to one thousand copies privately printed for the friends of the author and his publishers as a New Year's Greeting. The story is taken from the forthcoming book, Wind, Sand and Stars, to be published in the spring of 1939.
During the 1930s, Saint-Exupéry led a mixed life as an aviator, journalist, author and publicist for Air France, Aéropostale's successor. His journalistic writings for Paris-Soir, Marianne and other newspapers covered events in Indochina and the Far East (1934), the Mediterranean, Soviet Union and Moscow (1935), and the Spanish Civil War (1936–1937). Saint-Exupéry wrote a number of shorter pieces, essays and commentaries for various newspapers and magazines.[95]
Notable among those during World War II was "An Open Letter to Frenchmen Everywhere", which was highly controversial in its attempt to rally support for France against Nazi oppression at a time when the French were sharply divided between support of the Gaullists and Vichy factions. It was published in The New York Times Magazine in November 1942, in its original French in Le Canada, de Montréal at the same time, and in Pour la Victoire the following month.[87][96] Other shorter pieces include (in French except where translated by others to English):[92][96]
"Letter to Young Americans", The American High School Weekly, 25 May 1942, pp. 17–18.
"Voulez-vous, Français, vous reconcilier?", Le Canada, de Montreal, 30 November 1942.
"L'Homme et les éléments", Confluences, 1947, Vol. VII, pp. 12–14 (issue dedicated to Saint-Exupéry; originally published in English in 1939 as 'The Elements' in Wind, Sand and Stars).
"Lettre Inédite au General C", Le Figaro Littéraire, 10 April 1948 (posthumous).
Pilote de guerre (Flight To Arras), which describes the German invasion of France, was slightly censored when it was released in its original French during wartime by Éditions Gallimard in his homeland in 1942, due to the removal of a derogatory remark which was made about Hitler (which Gallimard failed to reinsert in subsequent editions after World War II). Shortly after the book's wartime release in France, Nazi appeasers and Vichy supporters objected to its praise of one of Saint-Exupéry's squadron colleagues, Captain Jean Israël, who was portrayed as being amongst the squadron's bravest defenders during the Battle of France.[97]
In support of their German occupiers and masters, Vichy authorities attacked the author as a defender of Jews (in racist terms) leading to the praised book being banned in France,[97] along with prohibitions against further printings of Saint-Exupéry's other works.[42] Prior to France's liberation new printings of Saint-Exupéry's works were made available there only by means of covert print runs, such as that of February 1943 when 1,000 copies of an underground version of Pilote de guerre were printed in Lyon.[41][42][98]
A further complication occurred due to Saint-Exupéry's view of General Charles de Gaulle, whom he held in low regard. Early in the war, de Gaulle became the leader of the Free French Forces in exile, with his headquarters in London. Even though both men were working to free France from Nazi occupation, Saint-Exupéry viewed de Gaulle with apprehension as a possible post-war dictator, and he consequently provided no public support to the General. De Gaulle retaliated by implying that the author was a supporter of Germany, and he then had his literary works banned in France's North African colonies. Saint-Exupéry's writings were, with irony, banned simultaneously in occupied France and the territory which was controlled by Free France.[26][99]
Extension of copyrights in France
Due to Saint-Exupéry's wartime death, the French government awarded his estate the civil code designation Mort pour la France (English: Died for France) in 1948. Amongst the law's provisions is an increase of 30 years to the duration of the original copyright's duration of 70 years; thus most of Saint-Exupéry's creative works will not fall out of copyright status in France for an extra 30 years.[100][101]
Historical marker where the Saint-Exupérys resided in Quebec
Saint-Exupéry is commemorated with an inscription in the Panthéon in Paris, France's repository of historical greats. Although his body was never identified, his name was added to the Panthéon in November 1967 by a French legislative act. The inscription reads: "A LA MEMOIRE DE • ANTOINE DE SAINT EXUPERY • POETE ROMANCIER AVIATEUR • DISPARU AU COURS D'UNE MISSION • DE RECONNAISSANCE AERIENNE • LE 31 JUILLET 1944" (To the memory of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, poet, novelist, aviator, missing during an aerial reconnaissance mission, 31 July 1944). Amongst other honours from France, he was named a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in April 1930 and was promoted to Officier de la Légion d'honneur in January 1939. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1940 and was posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Palme in 1944.[102]
From 1993 until the introduction of the euro, Saint-Exupéry's portrait and several of his drawings from The Little Prince appeared on France's 50-franc banknote.[26] The French Government also later minted a 100-franc commemorative coin, with Saint-Exupéry on its obverse side, and the Little Prince on its reverse. Brass-plated souvenir Monnaie de Paris commemorative medallions were also created in his honour, depicting the pilot's portrait over the P-38 Lightning aircraft he last flew.
In 1999, the Government of Quebec and Quebec City added a historical marker to the family home of Charles De Koninck, head of the Department of Philosophy at Université Laval, where the Saint-Exupérys stayed while lecturing in Canada for several weeks during May and June 1942.[103]
In 2000, on the centenary of his birth, in the city where he was born, he was memorialised when the Lyon Satolas Airport was renamed the Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport. Lyon's TGV bullet train station was also renamed Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry. The author is additionally commemorated by a statue in Lyon, depicting a seated Saint-Exupéry with the little prince standing behind him.[104]
A street in Montesson, a suburb of Paris, is named after him as Rue Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.[105]
Museum exhibits, exhibitions and theme villages dedicated to both him and his diminutive Little Prince have been created in Le Bourget, Paris and other locations in France, as well as in the Republic of South Korea, Japan, Morocco, Brazil, the United States and Canada:[citation needed]
The Air and Space Museum at Paris's Le Bourget Airport, in cooperation with The Estate of Saint-Exupéry-d'Agay, has created a permanent exhibit of 300 m2 dedicated to the author, pilot, person and humanist. The Espace Saint-Exupéry exhibit, officially inaugurated in 2006 on the anniversary of the aviator's birthday,[106] traces each stage of his life as an airmail pioneer, eclectic intellectual artist, and military pilot. It includes artefacts from his life: photographs, his drawings, letters, some of his original notebooks (carnets) he scribbled in voluminously and which were later published posthumously, plus remnants of the unarmed P-38 he flew on his last reconnaissance mission and which were recovered from the Mediterranean Sea.[107]
In Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, and Hakone, Japan, theme village museums have been created honouring Saint-Exupéry's Little Prince.
In January 1995, the Alberta Aviation Museum of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in conjunction with the cultural organization Alliance française, presented a showing of Saint-Exupéry letters, watercolours, sketches and photographs.[108]
In São Paulo, Brazil, through 2009, the Oca Art Exhibition Centre presented Saint-Exupéry and The Little Prince as part of The Year of France and The Little Prince. The displays covered over 10,000 m2 on four floors, and chronicled Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince and their philosophies, as visitors passed through theme areas of the desert, asteroids, stars, and the cosmos. The ground floor of the giant exhibition was laid out as a huge map of the routes flown by the author with Aeropostale in South America and around the world. Also included was a full-scale replica of the author's crashed Caudron Simoun, lying wrecked on the ground of a simulated Libyan desert following his disastrous Paris-Saigon race attempt. The miraculous survival of Saint-Exupéry and his mechanic/navigator was subsequently chronicled in the award-winning memoir Wind, Sand and Stars (Terre des hommes), and also formed the introduction of his most famous work The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince).[109]
In 2011, the City of Toulouse, France, home of Airbus and the pioneering airmail carrier Aéropostale, in conjunction with the Estate of Saint-Exupéry-d'Agay and the Youth Foundation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, hosted a major exposition on Saint-Exupéry and his experience with Aéropostale. The exposition, titled L'année Antoine de Saint-Exupéry à Toulouse, exhibited selected personal artefacts of the author-aviator, including gloves, photos, posters, maps, manuscripts, drawings, models of the aircraft he flew, some of the wreckage from his Sahara Desert plane crash, and the personal silver identification bracelet engraved with his and Consuelo's name, presented by his U.S. publisher, which was recovered from his last, ultimate crash site in the Mediterranean Sea.[110]
A number of other prominent exhibitions were created in France and the United States, many of them in 2000, honouring the centenary of the author-aviator's birth.
Saint-Exupéry's 1939 memoir Terre des hommes (titled as Wind, Sand and Stars in English) was chosen to create the central theme (Terre des Hommes–Man and His World) of the 1967 International and Universal Exposition in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Expo '67), the most successful world's fair of the 20th century. The central theme, which also generated the 17 subsidiary elements used for the world's fair, was elucidated at a 1963 Montebello, Quebec, conference held with some of Canada's leading thinkers. At Montebello, French-Canadian author Gabrielle Roy helped choose the central theme by quoting Saint-Exupéry on mankind's place in the universe:[citation needed]
"Être homme, c'est précisément être responsable. C'est sentir, en posant sa pierre, que l'on contribue à bâtir le monde" (to be a man is to be responsible, to feel that by laying one's own stone, one contributes to building the world)
Additionally, Michèle Lalonde and André Prévost's oratorioTerre des hommes, performed at the Place des Nations opening ceremonies and attended by the international delegates of the participating countries, strongly projected the French writer's 'idealist rhetoric'. Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry (1901–1979), his widow, was also a guest of honour at the opening ceremonies of the World's Fair.[116]
Asteroid 2578 Saint-Exupéry, discovered in November 1975 by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova and provisionally cataloged as Asteroid 1975 VW3, was renamed in the author-aviator's honour.[117] Another asteroid was named as 46610 Bésixdouze (translated to and from both hexadecimal and French as 'B612').[118] Additionally the terrestrial-asteroid protection organization B612 Foundation was named in tribute to the author's Little Prince, who fell to Earth from Asteroid B-612.[119][120][121][122]
Philatelic tributes have been printed in at least 25 other countries as of 2011.[123] Only three years after his death, the pilot-aviator was first featured on an 8 franc French West Africa airmail stamp (Scott Catalog # C11). France followed several months later in 1948 with an 80 franc airmail stamp honouring him (CB1), and later with another stamp honouring both him and airmail pioneer Jean Mermoz, plus the supersonic Concorde passenger airliner, in 1970 (C43).[123] In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the writer's death, Israel issued a stamp honouring "Saint-Ex" and The Little Prince in 1994.[124]
In Argentina and Brazil, where Saint-Exupéry became the founding director of the pioneering South American airmail airline Aeroposta Argentina:
the small Brazilian airport serving Ocauçu, São Paulo is named after the pilot. [citation needed]
several Argentinian schools are also named after the author-aviator.[citation needed]
The main street of the Campeche neighborhood in Florianópolis, Brazil, is named Avenida Pequeno Príncipe because of his connection to the region.
Institutions and schools
In 1960 the humanitarian organization Terre des hommes, named after Saint-Exupéry's 1939 philosophical memoir Terre des hommes (titled as Wind, Sand and Stars in English),[126] was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland by Edmond Kaiser. Other Terre des Hommes societies were later organized in more countries with similar social aid and humanitarian goals. The several independent groups joined to form a new umbrella organization, Terre des Hommes-Fédération Internationale (TDHFI, in English: International Federation of Terre des Hommes, or IFTDH). The national constituents first met in 1966 to formalize their new parent organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. As of 2009 eleven organizations in Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Syria belonged to the Federation. An important part of their works is their consulting role to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).[127]
In June 2009, the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation (FASEJ) was founded in Paris by the Saint-Exupéry–d'Agay Estate, to promote education, art, culture, health and sports for youth worldwide, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This organization, which follows Saint-Exupéry's philosophies and his memory, was financed in part by the sale of one of his original 1936 handwritten manuscripts at a Sotheby's auction for €312,750.[128][129]
Numerous public schools, lycées, high schools, colleges and technical schools have been named in honour of Saint-Exupéry across France, Europe, Québec and South America, as well as at least two in Africa. The École Antoine de Saint-Exupéry de Kigali, a French international school in Rwanda, is named after him, as is École Francaise Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Saint Louis, Senegal.[130][131]
The GR I/33 (later renamed as the 1/33 Belfort Squadron), one of the French Air Force squadrons Saint-Exupéry flew with, adopted the image of the Little Prince as part of the squadron and tail insignia on its Dassault Mirage fighter jets.[132]
Google celebrated Saint-Exupéry's 110th birthday with a special logotype depicting the little prince being hoisted through the heavens by a flock of birds.[133]
Numerous streets and place names are named after the author-aviator throughout France and other countries.[citation needed]
Cafe Saint-Ex, a popular bar and nightclub in Washington, D.C. near the U-Street corridor, holds Saint-Exupéry as its name source.[citation needed]
International Watch Company (IWC) has created many Saint-Exupéry tribute versions of several of their wristwatch lines, with the distinctive 'A' from his signature featured on the dial.[citation needed]
The American aviation magazine Flying ranked Saint-Exupéry number 41 on their list of the "51 Heroes of Aviation".[134]
The French 50-franc banknote depicted Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and had several features that allude to his works.[135]
Saint-Exupéry and his wife Consuelo were portrayed by Bruno Ganz and Miranda Richardson in the 1996 biopic Saint-Ex, a British film biography of the French author-pilot. It also featured Eleanor Bron and was filmed and distributed in the United Kingdom, with scripting by Frank Cottrell Boyce. The film combines elements of biography, documentary, and dramatic licence.[citation needed]
The 2024 French film Saint-Exupéry (originally titled Saint-Ex) written and directed by Pablo Agüero depicts Saint-Exupéry's (Louis Garrel) airmail career in the Andes, revolving around his efforts to save his friend, Henri Guillaumet (Vincent Cassel).[136]
TV Series
In the 2009 Japanese doramaKarei naru Spy (華麗なるスパイ), produced by Nippon Television, a spy named "Antoine de Saint-Exumopéry" (アントワーヌ ド・サン・テグモペリ ) is played by actor MOUNIR. (Episode 2). The spy works for the evil Mr.Takumi (ミスター匠), leader of an international terrorist organization.
Literature
After his disappearance, Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry wrote The Tale of the Rose, which was published in 2000 and subsequently translated into 16 languages.[137]
Saint-Exupéry is mentioned in Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff: "A saint in short, true to his name, flying up here at the right hand of God. The good Saint-Ex! And he was not the only one. He was merely the one who put it into words most beautifully and anointed himself before the altar of the right stuff."[citation needed]
Comic-book author Hugo Pratt imagined the fantastic story of Saint-Exupéry's last flight in Saint-Exupéry: le dernier vol (1994).[citation needed]
Saint-Exupéry is the subject of the 2013 historical novel Studio Saint-Ex (Knopf, New York / Penguin, Canada) by Ania Szado. In the novel Saint-Exupéry awaits the Americans' entry into World War II, while writing The Little Prince in New York.[citation needed]
Saint-Exupéry was the principal character in Antonio Iturbe's 2017 Spanish-language novel A cielo abierto which was translated into English and published in 2021 with the title The Prince of the Skies.
Music
Saint-Exupéry's death and speculation that Horst Rippert shot him down are the subject of "Saint Ex", a song on Widespread Panic's eleventh studio album, Dirty Side Down.[citation needed]
"P 38", a 1983 song by the Swedish pop band Webstrarna took inspiration from Saint-Ex's disappearance in July 1944.
"On the Planet of the Living", a song sung by Eduard Khil, was dedicated to Saint-Exupéry.[citation needed]
"St. Exupéry Blues" – a song by Russian folk-rock band Melnitsa from their album "Alchemy"[citation needed]
In "Far Side of the World", a song by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, he mentions both Saint-Exupery and "Wind, Sand and Stars".
Theatre
In August 2011, Saint-Ex, a theatrical production of Saint-Exupéry's life, premiered in Weston, Vermont.[138]
Saint-Exupéry appears as one of the three historical characters in the one-act play, DINNER @ AMELIA'S ((c) 2019) by Myles A. Garcia, an American playwright. The two other historical characters in the same play are Alberto Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian pioneering aviator, and T. E. Lawrence (the future Lawrence of Arabia).
Saint-Exupéry was born at No. 8 rue Peyrat, later rue Alphonse Fochier, and still later rue Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, in Lyon's 2nd arrondissement.[9] He was the third of five children (and nicknamed 'Tonio'), his older sisters were Marie-Madeleine ("Biche", 26 January 1897 – 1927), Simone ("Monot", 26 January 1898 – 1978), and his younger siblings François (1902–1917) and Gabrielle ("Didi", 1903–1986). His parents were Viscount Jean de Saint-Exupéry (1863–1904; different sources name his father as Jean-Marc or Caesar de Saint-Exupéry[11]) and Viscountess Marie, née Boyer de Fonscolombe (1875–1972). He was baptized in a Catholic ceremony in his great-aunt's chapel on 15 August 1900 in Saint-Maurice-de-Rémens; his godfather was his uncle, Roger de Saint-Exupéry, Earl of Miremont (1865 – August 1914, killed leading his battalion in Maissin, Belgium, during the First World War), his godmother was his aunt Madeleine Fonscolombe.[10]
Hélène (Nelly) de Vogüé (1908–2003), born Hélène Jaunez to a French businessman, became a Vogüé, in 1927 and had one child with him, a son named Patrice. Hélène is referred to only as "Madame de B." in multiple Saint-Exupéry biographies. This occurred due to agreements she made with writers before granting them access to her troves of the author-aviator's writings, which she deposited in the French national archives—from which they will not be released until 2053. It is believed she sought her anonymity to protect Saint-Exupéry's reputation, as during the Second World War, the U.S. OSS suspected she was a secret Vichy agent and Nazicollaborator.[25]
The large home of Charles De Koninck has since been classified as a historical building and has been visited frequently by numerous worldwide personalities from academic, scientific, intellectual, and political circles. Thomas kept a few memories from Saint-Exupéry's visit: "[He was] a great man. He was the aviator. Someone we would get attached to quite easily, who would show interest in us, the kids. He would make us paper planes, drawings. [...] He loved mathematical enigmas." The following year, he published The Little Prince. According to the local legend, Saint-Exupéry received his inspiration from the junior De Koninck, who asked many questions. However, Thomas De Koninck denied this interpretation: "The Little Prince is Saint-Exupéry himself."
Although Saint-Exupéry's regular publisher in France, Gallimard, lists Le Petit Prince as being published in 1946, that apparently is a legalistic interpretation possibly designed to allow for an extra year of the novella's copyright protection period and is based on Gallimard's explanation that sales of the book started only in 1946. Other sources, such as the one referenced, depict the first Librairie Gallimard printing of 12,250 copies as occurring on 30 November 1945.[43]
After being grounded following his crash, Saint-Exupéry spared no efforts in his campaign to return to active combat flying duty. He utilized all his contacts and powers of persuasion to overcome his age and physical handicap barriers, which would have completely barred an ordinary patriot from serving as a war pilot. Instrumental in his reinstatement was an agreement he proposed to John Phillips, a fluently bilingual Life magazine correspondent in February 1944, where Saint-Exupéry committed to "...write, and I'll donate what I do to you, for your publication, if you get me reinstated into my squadron."[49] Phillips later met with a high-level U.S. Army Air Forces press officer in Italy, Colonel John Reagan McCrary, who conveyed the Life magazine request to General Eaker. The approval for return to flying status would be made "...not through favoritism, but through exception". The brutalized French, it was noted, would cut a German's throat "...probably with more relish than anybody".
Saint-Exupéry suffered recurring pain and immobility from previous injuries due to his five serious aircraft crashes. After his death, there were also vague suggestions that his disappearance was the result of suicide rather than aircraft failure or combat loss.
Various sources state that his final flight was either his seventh, eight, ninth, and even his tenth mission. He volunteered for almost every proposed mission submitted to his squadron, and protested fiercely after being grounded following his second sortie, which ended with a demolished P-38. Saint-Exupéry's friends, colleagues and compatriots were working to keep him grounded and out of harm's way, but his connections in high places, plus a publishing agreement with Life magazine, were instrumental in having the grounding lifted.[54]
One ruse contemplated by GR II/33's commanders was to expose Saint-Exupéry "accidentally" to the plans of the pending invasion of France so he could be subsequently grounded. No air force general would countermand such a grounding order and risk Saint-Exupéry's being captured by the Germans if he were forced down. Saint-Exupéry's commanding officer—a close friend of his—was ill and absent when the author took off on his final flight. The commander "bawled out" his staff when he learned that a grounding scheme had not been implemented.
Saint-Exupéry's P-38, as identified in the wreckage recovery report, was an F-5B-1-LO, LAC 2734 variant, serial number 42-68223, which departed Borgo-Porreta, Bastia, Corsica, France on 31 July 1944, at 8:45 a.m. The report includes an image of a component bearing a serial number which confirmed it came from Saint-Exupéry's aircraft. The size of the debris field—1 km (0.62 mi) long and 400 m (1,300 ft) wide—suggested that the aircraft had struck the water at high velocity.[60]
The Luftwaffe pilot was on patrol near Corsica, and could have intercepted Lt. Meredith.[66] Lt. Meredith's remains were not recovered. He is listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence, Italy ABMC Cemetery {ABMC Records}. Lt. Meredith was shot down by Feldwebel Guth of 3./Jagdgruppe 200, the same unit in which Horst Rippert (see below) was serving. Guth's victory claim is recorded in the lists which are held by the German Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv. The progress of the interception was followed by Allied radar and radio monitoring stations and documented in Missing Air Crew Report 7339 on the loss of Second Lieutenant Gene C. Meredith of the 23rd Photographic Squadron/5th Reconnaissance Group. The intercepted Mediterranean Allied Air Forces Signals Intelligence Report for 30 July records that "an Allied reconnaissance aircraft was claimed shot down at 1115 [GMT]". The last estimated position of Meredith's plane is 4307N, 0756E.[67]
He is buried in the German military cemetery at Dagneux, France.
The RAF's No. 276 Wing (Signals Intelligence, Allied intercepts of Luftwaffe communications) Operations Record Book for 31 July 1944 notes only: "... three enemy fighter sections between 0758/0929 hours operating in reaction to Allied fighters over Cannes, Toulon and the area to the North. No contacts. Patrol activity north of Toulon reported between 1410/1425 hours".[66]
In documents OIS 4FG 40 and OP rep 25 (available at SHD / Air), the 4th Fighter Squadron on a sweeping mission from Vercors to Orange, observed two German "bogeys" flying East at 11:30 a.m. Given Saint-Exupéry's fuel reserves and expected mission duration, it is possible that he crossed paths with the German aircraft.[76]
The proposed "suppression" of Rippert's claim due to Saint-Exupéry's stature was also met with skepticism as Luftwaffe pilots tended to immediately report their kills, and the Allies did not broadcast Saint-Exupéry's status as missing for at least two days.[66] It is feasible that Rippert did not push for an official kill, given that he was flying alone with no spotter to corroborate.[76] After the war, Horst Rippert became a television journalist and led the ZDF sports department. He was the brother of German singer Ivan Rebroff. Rippert died in 2013.
Of further note, as described in the history of the 33rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, a P-38 triggered anti-aircraft fire near Istres on 31 July, a reminder that there are many possible direct or indirect causes of Saint-Exupéry's death.[76][84]
The French and English versions of this book (Terre des hommes/Wind, Sand and Stars) differed significantly, with Saint-Exupéry removing sections from the original French version he did not consider appropriate for its targeted U.S. audience, and adding new material specifically written for that group and translated into English, which he could not speak. Although it did not appear in its earliest editions of the English translation, An Appreciation was added to later printings, contributed by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and earlier published in The Saturday Review of Literature on 14 October 1939.[87]
The last paragraph of Flying's book review of A Sense of Life incorrectly states that Saint-Exupéry's last mission was a bombing run, when in fact it was a photo-reconnaissance assignment for the pending invasion of Southern France.
In exchange, Lindbergh contributed "An Appreciation" to the later printings of Saint-Exupéry's Wind, Sand and Stars, earlier published in The Saturday Review of Literature on 14 October 1939.[87]
Milestones, Aug. 14, 1944. Missing in Action: Count Antoine de Saint Exupéry.Time, 14 August 1944. Quote: "Saint Exupery, veteran of over 13,000 flying hours, was grounded last March by a U.S. Army Air Forces officer because of age, was later put back into his plane by a decision of Lieut. General Ira C. Eaker, flew some 15 flak-riddled missions in a P-38 before his disappearance."
Lichfield, John. "St Exupery plane wreck found in Med." The Independent, 28 May 2000.
"France Finds Crash Site of 'Little Prince' Author Saint-Exupery." Europe Intelligence Wire, Agence France-Presse, 7 April 2004. Retrieved 9 November 2011 via Gale General OneFile (subscription); Gale Document Number: GALE|A115071273.
Beale, Nick. "Saint-Exupéry Entre mythe et réalité." Aero Journal, No. 4, 2008, pp. 78–81. More details on the web-site "Ghost Bombers" (see External links)
"Brief Chronograph Of Publications."Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback MachineLePetitPrince.net, 26 October 2011. Note: the earliest year of publication is given for either of the French or English versions. All of Saint-Exupéry's literary works were originally created in French (he could neither speak nor write English very well), but some of his writings were translated and published in English prior to their French publication.
"1939 Book Awards Given by Critics: Elgin Groseclose's 'Ararat' is Picked as Work Which Failed to Get Due Recognition", The New York Times, 14 February 1940, p. 25.
Inman, William H. "Hotelier Saint-Exupery's Princely Instincts." Institutional Investor, March 2011. Retrieved online from General OneFile: 6 November 2011 (subscription).
Severson, Marilyn S. (2004). Masterpieces of French literature. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN978-0-313-31484-1.
La Gazette des Français du Paraguay Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Vol de nuit 1931, Vaincre l'impossible – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Vuelo nocturno 1931, Superar lo desconocido bilingue, numéro 14 année II, Assomption, Paraguay.
Webster, Paul (1994). Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: the life and death of The Little Prince. London: Macmillan. ISBN978-0333617021.
Further reading
Selected biographies
Chevrier, Pierre (pseudonym of Hélène (Nelly) de Vogüé). Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: La librairie Gallimard de Montréal, 1950.
Migeo, Marcel. Saint-Exupéry. New York: McGraw-Hill, (trans. 1961), 1960.
Peyre, Henri. French Novelists of Today. New York: Oxford UP, 1967.
Robinson, Joy D. Marie. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Twayne's World Authors series: French literature). Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1984, pp. 120–142.
Rumbold, Richard and Lady Margaret Stewart. The Winged Life: A Portrait of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Poet and Airman. New York: D. McKay, 1955.
Smith, Maxwell A. Knight of the Air: The Life and Works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. New York: Pageant Press, 1956.
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