The House of the Little Prince

Historical Background

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National Register of Historical Places Site

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The writing of The Little Prince began in 1942, when a reunited Saint-Exupéry and Consuelo moved to an historic, 22-room Victorian mansion in New York known as the Bevin House.

Consuelo, the accomplished artist, improved her husband's draughtsmanship during his illustration of the animated fable (7.)

She described the secluded mansion as a "house made for happiness" (3.)

She and various visiting friends of the couple would often pose for characters in the book.  "Of course, when a drawing was finished," Consuelo noted, "it wasn't of them but of a bearded gentleman or some flowers or a small animal, which sometimes made them angry" (3.)

For additional creative inspiration Antoine drew upon unobtrusive illustrations he had been sketching all his life in the margins of napkins, receipts, and letters such as those sent to his mother and sisters (5.)  He composed his autobiographical allegory mostly at night, beginning around eleven o'clock or even later to avoid distractions from visitors or phone calls, forever accompanied by a tray laden with tall glasses of strong, black coffee. "Evidently," he confided to a friend, "I put my head down on my arm to think out a situation, and in the late morning I wake up in that position" (1.)

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