If war was more present in the story – the world in which Saint-Exupéry wrote it, after all, and a theme in Morpurgo’s work – you could almost imagine Morpurgo having written it himself. As with his own work, there is a clarity and directness, an affinity with the animal world, all underlined by emotional force. Morpurgo’s version certainly suggests so, a few strange decisions aside. On the surface, it leaves translators little room to manoeuvre and it’s tempting to ask: do we really need all these different translations? Or are publishers just trying to cash in (say, by adding a celebrity author)? But on a deeper level, Saint-Exupéry’s style is notoriously hard to replicate, and so perhaps a worthy translation requires more than good French. Saint-Exupéry worked through dozens of drafts to achieve the final aesthetic. The Little Prince is known for its spare and simple prose, and while it is studied in universities, it is taught to beginners of French at school. Well, I was wrong about that.” The mistake is easy to make, even if Morpurgo’s modesty deceives.
“And if I am honest, I thought my knowledge of French would be just about up to it. “To be asked to translate one of the greatest stories ever written was an honour I could not refuse,” Morpurgo writes in his foreword. Now, Michael Morpurgo, master storyteller and untested translator, has delivered a definitive seventh. Until recently, English could claim only a meagre six. In Korean, there are said to be about 50 different versions. It now exists in 300 languages, a sum that doesn’t even include the range of translations within languages. In April 2017, The Little Prince became the most translated book in the world, excluding religious texts (which enjoyed significant head starts). However elusive the story’s meaning, few have matched the universality of its appeal. “I’m beginning to feel lonely in this desert.” “You can feel lonely among people, too,” replies the snake. “Where are all the people?” the little prince asks. When he lands on Earth, in the middle of the desert, he is met by a mysterious snake.
Along his way, he visits a number of planets each populated by a sole person with an absurd profession (the little prince ultimately learns that there is no other kind).
The book’s beloved hero is a small, blond-haired boy from asteroid B-612, which he leaves to journey across the galaxy. But ever since its original publication in French in 1943, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s story has enchanted audiences of all ages. T o all appearances The Little Prince is a children’s book.
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