From now until the end of April, “The Little Prince: A New York Story”, a new exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan, takes visitors behind the scenes of one of the world’s favourite stories.

“The Little Prince” was written in New York City while its aviator author was in exile there during World War II. The exhibition reveals how Saint-Exupéry transformed his original doodles into a book that captured the imagination of children and adults across the globe.

“He didn’t speak English, he was far from home,” Christine Nelson, the curator of the exhibition, told FRANCE 24. “He was in absolute despair about what was going on in the world, and this book really comes out of that. And yet he managed to create a book that is infused with hope.”

The original hand-written manuscript of that book, and the accompanying watercolours, were bought by the museum in 1968, and are displayed as part of the exhibition. They reportedly have never left Manhattan.

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