Book Synopsis:
From the bestselling author of The Librarian of Auschwitz, Antonio Iturbe, comes a captivating historical novel based on a true story – the extraordinary life and mysterious death of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince.
Writer. Romantic. Pilot. Hero.
All Antoine de Saint Exupéry wants to do is be a pilot. But flying is a dangerous dream and one that sets him at odds with his aristocratic background and the woman he loves. Despite attempts to keep him grounded, Antoine is determined to venture forwards into the unknown. Together with his friends, Jean and Henri, he will pioneer new mail routes across the globe and help change the future of aviation. In the midst of his adventures, Antoine also begins to weave a children’s story that is destined to touch the lives of millions of readers around the world. A story called The Little Prince . . . Fame and fortune may have finally found Antoine, but as the shadow of the Second World War begins to threaten Europe, he’s left to wonder whether his greatest adventure is yet to come . . .
Translated by Lilit Žekulin Thwaites, The Prince of the Skies is a moving tale of love and friendship, war and heroism, and the power of the written word.
My Review:
The Prince Of The Skies is a powerful, inspirational and absorbing read that I really enjoyed. It’s based on the true story of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry the author of one of my favourite children’s books ever, so I was very excited to read this book and to learn more about him.
I was soon drawn into the story and into Antonie’s life. The author does a great job of bringing historical characters to life and I loved that we got to know more about the person behind the book, learning more about his passions and what makes him tick. It made me feel like I knew him as a friend which I always like. He truly lead an amazing life and it was fascinating to follow him from the 20’s and through the war.
The author has clearly done a lot of research into this book and I found is very interesting to learn more about Antonie’s experience in the French air force during the war but also his key role in helping to create the air mail, a service to get letters delivered to other countries which is something that we take for granted now. It was great to follow him and influencial pilots Jean Mormoz and Henry Guillamet as they try to navigate this new service. It was especially fascinating to visit the many different countries with them and get a taste of what life was like there at that time.
Overall I thought this was an amazing read which I will be recommending to all historical fiction fans and anyone who is a fan of The Little Prince. I felt this book has a bit of everything lots of danger from being a pilot in quite primitate planes which had no cover for the pilots and exposed them to the elements as they flew, to a love story of his attempted romance with the lady he loved. There is also a beautiful quality to the author’s writing which just draws the reader in and keeps them enthralled until the end.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Antonio Iturbe lives in Spain, where he is both a novelist and a journalist. In researching his previous novel, the international bestseller, The Librarian of Auschwitz, he interviewed Dita Kraus, the real-life librarian of Auschwitz.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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