Love letters and the tortured inheritance of the Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupery's 'The Little Prince' is said to have sold more than 200 million copies in 450 different translations since it was first published in 1943. Photo: Handout

It was a romance that helped inspire one of the great works of 20th-century fiction and a bitter conflict between his heirs, but a new book of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's love letters suggests a reconciliation may finally have been achieved.

French aviator, poet and war hero Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince is said to have sold more than 200 million copies in 450 different translations since it was first published in 1943.