The works of Saint-Exupéry: timeless bestsellers

Grown-ups like numbers and, for once, so do we! In his book on the centenary of publishing house Gallimard, Alban Cerisier devotes several pages to the awards garnered by works published by the house, and in particular a top 50 of bestsellers.

Did you know that the number of copies of The Little Prince printed since 1946 amounts to 13,096,000, the biggest print volume in the history of Gallimard? Also in the Top 50, in 5th place, is Vol de Nuit (Night Flight), with 4,670,000 copies printed since 1938. Terre des Hommes (Wind, Sand and Stars) takes 13th place (3,598,000 copies). Wartime conditions meant that only 1,885,000 copies of Pilote de Guerre (Flight to Arras) were printed, putting the book in 32nd place. Just behind, in 34th place (1,794,000 copies to date), comes Courrier Sud (Southern Mail), published in 1929.