294. Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry—The Tale of the Rose with Sara Kippur
Though her high-flying literary husband took center-stage, Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry was more than just the metaphorical “rose” in his novella The Little Prince. She was a writer and artist in her own right, with a gift for storytelling that’s evidenced in the now out-of-print novel Oppède. Following her death, an undiscovered memoir she wrote about her marriage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry surfaced among her belongings and was published to great acclaim in 2000 as The Tale of the Rose. Wellesley professor Sara Kippur joins us in conversation to discuss the glittering life and literary merits of this often-overlooked 20th-century figure.
Mentioned in this episode
The Tale of the Rose: The Love Story Behind The Little Prince by Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry
Oppède or Kingdom of the Rocks by Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry
New York Nouveau: How Postwar French Literature Became American by Sara Kippur
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 117 on Zelda Fitzgerald
Website with photos of Consuelo’s art
Tropisms by Nathalie Sarraute
The Sea Wall by Marguerite Duras