The Prince of the Skies by Antonio Iturbe is the latest masterpiece from the bestselling author of The Librarian of Auschwitz. It is another epic historical novel translated by Lilit Žekulin Thwaites and is based on a true story, that of the extraordinary life and mysterious death of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French aristocrat, writer and poet, is also an avid pilot. He applies for and is given, the coveted position of a pilot at Latécoère, France. Although this alienates him from his family and puts him at odds with the girl he loves, he is determined to fly.
He becomes close friends with fellow pilots Jean Mermoz and Henri Guillaumet. They are sent to discover, by life-threatening trial and error, new mail routes across the globe. They risk their lives to find a way over high mountains and across vast deserts. The mail must get through and as quickly as possible!
On the ground, their personal lives are often tumultuous and the women they loved and lived with are left alone not knowing if or when they’d return.
Then war threatens Europe and the air becomes a battleground for the first time in history. Antoine faces the prospect of death once more.
This wonderfully tender and exciting novel pays homage to aviator and talented writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, well-known author of The Little Prince.
It is also, however, perhaps more importantly, a tribute to all of those intrepid aviation pioneers, who blazed a trial to discover new flight paths across the globe so that populations could receive their mail as quickly as possible. These incredibly brave men, many of whom lost their lives, made world history regarding the conquering of the skies and the beginning of the aviation industry, which is so important today.
It gives an amazing insight into those early ‘flying machines’ that gave rise to the saying “flying on a wing and a prayer”. Their mechanics were as inventive as the pilots were brave.
It is a well-written, minutely researched, gripping novel that will take the reader across the world on journeys to the unknown. A story of love, infidelity, mate-ship, war, and always, bravery above and beyond expectation.
A very highly recommended read for 2022.
ISBN: 9781529063349
The Prince of the Skies is available in hardback, paperback and e-book
- Buy The Prince of the Skies from The Book Depository Australia
About Antonio Iturbe
Antonio Iturbe was born in 1967 and grew up in the dock-side neighbourhood of Barceloneta, in Barcelona. He studied Information Sciences at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and over the past fifteen years has worked as a cultural journalist. In 2005, he made his debut as a novelist with the comic novel Rectos torcidos and recently started writing for children with Los casos del Inspector Cit, a collection of the stories he used to read to his son at bedtime. He is the author of the international bestseller The Librarian of Auschwitz and The Prince of the Skies.
About Lilit Žekulin Thwaites
Lilit Žekulin Thwaites is an award-winning Melbourne-based literary translator (Spanish>English), and an honorary research fellow in contemporary Spanish literature at La Trobe University. Her book-length translations include the bestselling The Librarian of Auschwitz(Antonio Iturbe, 2017), Australian Connection (multiple authors, 2019), and two futuristic novels by Rosa Montero, Tears in Rain (2012), and Weight of the Heart. (2016). Her translations of short stories, essays and the occasional poem have been published in journals and anthologies. She presents sessions at writers’ festivals, gives talks on Spain-related and translation topics, and organises visits to Australia by Spanish-speaking writers. In 2016, she was awarded Spain’s Order of Civil Merit for her promotion of Spanish culture in Australia.
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