The Little Prince and The Citadel

The Little Prince, who appeared on April 6, 1943, at the publishing house "Reynal-Hitchcock", spoke English, and only some time later did he start speaking French.
So who was he — an American or a Frenchman? The "Little Prince" was conceived and written in the United States in 1942. The book was a commission; it was meant to be a Christmas tale for American children, and then for French children. To comfort them. To distract some from the looming threat of war, and others — from its burdens.
But there is something more. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was writing a children's book in 1939, which was to be published in France. But the bombings that started in 1940 changed everything. Only in 1946 did the "Little Prince" come out in France.

"The Citadel" is the pinnacle of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's artistic philosophy. This unbreakable literary fortress was built by the writer over many years with maximum dedication and endless love.
Since "The Citadel" was never completed (Saint-Exupéry always repeated that he would never finish it), and the book itself turned out to be too voluminous and complex to read, the French writer Michel Kenel made an attempt to edit it at the request of the heirs' family. He removed repetitions, thereby highlighting the artistic merits of the book more clearly. The new version helped draw readers closer to this masterpiece of the great writer-architect, who builds a personal citadel in the heart of each one.

In Russian, both works are published in the translation of Marianna Kozhevnikova.