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Georges Simenon

March 03, 2023

"Simenon" redirects here. For other uses, see Simenon (disambiguation).

Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (French: [ʒɔʁʒ simnɔ̃]; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer, most famous for his fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most popular authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 novels, 21 volumes of memoirs and many short stories, selling over 500 million copies.

Georges Simenon
Simenon in 1963
BornGeorges Joseph Christian Simenon
(1903-02-12)12 February 1903
Liège, Wallonia, Belgium
Died4 September 1989(1989-09-04) (aged 86)
Lausanne, Romandy, Switzerland
Pen nameG. Sim, Monsieur Le Coq
OccupationNovelist
LanguageFrench
NationalityBelgian
Alma materCollège Saint-Louis, Liège
Years active1919–1981
Notable awardsAcadémie royale de Belgique (1952)

Apart from his detective fiction, he achieved critical acclaim for his literary novels which he called romans durs (hard novels). Among his literary admirers were Max Jacob, François Mauriac and André Gide. Gide wrote, “I consider Simenon a great novelist, perhaps the greatest, and the most genuine novelist that we have had in contemporary French literature.”[1]

Born and raised in Liège, Belgium, Simenon lived for extended periods in France (1922–45), the United States (1946–55) and finally Switzerland (1957-1989). Much of his work is semi-autobiographical, inspired by his childhood and youth in Liège, extensive travels in Europe and the world, wartime experiences, troubled marriages, and numerous love affairs.

Critics such as John Banville have praised Simenon's novels for their psychological insights and vivid evocation of time and place. Among his most notable works are The Saint-Fiacre Affair (1932), Monsieur Hire's Engagement (1933), Act of Passion (1947), The Snow was Dirty (1948) and The Cat (1967).

Early life and education

 
26 rue Léopold, Liège, the house where Simenon was born

Simenon was born at 26 Rue Léopold (Liège) [fr] (now number 24) to Désiré Simenon and his wife Henriette Brüll. Désiré Simenon worked in an accounting office at an insurance company and had married Henriette in April 1902. Simenon was either born at 11.30 pm on Thursday 12 February 1903 (according to the birth certificate), or just after midnight on Friday 13th (the date possibly being falsified on the certificate due to superstition).[2]

The Simenon family was of Walloon and Flemish ancestry, settling in the Belgian Limburg in the seventeenth century.[3] His mother's family was of Flemish, Dutch and German descent. One of his mother's most notorious ancestors was Gabriel Brühl, a criminal who preyed on Limburg from the 1720s until he was hanged in 1743.[3] Later, Simenon would use Brühl as one of his many pen names.[4]

In April 1905, two years after Simenon's birth, the family moved to 3 rue Pasteur (now 25 rue Georges Simenon) in Liège's Outremeuse [fr] neighbourhood. Simenon's brother Christian was born in September 1906 and eventually became their mother's favourite child, which Simenon resented.[5] The young Simenon, however, idolised his father and later claimed to have partly modelled Maigret's temperament on him.[6]

At the age of three, Simenon learned to read at the Ecole Guardienne run by the Sisters of Notre Dame. Then, between 1908 and 1914, he attended the Institut Saint-André, run by the Christian Brothers.[7]

In 1911, the Simenons moved to 53 rue de la Loi, where they took in lodgers, many of them students from Eastern Europe, Jews and political refugees.[8] This gave the young Simenon an introduction to the wider world, which was later reflected his novels, notably Pedigree (published 1948) and Le Locataire (The Lodger) (1938).

Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Liège was occupied by the German army. Henriette took in German officers as lodgers, much to Désiré's disapproval. Simenon later said that the war years provided some of the happiest times of his life. They were also memorable for a child because, "my father cheated, my mother cheated, everyone cheated."[9]

In October 1914, Simenon began his studies at the Collège Saint-Louis, a Jesuit high school. After a year, he switched to Collège St Servais, where he studied for three years. He excelled at French, but his marks in other subjects declined. He read widely in the Russian, French and English classics, frequently played truant, and turned to petty theft in order to buy pastries and other war time luxuries.[10]

In 1917, the Simenon family moved to a former post office building in the rue des Maraîchers.[11] Using his father's heart condition as a pretext, Simenon quit school in June 1918, without taking his end-of-year exams.[12] After brief periods working in a patisserie and a bookshop, Simenon found himself unemployed when the war ended in November 1918. He witnessed scenes of violent retribution against residents of Liège accused of collaboration which stayed with him for the rest of his life. He described these scenes in Pedigree and Les trois crimes de mes amis (My Friends' Three Crimes) (1938).[13]

Early career, 1919–22

In January 1919, the 15-year-old Simenon took a job as a junior reporter at the Gazette de Liège, a right-wing Catholic newspaper edited by Joseph Demarteau.[14] Within a few months he was promoted to crime reporting, signing his articles "Georges Sim". By April he was given his own opinion and gossip column which he signed "Monsieur Le Coq." He was also assigned interviews with leading international figures such as Hirohito, Crown Prince of Japan, and French war hero Marshal Foch. In 1920-21 he enrolled in a course on forensic science at the University of Liège in order to improve his knowledge of the latest police methods.[15]

In May 1920, Simenon began publishing short fiction in the Gazette. In September he completed his first novel, Au Pont des Arches which he self-published in 1921.[16] He wrote two other novels while working at the Gazette, but these were never published.[17]

In June 1919, Simenon had been introduced into a group of young artists and bohemians which called itself "Le Caque" (herring barrel). The group met at night to drink, discuss art and philosophy, and experiment with drugs such as morphine and cocaine. In early 1922 one of the members of the group, Joseph Kleine, hanged himself at the doors of the St Pholien church of Liège after a night of excess with Le Caque. Simenon was one of the last people to see Kleine alive and was deeply affected by his suicide, later referring to the incident in Les trois crimes de mes amis and Le pendu de St Pholien (The Hanged Man of Saint Pholien) (1931).[18]

Through Le Caque, Simenon met a young painter, Régine Renchon, and in early 1921 they began a relationship. They soon became engaged and agreed that Simenon should complete his year of compulsory military service before they married.[19]

Simenon's father died In November 1921, an event which Simenon called, "the most important day in a man's life." Soon after, he began his military service. After a brief posting with the allied occupation forces in Germany, he was transferred to the cavalry barracks in Liège and was soon given permission to resume writing for the Gazette.[20]

When Simenon's military service ended in December 1922, he resigned from the Gazette and moved to Paris to establish a base for himself and his future wife Régine, whom he preferred to call "Tigy".[21]

France, 1922–1945

Literary apprenticeship, 1922–28

Now in Paris, Simenon found a menial job with a far-right political group headed by the writer Binet-Valmer. In March 1923, he returned to Liège to marry Régine. Although neither Simenon or Régine were religious, they were married in a Catholic church to please Simenon's mother, who was devout.[22]

The newly-weds moved to Paris where Régine tried to establish herself as a painter while Simenon resumed work for Binet-Valmer and sent articles to the Revue Sincère of Brussels for which he was the Paris correspondent. He also wrote short stories for popular magazines, but sales were sporadic.[23]

In the summer of 1923, Simenon was engaged by the Marquis de Tracy as his private secretary, which obliged him to spend nine months of the year at the aristocrat's various rural properties. Régine soon moved to a village near the Marquis's principal estate at Paray-le-Frésil, near Moulins.[24]

While working for the Marquis, Simenon began submitting stories to Le Matin whose literary editor was Colette. Colette advised him to make his work "less literary" which Simenon took to mean that he should use simple descriptions and a limited stock of common words. Simenon followed her advice and within a year became one of the paper's regular contributors.[25]

Now with a steady income from his writing, Simenon left the Marquis' employ in 1924 and returned to Paris where he and Régine found an apartment in the fashionable Place des Vosges. Simenon was writing and selling short stories at the rate of 80 typed pages a day, and now turned his hand to pulp novels. His first, Le roman d'une dactylo (The Story of a Typist) was quickly sold and two more appeared in 1924 under the pseudonyms "Jean du Perry" and "Georges Simm".[26] From 1921 to 1934 he used a total of 17 pen names while writing 358 novels and short stories.[27]

In the summer of 1925, the Simenons took a holiday in Normandy where they met Henriette Liberge, the 18-year-old daughter of a fisherman. Régine offered her a job as their housekeeper in Paris and the young woman accepted. Simenon began calling her "Boule", and she was to become his lover and part of the Simenon household under that name for the next 39 years.[28]

Simenon began an affair with Josephine Baker in 1926 or 1927, and became her part-time assistant and editor of Josephine Baker's Magazine.[29] However, the Simenons were tiring of their hectic life in Paris, and in April 1928 they set out with Boule for a six-month tour of the rivers and canals of France in a small boat, the Ginette. Without the distractions provided by Josephine Baker, Simenon's tally of published popular novels increased from 11 in 1927 to 44 in 1928.[30]

Birth and retirement of Maigret, 1929–39

In the spring of 1929, the Simenons and Boule set off for a tour of northern France, Belgium and Holland in a larger, custom-built boat, the Ostrogoth. Simenon had begun contributing detective stories to a new magazine called Détective and continued to publish popular novels, mainly with the publishers Fayard.[31]

 
Maigret statue in Delfzijl, Netherlands

During his northern tour, Simenon wrote three popular novels featuring a police inspector named Maigret, but only one, Train de nuit (Night Train) was accepted by Fayard. Simenon began working on the latter novel (or possibly its successor Pietr-le-Letton (Pietr the Latvian)) in September 1929 when the Ostrogoth was undergoing repairs in the Dutch city of Delfzijl, and the city is now celebrated as the birthplace of Simenon's most famous character.[32][33]

On his return to Paris in April 1930, Simenon completed Pietr-le-Letton, the first novel in which commissioner Maigret of the Paris mobile crime brigade was a fully developed character. The novel was serialised in Fayard's magazine Ric et Rac later that year, and was the first fictional work to appear under Simenon's real name.[34][33]

The first Maigret novels were launched in book form by Fayard in February 1931 at the fancy dress bal anthropométrique which had a police and criminals theme. The launching party was widely reported and the novels received positive reviews. Simenon wrote 19 Maigret novels by the end of 1933, and the series eventually sold 500 million copies.[35]

In April 1932, the Simenons and Boule moved to La Rochelle in south-west France. Soon after, they left for Africa where Simenon visited his brother, who was a colonial administrator in the Belgian Congo. Simenon also visited other African colonies and wrote a series of articles highly critical of colonialism. He drew on his African experience in novels such as Le Coup de Lune (Tropic Moon) (1933) and 450 à l'ombre (Aboard the Aquitaine) (1936).[36]

In 1933, the Simenons visited Germany and Eastern Europe, and Simenon secured an interview with Leon Trotsky in exile in Turkey for Paris-Soir. On his return, he announced that he would write no more Maigret novels, and signed a contract with the prestigious publisher Gallimard for his new work.[37]

Maigret, written in June 1933, was intended to be the last of the series and ended with the detective in retirement. Simenon called the Maigret novels "semi-literary" and he wanted to establish himself as a serious writer. He stated his aim was to win the Nobel Prize for Literature by 1947.[38]

Simenon's notable novels of the 1930s, written after the temporary retirement of Maigret, include Le testament donadieu (The Shadow Falls) (1937), L'homme qui regardait passer les trains (The Man who Watched the Trains Go By) (1938) and Le bourgmestre de Furnes (The Burgomaster of Furnes) (1939).[39] André Gide and François Mauriac were among Simenon's greatest literary admirers at the time.[40]

In 1935, the Simenons undertook a world tour which included the Americas, the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, Australia and India.[41] They then moved back to Paris, in the fashionable Neuilly district, where they lived a life of luxury which Simenon later described as "too sumptuous".[42]

They moved home to La Rochelle in 1938 because, as Simenon later explained, "I was sickened by the life I was leading." In April the following year, Simenon's first child, Marc, was born.[43]

Second World War, 1939–45

Simenon was in a café in La Rochelle when France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939.[43] In May 1940, Germany invaded Belgium, and La Rochelle became the reception centre for Belgian refugees. The Belgian government appointed Simenon Commissioner for Refugees, and he organised the reception, accommodation, and food and health needs for some 55,000 war refugees before the armistice of 22 June. By August, all Belgian refugees had been repatriated and Simenon resumed civilian life in his new home at Fontenay-le-Compte in the Vendée.[44]

Later in 1940, a local doctor examined Simenon and diagnosed a serious heart illness, advising him to cut back on his favourite pastimes of pipe smoking, excessive eating, alcohol, and sex. Simenon began working on his memoirs Je me souviens (I remember), intended as a letter to his son from a father who would soon be dead. A second medical opinion was later sought, and Simenon was assured his heart was sound.[45]

Simenon returned to writing Maigret stories and novels, completing two in 1940 and three in 1941. He also wrote longer novels such as Pedigree, a fictionalised reworking of Je me souviens. As a popular, non-Jewish author who avoided war themes and anti-German sentiments, Simenon had few problems in having his works published at a time of censorship and paper restrictions.[46]

Among his major works written during the war years are La veuve Couderc (The Widow Couderc) (1942), Le fuite de M. Monde (Monsieur Monde Vanishes) (published 1945), and Pedigree (published 1948).[47] Simenon also conducted correspondence, most notably with André Gide. Gide considered La veuve Couderc superior to Camus' The Stranger which was published around the same time and has a similar main character and themes.[48][49]

During the war, Simenon sold the film rights to five of his novels to Continental Films, which was funded by the German government and banned the participation of Jews. The Continental production of Simenon's Les inconnus dans la maison (Strangers in the House) had exaggerated anti-Semitic themes which are not in the novel. Resistance underground newspapers began attacking Continental Films and anyone who took their money.[50]

In 1942, the French Commissariat-Géneral aux Questions Juives notified Simenon that they suspected him of being Jewish and gave him one month to prove he wasn't. Simenon was able to obtain the necessary certificates of birth and baptism through his mother, and soon after the Simenons moved to a more remote village in the Vendée.[51]

In 1944, Régine discovered Simenon's long-term affair with Boule, and Simenon also confessed to his numerous other affairs. The couple agreed to remain married for the sake of their child, but to give each other their sexual freedom.[52]

In November 1944, following the German retreat, Simenon, Marc and Boule moved to a hotel in the resort town of Les Sable d'Olonne, while Régine returned to their house near La Rochelle which had now been evacuated by the Germans. In January 1945, Simenon was placed under house arrest by the police and the French Forces of the Interior on suspicion of collaboration. After three months of investigations, he was cleared of all charges.[53]

Simenon went to Paris in May 1945 while Marc and Boule returned to their house near La Rochelle with Régine. Simenon, possibly out of concern that the French Communist Party might take over France, had decided to move to America. The rest of the family soon joined him in Paris and Simenon used his contacts to secure the required travel documents for America. Régine, however, refused to travel to America with Marc unless Boule stayed behind in France. Simenon reluctantly agreed to Régine's demand.[54]

United States and Canada, 1945–1955

The Simenons arrived in New York in October 1945 and soon moved to Canada, where they set up home at Ste-Marguerite du Lac Masson, north of Montreal.[55] In November, Simenon met Denyse Ouimet, a 25-year-old French-Canadian, with whom he started an affair and hired as his secretary. Denyse moved into the Simenon home in January 1946,[56] and several weeks later told Régine that she was his new lover.[57] Simenon fictionalised his affair with Denyse in his novels Trois chambres à Manhattan (Three Bedrooms in Manhattan) (1947) and Lettre à mon juge (Act of Passion) (1947).[56]

The Simenons and Denyse drove to Florida in the summer of 1946, and then visited Cuba in order to arrange for permanent residence visas for the United States. It was in Florida that Simenon wrote Lettre à mon juge, widely considered one of his major works.[58]

In June 1947, the Simenons moved to Arizona. Boule joined them there in 1948, after Régine dropped her objections to Simenon's desire to have a wife and two lovers in his household. Simenon continued to write quickly, working from 6 am to 9 am daily, and averaging 4,500 words a day. While in Arizona, Simenon wrote two Maigret novels and several romans durs (hard novels) including La neige était sale (The Snow Was Dirty) (1948), one of his major works.[59] The 1951 American paperback edition of this novel sold 2 million copies.[60]

Denyse became pregnant in early 1949, and Simenon asked Régine for a divorce. Denyse gave birth to Jean Dennis Chrétien Simenon (known as John) on 29 September.[61] Régine had moved to California with Marc and Boule, and Simenon, Denyse and the baby soon moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea where they would be close to Marc. The divorce was granted in Nevada on 21 June 1950. Simenon married Denyse the following day.[62]

The newly-weds moved to Lakeville, Connecticut and also rented a house in nearby Salmon Creek for Régine, Marc and Boule. In the five years he lived in Connecticut, Simenon wrote 13 Maigret novels and 14 romans durs including the major works La mort de Belle (Belle) (1952) and L'horloger d'Everton (The Watchmaker of Everton) (1954).[63]

While living in Connecticut, Simenon's book sales increased to an estimated 3 million a year, and he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. Simenon and Denyse made two trips to Europe, in 1952 and 1954. On the 1952 trip, Simenon was admitted to the Royal Belgian Academy.[64] In February 1953, Denyse gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Georges Simenon (known as Marie-Jo).[65] By this time, Boule had moved in with Denyse and Simenon and had resumed her position as his lover.[66]

By 1955, Simenon had become disillusioned with America and concerned that Denyse, who wanted to live in Europe, was becoming more distant from him. In March, Simenon, Denyse and Boule left for a European holiday and were never to return to live in America.[67]

Return to Europe, 1955–1989

 
Simenon, 1963 by Erling Mandelmann.

The Simenons took up residence in France at Mougins, near Cannes, while Régine and Marc lived in a hotel nearby. Simenon wrote two Maigret novels and two romans durs during his first six months on the French Riviera, but was still searching for a permanent home. In July 1957, the Simenons and Boule moved to the Château d'Echandens near Lausanne, Switzerland, and were to remain there for seven years.[68]

In May 1959, Denyse gave birth to a son, Pierre, who soon became seriously ill but survived a difficult first year.[69] In December 1961, Simenon and Denyse employed Teresa Sburelin, a young Italian woman, as a maid. Teresa soon became Simenon's lover and was to remain his companion for the rest of his life.[70]

Simenon continued to produce novels at a rate of three to five a year at Enchandens, including two of his most notable, Le président (The Premier) (1958) and Les anneaux de Bicêtre (The Patient) (1963).[71]

However, the relationship between Denyse and Simenon was deteriorating. They were both drinking heavily[72] and Simenon admitted that he had hit her.[73] In June 1962, Denyse was persuaded to admit herself to a mental health clinic for several months.[74] In 1961 the Simenons had decided to build a new house at Epalinges in the heights above Lausanne. The house was completed in December 1963, but Denyse lived there for only a few months before returning to the clinic.[75]

Denyse left Epalinges for the last time in April 1964. In November, Simenon dismissed Boule who went to live with Marc who was now married with children.[76]

Although Simenon never divorced Denyse, he was now living with his companion Teresa and three of his children: John, Marie-Jo, and Pierre. He continued to work steadily, completing three to four books a year from 1965 to 1971, including the important works Le petit saint (The Little Saint) (1965) and Le chat (The Cat) (1967).[77]

In February 1973, Simenon announced that he was retiring from writing. A few months later, he and Teresa moved into a small house in Lausanne. He produced no new fiction from that date, but he dictated 21 volumes of memoirs.[78]

In May 1978, Simenon's daughter, Marie-Jo, killed herself in Paris at the age of 25. In his final volume of memoirs, Mémoires intimes (Intimate memoirs) (1981), he wrote, "One never recovers from the loss of a daughter one has cherished. It leaves a void that nothing can fill."[79]

Simenon underwent a brain operation in 1984, but made a full recovery. From late 1988 he was confined to a wheelchair. He died on 4 September 1989, following a fall.[80]

Works and critical reception

Simenon's published works include 193 novels written under his own name, over 200 novels written under various pseudonyms, four autobiographies and 21 volumes of memoirs.[81] He also wrote a large quantity of short fiction. His novels had sold over 500 million copies by the time of his death, making him one of the highest selling novelists in history.[81]

Simenon's fiction is often classified into his early pseudonymous popular novels, the last of which was written in 1933;[82] his fiction featuring police commissioner Jules Maigret (76 novels and 49 short stories);[83] and his 117 literary novels which he called romans durs ("hard novels").[84]

Maigret novels

Main article: Jules Maigret

The first Maigret novel published under Simenon's name was Pietr-le-Letton (Pietr the Latvian) which was serialised in 1930. The last Maigret novel was Maigret et M. Charles (Maigret and Monsieur Charles) published in 1972.[85]

The early Maigret novels generally received positive reviews and were acknowledged as an attempt to raise the standard of the French crime novel. Several critics, however, made fun of the speed with which they were written. Le Canard Enchaîné told its readers, "Monsieur Georges Simenon makes his living by killing someone every month and then discovering the murderer."[86]

The Maigret stories are characterised by their short length, simple writing style and a deliberately restricted vocabulary (which Simenon estimated was limited to 2000 words). Simenon stated that his Maigret novels were designed to be read by people of average education in a single sitting.[87][88]

Patrick Marnham, Scott Bradfield and others state that the early Maigrets were innovative because the detective doesn't hunt for clues or use deduction to find the guilty party, but rather immerses himself in the life and environment of the victim and suspected criminal. In most cases, Maigret seeks to understand the criminal rather than judge him.[89][90][91]

Simenon stated that his Maigret stories often deal with more serious themes that those of his other novels.[92] Recurrent themes include political influence over the justice system, snobbery and class divisions, and the role of social background and pure chance in determining whether an individual becomes a criminal or a respected member of society.[93]

Marnham, Fenton Besler and others have pointed out that the plots of the Maigret novels are often implausible and internally inconsistent.[94][95] However, critics have praised Simenon's ability to concisely evoke the atmosphere of a particular place and to provide insights into human psychology.[96] Referring to The Saint-Fiacre Affair, John Banville wrote, "The story is silly, as usual, but the evocation of the little town and its people makes such considerations irrelevant."[97]

Romans durs ("hard novels")

Simenon suspended his writing of Maigret stories in 1933 in order to concentrate on the literary novels he called romans durs. In 1937 he stated that his aim was to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947.[98]

Simenon defined the novel as, "a passion which completely possesses and enslaves the writer and permits him to exorcise his demons by giving them form and casting them out into the world."[99] His novels were about "the naked man, the one who looks at himself in the mirror while shaving and has no illusions about himself."[99]

Michel Lemoine has elaborated on this, stating, "There is hardly a character in all the Simenon canon who does not ask, 'Who am I? What have I done with my life?"[100]

 
Bench and sculpture dedicated to Simenon in his home city of Liège

Biographer Fenton Besler described the roman durs as "psychological thrillers...in which he explores the darkest corners of the human mind and, in tautly written prose, creates an atmosphere which is sinister and entirely his own."[101] According to Besler, it doesn't matter whether Simenon's novels are set in France, Africa, Tahiti or America, the characters live the same traumas and despair, only "with their problems and anxieties accentuated by the local setting."[102]

Biographer Patrick Marnham states that Simenon's earliest romans durs contain many of Simenon's typical themes: the street life of Paris, prostitution, the drudgery of domestic servants and shop assistants, police corruption and the hope of escape represented by railway stations. He compares Simenon's preoccupation with the "little people" with that of Balzac.[103] According to Marnham, there is also a strong autobiographical strain in his fiction, where events which Simenon had experienced were lightly fictionalised and then taken to a social, criminal or psychological extreme.[104]

Simenon's romans durs soon gained a high reputation among other writers, with Max Jacob, François Mauriac and André Gide among his admirers.[105] Nevertheless, the academic and critical reception of his novels in France and the United States was mixed, which Ralph Ingersoll, Brendan Gill and Gilbert Sigaux have attributed to suspicion about their popularity and the speed with which they were written.[106]

Simenon's most acclaimed novels include Monsieur Hire's Engagement (1933),[107] The Man who Watched the Trains Go By (1938),[108] Monsieur Monde Vanishes (1945),[109] Act of Passion (1947),[110] The Snow was Dirty (1948),[111] Red Lights (1953),[112] and The Little Saint (1967).[107]

Honours and legacy

  • President of the Mystery Writers of America (1952)[113]
  • Member of Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium (1952)[114][115]
  • Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (1955)[115]
  • Honorary Member of American Academy of Arts and Letters (1971)[116]

In 2003, the collection La Pléiade published 21 of Simenon's novels in two volumes. The novels were selected by Professor Jacques Dubois, President of the Centre for Georges Simenon Studies at the Université de Liège, and his assistant Benoît Denis, both experts on Simenon.[117] A third volume of 8 novels and two autobiographical works was published in 2009.[118]

Partial bibliography

French title and year of first publication is given first, followed by English translations where applicable. Unless otherwise specified, the sources for the French title and publication date is Patrick Marnham,[119] and Michel Carly in Tout Maigret.[120]The source for English translations is Patrick Marnham,[119] Barry Forshaw,[121] and Penguin UK.[122]

Maigret novels

  • Pietr-le-Letton (serialised 1930). Translations: The Strange Case of Peter the Lett. Tr. Anthony Abbot. 1933; Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett. Tr. Daphne Woodward. 1963; Pietr the Latvian. Translated by Bellos, David. Penguin Classics. 2013. ISBN 9780141392738.
  • M. Gallet, décédé (1931). Translations: The Death of Monsieur Gallet. Tr. Anthony Abbot. 1932.; Maigret Stonewalled. Tr. Margaret Marshall. 1963; The Late Monsieur Gallet. Translated by Bell, Anthea. Penguin Classics. 2013. ISBN 9780141393377.
  • Le pendu de St Pholien (1931). Translations: The Crime of Inspector Maigret. Tr. Anthony Abbot. 1932; Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets. Tr. Tony White. 1963; The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien. Translated by Coverdale, Linda. Penguin Classics. 2014. ISBN 9780141393452.
  • Le charretier de La Providence (1931). Translations: The Crime at Lock 14. Tr. Anthony Abbot. 1934; Maigret Meets a Milord. Tr. Robert Baldick. 1963; Lock 14. Tr. Robert Baldick. 2003; The Carter of 'La Providence'. Translated by Coward, David. Penguin Classics. 2014. ISBN 9780141393469.
  • Le chien jaune (1931). Translations: A Face for a Clue. Tr. Geoffrey Sainsbury. 1939; Maigret and the Yellow Dog. Tr. Linda Asher. 1987; The Yellow Dog. Translated by Asher, Linda. Penguin Classics. 2014. ISBN 9780141393476.
  • La guinguette à deux sous (1931). Translations: The Guinguette by the Seine. Tr. Geoffrey Sainsbury. 1940; The Bar on the Seine. Tr. David Watson. 2003; The Two-Penny Bar. Translated by Watson, David. Penguin Classics. 2014. ISBN 9780141394176.
  • La tête d'un homme (1931). Translations: A Battle of Nerves. Tr. Geoffrey Sainsbury. 1939; A Man's Head. Translated by Coward, David. Penguin Classics. 2014. ISBN 9780141393513.
  • L'affaire Saint-Fiacre (1932). Translations: Maigret and the Countess. Tr. Margaret Ludwig. 1940; Maigret Goes Home. Tr. Robert Baldick. 1967; The Saint-Fiacre Affair. Translated by Whiteside, Shaun. Penguin classics. 2014. ISBN 9780141394756.
  • Liberty Bar (1932). Translations: Liberty Bar. Tr. Geoffrey Sainsbury. 1940; Maigret on the Riviera. Tr. Geoffrey Sainsbury. 1988; Liberty Bar. Translated by Watson, David. Penguin Classics. 2015. ISBN 9780141396095.
  • Cécile est morte (1942). Translations: Maigret and the Spinster. Tr. Eileen Ellenbogen. 1977; Cécile is Dead. Translated by Bell, Anthea. Penguin Classics. 2015. ISBN 9780141397054.
  • Les caves du Majestic (1942). Translations: Maigret and the Hotel Majestic. Tr. Caroline Hillier. 1977; The Cellars of the Majestic. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2015. ISBN 9780241188446.
  • L'inspecteur Cadavre (1944). Translations: Maigret's Rival. Tr. Helen Thomson. 1979.; Inspector Cadaver. Translated by Hobson, William. Penguin Classics. 2015. ISBN 9780241188477.
  • Mon ami Maigret (1949). Translations: My Friend Maigret. Tr. Nigel Ryan. 1956.; My Friend Maigret. Translated by Whiteside, Shaun. Penguin Classics. 2016. ISBN 9780241206393.
  • L'amie de Mme Maigret (1950). Translations: Madame Maigret's Own Case. Tr. Helen Sebba. 1959; Madame Maigret's Friend. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2016. ISBN 9780241240168.
  • Les mémoires de Maigret (1951). Translations: Maigret's Memoirs. Tr. Jean Stewart. 1963.; Maigret's Memoirs. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2016. ISBN 9780241240175.
  • Maigret et l'homme du banc (1953). Translations: Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard. Tr. Eileen Ellenbogen. 1975; Maigret and the Man on the Bench. Translated by Watson, David. Penguin Classics. 2017. ISBN 9780241277447.
  • Maigret s'amuse (1957). Translations: Maigret's Little Joke. Tr. Richard Brain. 1957; Maigret Enjoys Himself. Translated by Watson, David. Penguin Classics. 2017. ISBN 9780141985879.
  • Les scrupules de Maigret (1958). Translations: Maigret Has Scruples. Tr. Robert Eglesfield. 1959; Maigret's Doubts. Translated by Whiteside, Shaun. Penguin Classics. 2018. ISBN 9780141985893.
  • Maigret aux assises (1960). Translations: Maigret in Court. Tr. Robert Brain. 1961; Maigret in Court. Translated by Schwarz, Ros. Penguin Classics. 2018. ISBN 9780141985916.
  • Maigret et le voleur paresseux (1961). Translations: Maigret and the Lazy Burglar. Tr. Daphne Woodward. 1963; Maigret and the Lazy Burglar. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2018. ISBN 9780241303917.
  • Maigret et les braves gens (1962). Translations: Maigret and the Black Sheep. Tr. Helen Thomson. 1975; Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse. Translated by Schwartz, Ros. Penguin Classics. 2018. ISBN 9780241303931.
  • Maigret et le clochard (1963). Translations: Maigret and the Bum. Tr. Jean Stewart. 1973; Maigret and the Tramp. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2018. ISBN 9780241303993.
  • Maigret et la fantôme (1964). Translations: Maigret and the Apparition. Tr. Eileen Ellenbogen. 1974; Maigret and the Ghost. Translated by Schwartz, Ros. Penguin Classics. 2018. ISBN 9780241304037.
  • Maigret à Vichy (1968). Translations: Maigret Takes the Waters. Tr. Eileen Ellenbogen. 1969; Maigret in Vichy. Translated by Schwartz, Ros. Penguin Classics. 2018. ISBN 9780241304211.
  • L'ami d'enfance de Maigret (1968); translation: Maigret's Boyhood Friend. Tr. Eileen Ellenbogen. 1970; Maigret's Childhood Friend. Translated by Whiteside, Shaun. Penguin Classics. 2019. ISBN 9780241304235.
  • Maigret et M. Charles (1972). Translations: Maigret and Monsieur Charles. Tr. Marianne Alexandre Sinclair. 1973; Maigret and Monsieur Charles. Translated by Schwartz, Ros. Penguin Classics. 2020. ISBN 9780241304419.

Romans durs

  • Les Fiançailles de M. Hire (1933). Translations: The Engagement. Tr. Anna Moschovakis. New York Review Books (NYRB) Classics. 2007; Monsieur Hire's Engagement. Translated by Moschovakis, Anna. Penguin Classics. 2014. ISBN 9780141978468.
  • L'Âne rouge (1933). Translations: The Night Club. Tr. Jean Stewart. London: Hamish Hamilton. 1979.
  • Le coup de lune (1933). Translations: Tropic Moon. Tr. Stuart Gilbert. 1940; Tropic Moon. Tr. Marc Romano. NYRB Classics. 2005. ISBN 159017111X
  • Les gens d’en face (1933). Translations: The Window Over the Way. Tr. Robert Baldick. 1966.; The People Opposite. Translated by Reynolds, Siân. Penguin Classics. 2022. ISBN 9780241534724.
  • L'homme de Londres (1933). Translations: The Man from London. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2021. ISBN 9780241461570.
  • Le testament Donadieu (1937). Translations: The Shadow Falls. Tr. Stuart Gilbert. London: George Routledge & Sons. 1945.
  • L'homme qui regardait passer les trains (1938). Translations: The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By. Tr. Marc Romano. NYRB Classics. 2005.; The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By. Translated by Reynolds, Siân. Penguin Classics. 2016. ISBN 9780241258552.
  • Chez Krull (1939). Translations: The Krull House. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2020. ISBN 9780241453414.
  • Les inconnus dans la maison (1940). Translations: The Strangers in the House. Tr. Geoffrey Sainsbury. NYRB Classics. 2006; The Strangers in the House. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2021. ISBN 9780241487099.
  • Le voyageur de la Toussaint (1941). Translations: Strange Inheritance. Tr. Geoffrey Sainsbury. London: Routledge. 1950
  • La veuve Couderc (1942). Translations: The Widow. Tr. John Petrie. NYRB Classics. 2008; The Widow Couderc. Translated by Reynolds, Siân. Penguin Classics. 2023. ISBN 9780241534731.
  • La fuite de M. Monde (1945). Translations: Monsieur Monde Vanishes. Tr. Jean Stewart. NYRB Classics. 2004. ISBN 1-59017-096-2
  • Trois chambres à Manhattan (1945). Translations: Three Bedrooms in Manhattan. Tr. Marc Romano and Lawrence G. Blochman, NYRB Classics. 2003; Three Bedrooms in Manhattan. Translated by Romano, Marc; Blochman, Lawrence G. Penguin Classics. 2020. ISBN 9780241461563.
  • Lettre à mon juge (1947). Translations: Act of Passion. Translated by Varèse, Louise. New York: NYBR Classics. 2011. ISBN 9781590173855.
  • La neige était sale (1948). Translations: Dirty Snow. Tr. Marc Romano, NYRB Classics. 2003; The Snow was Dirty. Translated by Curtis, Howard. Penguin Classics. 2016. ISBN 9780241258569.
  • Pedigree (1948). Translations: Pedigree. Tr. Robert Baldick, NYRB Classics. 2010. ISBN 978-1-59017-351-0.
  • Le fond de la bouteille (1949). Translations: The Bottom of the Bottle. Tr. Cornelia Schaeffer, New York: Signet. 1954.; London: Hamish Hamilton. 1977.
  • Les volets verts (1950). Translations: The Heart of a Man. Tr. Louise Varèse. US: Prentice Hall. 1951.
  • L'enterrement de Monsieur Bouvet (1950). Translations: Inquest on Bouvet. Tr. Eugene MacCown. UK: Penguin Crime. 1958.
  • Feux rouges (1953). Translations: Red Lights. Tr. Norman Denny. NYRB Classics. 2006. ISBN 1-59017-193-4.
  • L'horloger d'Everton (1954). Translations: The Watchmender of Everton. Tr. Norman Denny, London: Hamish Hamilton. 1955.
  • Le grand Bob (1954). Translations: Big Bob. Tr. Eileen M. Lowe. London: Hamish Hamilton. 1954.
  • La boule noire (1955). Translations: The Rules of the Game. Tr. Howard Curtis. London: Hamish Hamilton. 1989. ISBN 978-0241122730
  • Le petit homme d'Arkhangelsk (1956). Translations: The Little Man from Archangel. Translated by Reynolds, Siân. Penguin Classics. 2021. ISBN 9780241487068.
  • Le président (1958). Translations: The Premier. UK: Penguin.1961; The President. Tr. Daphne Woodward. Melville House Publishing. 2012. ISBN 978-1-935554-62-2)
  • Le veufe (1959). Translations: The Widower. Tr. Robert Baldick, London: Hamish Hamilton. 1961.
  • Betty (1961). Translations: Betty. Translated by Schwartz, Ros. Penguin Classics. 2021. ISBN 9780241487082.
  • Le train (1961). Translations: The Train. Tr. Robert Baldick. Melville House. 2011. ISBN 9781935554462
  • Les anneaux de Bicêtre (1963). Translations: The Patient. Tr. Jean Stewart, London: Hamish Hamilton. 1963; The Bells of Bicêtre. US: Harcourt, Brace & World. 1964.
  • Le petit saint (1965). Translations: The Little Saint. Tr. Bernard Frechtman. US: Harcourt, Brace & World, US. 1965.
  • Le chat (1967). Translations: The Cat. Tr. Bernard Frechtman, London: Hamish Hamilton. 1972.
  • La prison (1968). Translations: The Prison. Tr. Lyn Moir. US: Harcourt, Brace & World. 1969.
  • La main (1968). Translations: The Man on the Bench in the Barn. Tr. Moura Budberg. 1969; The Hand. Translated by Coverdale, Linda. Penguin Classics. 2016. ISBN 9780241284650.
  • La disparition d'Odile (1971). Translations: The Disappearance of Odile. Tr. Lyn Moir, London: Hamish Hamilton. 1972.

Film adaptations

Simenon's work has been widely adapted to cinema and television. He is credited on at least 171 productions.[123] Notable films include:

Stage adaptations

References

  1. ^ Assouline, Pierre (2013). "VII. À la croisée d'une œuvre: Les écrivains face à Simenon". Cahiers de l'Herne (in French). 102: 221–225. « Je tiens Simenon pour un grand romancier : le plus grand peut-être et le plus vraiment romancier que nous ayons eu en littérature française aujourd'hui. »
  2. ^ Marnham, Patrick (1994). The Man who Wasn't Maigret, a portrait of Georges Simenon. Harvest Books. pp. 10–11. ISBN 0156000598.
  3. ^ a b Marnham (1994). pp. 14, 311-13, 324
  4. ^ "15" (PDF). UT Dallas. (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  5. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 30-31
  6. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 29
  7. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 32
  8. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 34-35
  9. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 39-43
  10. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 45-48
  11. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 43
  12. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 51-52
  13. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 53-54, 212
  14. ^ Becker, Lucille Frackman. "Georges Simenon (1903-1989)." In: Amoia, Alba della Fazia and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp. Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN 0313306877, 9780313306877. p. 378 10 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 56-65
  16. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 70-72
  17. ^ Bresler, Fenton (1983). The Mystery of Georges Simenon. London: Heineman/Quixote Press. pp. 32–33.
  18. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 78-79, 93-103
  19. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 83-85
  20. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 89-92
  21. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 84, 102-3
  22. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 108-09
  23. ^ Manham (1994). pp. 109-10
  24. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 110-11
  25. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 111-12
  26. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 112-15
  27. ^ Becker, Lucille Frackman. "Georges Simenon (1903-1989)." In: Amoia, Alba della Fazia and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp. Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN 0313306877, 9780313306877. p. 379 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  28. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 117-19, 199
  29. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 122-24
  30. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 123-27
  31. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 128-29
  32. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 130-32
  33. ^ a b Carly, Michel (2007). "Maigret, notre contemporain". Tout Maigret (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Omnibus. pp. XIII–XVI. ISBN 9782258073401.
  34. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 132-33.
  35. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 133-34, 146-47
  36. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 149-53
  37. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 154-59
  38. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 147-48
  39. ^ Marnham (1994) pp. 165, 276
  40. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 173-74
  41. ^ Bresler (1983). p. 102
  42. ^ Bresler (1983). pp. 112-15
  43. ^ a b Marnham (1994). pp. 167-69, 183-84
  44. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 184-189
  45. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 192-95
  46. ^ Marnham (1994). p 199
  47. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 202
  48. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 221
  49. ^ Theroux, Paul (2018). Figures in a Landscape: People & Places. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / Eamon Dolan. pp. 95–106. ISBN 9780544870307.
  50. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 206-08
  51. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 200-01
  52. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 209-10
  53. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 214-16
  54. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 218-20, 223-24
  55. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 229-30
  56. ^ a b Marnham (1994). pp. 229-233
  57. ^ Bresler (1983). p. 163
  58. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 236-40
  59. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 240-44
  60. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 251
  61. ^ Bresler (1983). pp. 172-74
  62. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 246-251
  63. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 253
  64. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 255-56, 259-64
  65. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 248
  66. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 268
  67. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 269-272
  68. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 272-3, 281
  69. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 290.
  70. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 282
  71. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 281
  72. ^ Besler (1983). pp. 193-4, 199
  73. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 293
  74. ^ Manheim (1994). p. 291
  75. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 291-92
  76. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 299
  77. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 298, 302
  78. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 306-07, 309
  79. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 309
  80. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 320
  81. ^ a b Marnham (1994). pp. 2-3
  82. ^ Marnham (1994) p. 147
  83. ^ Marnham (1994) p. 135
  84. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 147, 329
  85. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 131-2, 329
  86. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 134, 158
  87. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 141-2
  88. ^ Besler (1983). p. 2
  89. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 132-3, 136.
  90. ^ Bradfield, Scott (20 February 2015). "The case of Georges Simenon". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  91. ^ Besler (1983) p 79
  92. ^ Besler p. 83-4
  93. ^ Marnham (1994) p. 135, 145-46
  94. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 135, 143
  95. ^ Besler (1983). pp. 78-79
  96. ^ Besler (1983) pp. 80-81
  97. ^ Banville, John (11 January 2020). "Maigret and the Master". Financial Times. p. 8.
  98. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 147-8
  99. ^ a b Besler (1983). p. 7
  100. ^ Besler (1983). 103
  101. ^ Besler (1983). pp. 1-2
  102. ^ Besler (1983). pp. 103-4
  103. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 173-4
  104. ^ Marnham (1994). pp. 174-7
  105. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 173-4
  106. ^ Besler (1983). p. 181
  107. ^ a b "The Simenon Year - Le Soir magazine - 2003". trussel.com. from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  108. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 165
  109. ^ Besler (1983). p. 222
  110. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 237
  111. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 244
  112. ^ Marnham (1994). p.p. 265-6
  113. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 256
  114. ^ Marnham (1994). p. 264
  115. ^ a b Acadamé Royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique (1997). Nouvelle Biographie Nationale (in French). Vol. 4. Brussels: Acadamé Royale de Belgique. pp. 354–9.
  116. ^ "Member search "Georges Simenon"". American Academy of Arts and Letters. 1971. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  117. ^ "The Simenon Year - Le Soir magazine - 2003". trussel.com. from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  118. ^ "Georges Simenon, Pedigree et autres romans". La Pléiade (in French). 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  119. ^ a b Marnham (1984). pp. 326-34
  120. ^ Carly, Michel, ed. (2007). Tout Maigret. Paris: Omnibus. ISBN 9782258073401.
  121. ^ Forshaw, Barry (2022). Simenon, The Man, The Books, The Films, A 21st Century Guide. UK: Oldcastle Books. ISBN 978-0857304162.
  122. ^ "Georges Simenon". Penguin UK. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  123. ^ "Georges Simenon". IMDb. from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  124. ^ Tripney, Natasha (17 October 2016). "The Red Barn review at National Theatre, London". The Stage. from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  125. ^ Carter, David. The Pocket Essential Georges Simenon. The Pocket Essentials, 2003.

Further reading

  • Wenger, Murielle, and Stephen Trussel, Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective (McFarland, 2017).

Biographies

  • Bresler, Fenton (1987). The Mystery of Georges Simenon: A Biography. New York: Stein & Day. ISBN 0812862414.
  • Assouline, Pierre (1992). Simenon: A Biography. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0679402853.
  • Marnham, Patrick (1994). The Man who wasn't Maigret, A Portrait of Georges Simenon. New York: Harvest/Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0156000598.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georges Simenon.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Georges Simenon.
  • Carvel Collins (Summer 1955). "Georges Simenon, The Art of Fiction No. 9". The Paris Review. Summer 1955 (9).
  • Petri Liukkonen. "Georges Simenon". Books and Writers
  • Simenon's Inspector Maigret - Includes complete bibliography and English translation checklist
  • Simenon at New York Review of Books
  • Simenon's Estate at Peters Fraser & Dunlop
  • Simenon - All Works (french)
  • Georges Simenon UK - official author website 6 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine

March 03, 2023
georges, simenon, simenon, redirects, here, other, uses, simenon, disambiguation, georges, joseph, christian, simenon, french, ʒɔʁʒ, simnɔ, february, 1903, september, 1989, belgian, writer, most, famous, fictional, detective, jules, maigret, most, popular, aut. Simenon redirects here For other uses see Simenon disambiguation Georges Joseph Christian Simenon French ʒɔʁʒ simnɔ 12 13 February 1903 4 September 1989 was a Belgian writer most famous for his fictional detective Jules Maigret One of the most popular authors of the 20th century he published around 400 novels 21 volumes of memoirs and many short stories selling over 500 million copies Georges SimenonSimenon in 1963BornGeorges Joseph Christian Simenon 1903 02 12 12 February 1903Liege Wallonia BelgiumDied4 September 1989 1989 09 04 aged 86 Lausanne Romandy SwitzerlandPen nameG Sim Monsieur Le CoqOccupationNovelistLanguageFrenchNationalityBelgianAlma materCollege Saint Louis LiegeYears active1919 1981Notable awardsAcademie royale de Belgique 1952 Apart from his detective fiction he achieved critical acclaim for his literary novels which he called romans durs hard novels Among his literary admirers were Max Jacob Francois Mauriac and Andre Gide Gide wrote I consider Simenon a great novelist perhaps the greatest and the most genuine novelist that we have had in contemporary French literature 1 Born and raised in Liege Belgium Simenon lived for extended periods in France 1922 45 the United States 1946 55 and finally Switzerland 1957 1989 Much of his work is semi autobiographical inspired by his childhood and youth in Liege extensive travels in Europe and the world wartime experiences troubled marriages and numerous love affairs Critics such as John Banville have praised Simenon s novels for their psychological insights and vivid evocation of time and place Among his most notable works are The Saint Fiacre Affair 1932 Monsieur Hire s Engagement 1933 Act of Passion 1947 The Snow was Dirty 1948 and The Cat 1967 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Early career 1919 22 3 France 1922 1945 3 1 Literary apprenticeship 1922 28 3 2 Birth and retirement of Maigret 1929 39 3 3 Second World War 1939 45 4 United States and Canada 1945 1955 5 Return to Europe 1955 1989 6 Works and critical reception 6 1 Maigret novels 6 2 Romans durs hard novels 7 Honours and legacy 8 Partial bibliography 8 1 Maigret novels 8 2 Romans durs 9 Film adaptations 10 Stage adaptations 11 References 12 Further reading 12 1 Biographies 13 External linksEarly life and education Edit 26 rue Leopold Liege the house where Simenon was born Simenon was born at 26 Rue Leopold Liege fr now number 24 to Desire Simenon and his wife Henriette Brull Desire Simenon worked in an accounting office at an insurance company and had married Henriette in April 1902 Simenon was either born at 11 30 pm on Thursday 12 February 1903 according to the birth certificate or just after midnight on Friday 13th the date possibly being falsified on the certificate due to superstition 2 The Simenon family was of Walloon and Flemish ancestry settling in the Belgian Limburg in the seventeenth century 3 His mother s family was of Flemish Dutch and German descent One of his mother s most notorious ancestors was Gabriel Bruhl a criminal who preyed on Limburg from the 1720s until he was hanged in 1743 3 Later Simenon would use Bruhl as one of his many pen names 4 In April 1905 two years after Simenon s birth the family moved to 3 rue Pasteur now 25 rue Georges Simenon in Liege s Outremeuse fr neighbourhood Simenon s brother Christian was born in September 1906 and eventually became their mother s favourite child which Simenon resented 5 The young Simenon however idolised his father and later claimed to have partly modelled Maigret s temperament on him 6 At the age of three Simenon learned to read at the Ecole Guardienne run by the Sisters of Notre Dame Then between 1908 and 1914 he attended the Institut Saint Andre run by the Christian Brothers 7 In 1911 the Simenons moved to 53 rue de la Loi where they took in lodgers many of them students from Eastern Europe Jews and political refugees 8 This gave the young Simenon an introduction to the wider world which was later reflected his novels notably Pedigree published 1948 and Le Locataire The Lodger 1938 Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 Liege was occupied by the German army Henriette took in German officers as lodgers much to Desire s disapproval Simenon later said that the war years provided some of the happiest times of his life They were also memorable for a child because my father cheated my mother cheated everyone cheated 9 In October 1914 Simenon began his studies at the College Saint Louis a Jesuit high school After a year he switched to College St Servais where he studied for three years He excelled at French but his marks in other subjects declined He read widely in the Russian French and English classics frequently played truant and turned to petty theft in order to buy pastries and other war time luxuries 10 In 1917 the Simenon family moved to a former post office building in the rue des Maraichers 11 Using his father s heart condition as a pretext Simenon quit school in June 1918 without taking his end of year exams 12 After brief periods working in a patisserie and a bookshop Simenon found himself unemployed when the war ended in November 1918 He witnessed scenes of violent retribution against residents of Liege accused of collaboration which stayed with him for the rest of his life He described these scenes in Pedigree and Les trois crimes de mes amis My Friends Three Crimes 1938 13 Early career 1919 22 EditIn January 1919 the 15 year old Simenon took a job as a junior reporter at the Gazette de Liege a right wing Catholic newspaper edited by Joseph Demarteau 14 Within a few months he was promoted to crime reporting signing his articles Georges Sim By April he was given his own opinion and gossip column which he signed Monsieur Le Coq He was also assigned interviews with leading international figures such as Hirohito Crown Prince of Japan and French war hero Marshal Foch In 1920 21 he enrolled in a course on forensic science at the University of Liege in order to improve his knowledge of the latest police methods 15 In May 1920 Simenon began publishing short fiction in the Gazette In September he completed his first novel Au Pont des Arches which he self published in 1921 16 He wrote two other novels while working at the Gazette but these were never published 17 In June 1919 Simenon had been introduced into a group of young artists and bohemians which called itself Le Caque herring barrel The group met at night to drink discuss art and philosophy and experiment with drugs such as morphine and cocaine In early 1922 one of the members of the group Joseph Kleine hanged himself at the doors of the St Pholien church of Liege after a night of excess with Le Caque Simenon was one of the last people to see Kleine alive and was deeply affected by his suicide later referring to the incident in Les trois crimes de mes amis and Le pendu de St Pholien The Hanged Man of Saint Pholien 1931 18 Through Le Caque Simenon met a young painter Regine Renchon and in early 1921 they began a relationship They soon became engaged and agreed that Simenon should complete his year of compulsory military service before they married 19 Simenon s father died In November 1921 an event which Simenon called the most important day in a man s life Soon after he began his military service After a brief posting with the allied occupation forces in Germany he was transferred to the cavalry barracks in Liege and was soon given permission to resume writing for the Gazette 20 When Simenon s military service ended in December 1922 he resigned from the Gazette and moved to Paris to establish a base for himself and his future wife Regine whom he preferred to call Tigy 21 France 1922 1945 EditLiterary apprenticeship 1922 28 Edit Now in Paris Simenon found a menial job with a far right political group headed by the writer Binet Valmer In March 1923 he returned to Liege to marry Regine Although neither Simenon or Regine were religious they were married in a Catholic church to please Simenon s mother who was devout 22 The newly weds moved to Paris where Regine tried to establish herself as a painter while Simenon resumed work for Binet Valmer and sent articles to the Revue Sincere of Brussels for which he was the Paris correspondent He also wrote short stories for popular magazines but sales were sporadic 23 In the summer of 1923 Simenon was engaged by the Marquis de Tracy as his private secretary which obliged him to spend nine months of the year at the aristocrat s various rural properties Regine soon moved to a village near the Marquis s principal estate at Paray le Fresil near Moulins 24 While working for the Marquis Simenon began submitting stories to Le Matin whose literary editor was Colette Colette advised him to make his work less literary which Simenon took to mean that he should use simple descriptions and a limited stock of common words Simenon followed her advice and within a year became one of the paper s regular contributors 25 Now with a steady income from his writing Simenon left the Marquis employ in 1924 and returned to Paris where he and Regine found an apartment in the fashionable Place des Vosges Simenon was writing and selling short stories at the rate of 80 typed pages a day and now turned his hand to pulp novels His first Le roman d une dactylo The Story of a Typist was quickly sold and two more appeared in 1924 under the pseudonyms Jean du Perry and Georges Simm 26 From 1921 to 1934 he used a total of 17 pen names while writing 358 novels and short stories 27 In the summer of 1925 the Simenons took a holiday in Normandy where they met Henriette Liberge the 18 year old daughter of a fisherman Regine offered her a job as their housekeeper in Paris and the young woman accepted Simenon began calling her Boule and she was to become his lover and part of the Simenon household under that name for the next 39 years 28 Simenon began an affair with Josephine Baker in 1926 or 1927 and became her part time assistant and editor of Josephine Baker s Magazine 29 However the Simenons were tiring of their hectic life in Paris and in April 1928 they set out with Boule for a six month tour of the rivers and canals of France in a small boat the Ginette Without the distractions provided by Josephine Baker Simenon s tally of published popular novels increased from 11 in 1927 to 44 in 1928 30 Birth and retirement of Maigret 1929 39 EditIn the spring of 1929 the Simenons and Boule set off for a tour of northern France Belgium and Holland in a larger custom built boat the Ostrogoth Simenon had begun contributing detective stories to a new magazine called Detective and continued to publish popular novels mainly with the publishers Fayard 31 Maigret statue in Delfzijl NetherlandsDuring his northern tour Simenon wrote three popular novels featuring a police inspector named Maigret but only one Train de nuit Night Train was accepted by Fayard Simenon began working on the latter novel or possibly its successor Pietr le Letton Pietr the Latvian in September 1929 when the Ostrogoth was undergoing repairs in the Dutch city of Delfzijl and the city is now celebrated as the birthplace of Simenon s most famous character 32 33 On his return to Paris in April 1930 Simenon completed Pietr le Letton the first novel in which commissioner Maigret of the Paris mobile crime brigade was a fully developed character The novel was serialised in Fayard s magazine Ric et Rac later that year and was the first fictional work to appear under Simenon s real name 34 33 The first Maigret novels were launched in book form by Fayard in February 1931 at the fancy dress bal anthropometrique which had a police and criminals theme The launching party was widely reported and the novels received positive reviews Simenon wrote 19 Maigret novels by the end of 1933 and the series eventually sold 500 million copies 35 In April 1932 the Simenons and Boule moved to La Rochelle in south west France Soon after they left for Africa where Simenon visited his brother who was a colonial administrator in the Belgian Congo Simenon also visited other African colonies and wrote a series of articles highly critical of colonialism He drew on his African experience in novels such as Le Coup de Lune Tropic Moon 1933 and 450 a l ombre Aboard the Aquitaine 1936 36 In 1933 the Simenons visited Germany and Eastern Europe and Simenon secured an interview with Leon Trotsky in exile in Turkey for Paris Soir On his return he announced that he would write no more Maigret novels and signed a contract with the prestigious publisher Gallimard for his new work 37 Maigret written in June 1933 was intended to be the last of the series and ended with the detective in retirement Simenon called the Maigret novels semi literary and he wanted to establish himself as a serious writer He stated his aim was to win the Nobel Prize for Literature by 1947 38 Simenon s notable novels of the 1930s written after the temporary retirement of Maigret include Le testament donadieu The Shadow Falls 1937 L homme qui regardait passer les trains The Man who Watched the Trains Go By 1938 and Le bourgmestre de Furnes The Burgomaster of Furnes 1939 39 Andre Gide and Francois Mauriac were among Simenon s greatest literary admirers at the time 40 In 1935 the Simenons undertook a world tour which included the Americas the Galapagos Islands Tahiti Australia and India 41 They then moved back to Paris in the fashionable Neuilly district where they lived a life of luxury which Simenon later described as too sumptuous 42 They moved home to La Rochelle in 1938 because as Simenon later explained I was sickened by the life I was leading In April the following year Simenon s first child Marc was born 43 Second World War 1939 45 Edit Simenon was in a cafe in La Rochelle when France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 43 In May 1940 Germany invaded Belgium and La Rochelle became the reception centre for Belgian refugees The Belgian government appointed Simenon Commissioner for Refugees and he organised the reception accommodation and food and health needs for some 55 000 war refugees before the armistice of 22 June By August all Belgian refugees had been repatriated and Simenon resumed civilian life in his new home at Fontenay le Compte in the Vendee 44 Later in 1940 a local doctor examined Simenon and diagnosed a serious heart illness advising him to cut back on his favourite pastimes of pipe smoking excessive eating alcohol and sex Simenon began working on his memoirs Je me souviens I remember intended as a letter to his son from a father who would soon be dead A second medical opinion was later sought and Simenon was assured his heart was sound 45 Simenon returned to writing Maigret stories and novels completing two in 1940 and three in 1941 He also wrote longer novels such as Pedigree a fictionalised reworking of Je me souviens As a popular non Jewish author who avoided war themes and anti German sentiments Simenon had few problems in having his works published at a time of censorship and paper restrictions 46 Among his major works written during the war years are La veuve Couderc The Widow Couderc 1942 Le fuite de M Monde Monsieur Monde Vanishes published 1945 and Pedigree published 1948 47 Simenon also conducted correspondence most notably with Andre Gide Gide considered La veuve Couderc superior to Camus The Stranger which was published around the same time and has a similar main character and themes 48 49 During the war Simenon sold the film rights to five of his novels to Continental Films which was funded by the German government and banned the participation of Jews The Continental production of Simenon s Les inconnus dans la maison Strangers in the House had exaggerated anti Semitic themes which are not in the novel Resistance underground newspapers began attacking Continental Films and anyone who took their money 50 In 1942 the French Commissariat General aux Questions Juives notified Simenon that they suspected him of being Jewish and gave him one month to prove he wasn t Simenon was able to obtain the necessary certificates of birth and baptism through his mother and soon after the Simenons moved to a more remote village in the Vendee 51 In 1944 Regine discovered Simenon s long term affair with Boule and Simenon also confessed to his numerous other affairs The couple agreed to remain married for the sake of their child but to give each other their sexual freedom 52 In November 1944 following the German retreat Simenon Marc and Boule moved to a hotel in the resort town of Les Sable d Olonne while Regine returned to their house near La Rochelle which had now been evacuated by the Germans In January 1945 Simenon was placed under house arrest by the police and the French Forces of the Interior on suspicion of collaboration After three months of investigations he was cleared of all charges 53 Simenon went to Paris in May 1945 while Marc and Boule returned to their house near La Rochelle with Regine Simenon possibly out of concern that the French Communist Party might take over France had decided to move to America The rest of the family soon joined him in Paris and Simenon used his contacts to secure the required travel documents for America Regine however refused to travel to America with Marc unless Boule stayed behind in France Simenon reluctantly agreed to Regine s demand 54 United States and Canada 1945 1955 EditThe Simenons arrived in New York in October 1945 and soon moved to Canada where they set up home at Ste Marguerite du Lac Masson north of Montreal 55 In November Simenon met Denyse Ouimet a 25 year old French Canadian with whom he started an affair and hired as his secretary Denyse moved into the Simenon home in January 1946 56 and several weeks later told Regine that she was his new lover 57 Simenon fictionalised his affair with Denyse in his novels Trois chambres a Manhattan Three Bedrooms in Manhattan 1947 and Lettre a mon juge Act of Passion 1947 56 The Simenons and Denyse drove to Florida in the summer of 1946 and then visited Cuba in order to arrange for permanent residence visas for the United States It was in Florida that Simenon wrote Lettre a mon juge widely considered one of his major works 58 In June 1947 the Simenons moved to Arizona Boule joined them there in 1948 after Regine dropped her objections to Simenon s desire to have a wife and two lovers in his household Simenon continued to write quickly working from 6 am to 9 am daily and averaging 4 500 words a day While in Arizona Simenon wrote two Maigret novels and several romans durs hard novels including La neige etait sale The Snow Was Dirty 1948 one of his major works 59 The 1951 American paperback edition of this novel sold 2 million copies 60 Denyse became pregnant in early 1949 and Simenon asked Regine for a divorce Denyse gave birth to Jean Dennis Chretien Simenon known as John on 29 September 61 Regine had moved to California with Marc and Boule and Simenon Denyse and the baby soon moved to Carmel by the Sea where they would be close to Marc The divorce was granted in Nevada on 21 June 1950 Simenon married Denyse the following day 62 The newly weds moved to Lakeville Connecticut and also rented a house in nearby Salmon Creek for Regine Marc and Boule In the five years he lived in Connecticut Simenon wrote 13 Maigret novels and 14 romans durs including the major works La mort de Belle Belle 1952 and L horloger d Everton The Watchmaker of Everton 1954 63 While living in Connecticut Simenon s book sales increased to an estimated 3 million a year and he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America Simenon and Denyse made two trips to Europe in 1952 and 1954 On the 1952 trip Simenon was admitted to the Royal Belgian Academy 64 In February 1953 Denyse gave birth to a daughter Marie Georges Simenon known as Marie Jo 65 By this time Boule had moved in with Denyse and Simenon and had resumed her position as his lover 66 By 1955 Simenon had become disillusioned with America and concerned that Denyse who wanted to live in Europe was becoming more distant from him In March Simenon Denyse and Boule left for a European holiday and were never to return to live in America 67 Return to Europe 1955 1989 Edit Simenon 1963 by Erling Mandelmann The Simenons took up residence in France at Mougins near Cannes while Regine and Marc lived in a hotel nearby Simenon wrote two Maigret novels and two romans durs during his first six months on the French Riviera but was still searching for a permanent home In July 1957 the Simenons and Boule moved to the Chateau d Echandens near Lausanne Switzerland and were to remain there for seven years 68 In May 1959 Denyse gave birth to a son Pierre who soon became seriously ill but survived a difficult first year 69 In December 1961 Simenon and Denyse employed Teresa Sburelin a young Italian woman as a maid Teresa soon became Simenon s lover and was to remain his companion for the rest of his life 70 Simenon continued to produce novels at a rate of three to five a year at Enchandens including two of his most notable Le president The Premier 1958 and Les anneaux de Bicetre The Patient 1963 71 However the relationship between Denyse and Simenon was deteriorating They were both drinking heavily 72 and Simenon admitted that he had hit her 73 In June 1962 Denyse was persuaded to admit herself to a mental health clinic for several months 74 In 1961 the Simenons had decided to build a new house at Epalinges in the heights above Lausanne The house was completed in December 1963 but Denyse lived there for only a few months before returning to the clinic 75 Denyse left Epalinges for the last time in April 1964 In November Simenon dismissed Boule who went to live with Marc who was now married with children 76 Although Simenon never divorced Denyse he was now living with his companion Teresa and three of his children John Marie Jo and Pierre He continued to work steadily completing three to four books a year from 1965 to 1971 including the important works Le petit saint The Little Saint 1965 and Le chat The Cat 1967 77 In February 1973 Simenon announced that he was retiring from writing A few months later he and Teresa moved into a small house in Lausanne He produced no new fiction from that date but he dictated 21 volumes of memoirs 78 In May 1978 Simenon s daughter Marie Jo killed herself in Paris at the age of 25 In his final volume of memoirs Memoires intimes Intimate memoirs 1981 he wrote One never recovers from the loss of a daughter one has cherished It leaves a void that nothing can fill 79 Simenon underwent a brain operation in 1984 but made a full recovery From late 1988 he was confined to a wheelchair He died on 4 September 1989 following a fall 80 Works and critical reception EditSimenon s published works include 193 novels written under his own name over 200 novels written under various pseudonyms four autobiographies and 21 volumes of memoirs 81 He also wrote a large quantity of short fiction His novels had sold over 500 million copies by the time of his death making him one of the highest selling novelists in history 81 Simenon s fiction is often classified into his early pseudonymous popular novels the last of which was written in 1933 82 his fiction featuring police commissioner Jules Maigret 76 novels and 49 short stories 83 and his 117 literary novels which he called romans durs hard novels 84 Maigret novels Edit Main article Jules Maigret The first Maigret novel published under Simenon s name was Pietr le Letton Pietr the Latvian which was serialised in 1930 The last Maigret novel was Maigret et M Charles Maigret and Monsieur Charles published in 1972 85 The early Maigret novels generally received positive reviews and were acknowledged as an attempt to raise the standard of the French crime novel Several critics however made fun of the speed with which they were written Le Canard Enchaine told its readers Monsieur Georges Simenon makes his living by killing someone every month and then discovering the murderer 86 The 100 Years of Georges Simenon coinThe Maigret stories are characterised by their short length simple writing style and a deliberately restricted vocabulary which Simenon estimated was limited to 2000 words Simenon stated that his Maigret novels were designed to be read by people of average education in a single sitting 87 88 Patrick Marnham Scott Bradfield and others state that the early Maigrets were innovative because the detective doesn t hunt for clues or use deduction to find the guilty party but rather immerses himself in the life and environment of the victim and suspected criminal In most cases Maigret seeks to understand the criminal rather than judge him 89 90 91 Simenon stated that his Maigret stories often deal with more serious themes that those of his other novels 92 Recurrent themes include political influence over the justice system snobbery and class divisions and the role of social background and pure chance in determining whether an individual becomes a criminal or a respected member of society 93 Marnham Fenton Besler and others have pointed out that the plots of the Maigret novels are often implausible and internally inconsistent 94 95 However critics have praised Simenon s ability to concisely evoke the atmosphere of a particular place and to provide insights into human psychology 96 Referring to The Saint Fiacre Affair John Banville wrote The story is silly as usual but the evocation of the little town and its people makes such considerations irrelevant 97 Romans durs hard novels Edit Simenon suspended his writing of Maigret stories in 1933 in order to concentrate on the literary novels he called romans durs In 1937 he stated that his aim was to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947 98 Simenon defined the novel as a passion which completely possesses and enslaves the writer and permits him to exorcise his demons by giving them form and casting them out into the world 99 His novels were about the naked man the one who looks at himself in the mirror while shaving and has no illusions about himself 99 Michel Lemoine has elaborated on this stating There is hardly a character in all the Simenon canon who does not ask Who am I What have I done with my life 100 Bench and sculpture dedicated to Simenon in his home city of LiegeBiographer Fenton Besler described the roman durs as psychological thrillers in which he explores the darkest corners of the human mind and in tautly written prose creates an atmosphere which is sinister and entirely his own 101 According to Besler it doesn t matter whether Simenon s novels are set in France Africa Tahiti or America the characters live the same traumas and despair only with their problems and anxieties accentuated by the local setting 102 Biographer Patrick Marnham states that Simenon s earliest romans durs contain many of Simenon s typical themes the street life of Paris prostitution the drudgery of domestic servants and shop assistants police corruption and the hope of escape represented by railway stations He compares Simenon s preoccupation with the little people with that of Balzac 103 According to Marnham there is also a strong autobiographical strain in his fiction where events which Simenon had experienced were lightly fictionalised and then taken to a social criminal or psychological extreme 104 Simenon s romans durs soon gained a high reputation among other writers with Max Jacob Francois Mauriac and Andre Gide among his admirers 105 Nevertheless the academic and critical reception of his novels in France and the United States was mixed which Ralph Ingersoll Brendan Gill and Gilbert Sigaux have attributed to suspicion about their popularity and the speed with which they were written 106 Simenon s most acclaimed novels include Monsieur Hire s Engagement 1933 107 The Man who Watched the Trains Go By 1938 108 Monsieur Monde Vanishes 1945 109 Act of Passion 1947 110 The Snow was Dirty 1948 111 Red Lights 1953 112 and The Little Saint 1967 107 Honours and legacy EditPresident of the Mystery Writers of America 1952 113 Member of Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium 1952 114 115 Chevalier de la Legion d honneur 1955 115 Honorary Member of American Academy of Arts and Letters 1971 116 In 2003 the collection La Pleiade published 21 of Simenon s novels in two volumes The novels were selected by Professor Jacques Dubois President of the Centre for Georges Simenon Studies at the Universite de Liege and his assistant Benoit Denis both experts on Simenon 117 A third volume of 8 novels and two autobiographical works was published in 2009 118 Partial bibliography EditFrench title and year of first publication is given first followed by English translations where applicable Unless otherwise specified the sources for the French title and publication date is Patrick Marnham 119 and Michel Carly in Tout Maigret 120 The source for English translations is Patrick Marnham 119 Barry Forshaw 121 and Penguin UK 122 Maigret novels Edit Pietr le Letton serialised 1930 Translations The Strange Case of Peter the Lett Tr Anthony Abbot 1933 Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett Tr Daphne Woodward 1963 Pietr the Latvian Translated by Bellos David Penguin Classics 2013 ISBN 9780141392738 M Gallet decede 1931 Translations The Death of Monsieur Gallet Tr Anthony Abbot 1932 Maigret Stonewalled Tr Margaret Marshall 1963 The Late Monsieur Gallet Translated by Bell Anthea Penguin Classics 2013 ISBN 9780141393377 Le pendu de St Pholien 1931 Translations The Crime of Inspector Maigret Tr Anthony Abbot 1932 Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets Tr Tony White 1963 The Hanged Man of Saint Pholien Translated by Coverdale Linda Penguin Classics 2014 ISBN 9780141393452 Le charretier de La Providence 1931 Translations The Crime at Lock 14 Tr Anthony Abbot 1934 Maigret Meets a Milord Tr Robert Baldick 1963 Lock 14 Tr Robert Baldick 2003 The Carter of La Providence Translated by Coward David Penguin Classics 2014 ISBN 9780141393469 Le chien jaune 1931 Translations A Face for a Clue Tr Geoffrey Sainsbury 1939 Maigret and the Yellow Dog Tr Linda Asher 1987 The Yellow Dog Translated by Asher Linda Penguin Classics 2014 ISBN 9780141393476 La guinguette a deux sous 1931 Translations The Guinguette by the Seine Tr Geoffrey Sainsbury 1940 The Bar on the Seine Tr David Watson 2003 The Two Penny Bar Translated by Watson David Penguin Classics 2014 ISBN 9780141394176 La tete d un homme 1931 Translations A Battle of Nerves Tr Geoffrey Sainsbury 1939 A Man s Head Translated by Coward David Penguin Classics 2014 ISBN 9780141393513 L affaire Saint Fiacre 1932 Translations Maigret and the Countess Tr Margaret Ludwig 1940 Maigret Goes Home Tr Robert Baldick 1967 The Saint Fiacre Affair Translated by Whiteside Shaun Penguin classics 2014 ISBN 9780141394756 Liberty Bar 1932 Translations Liberty Bar Tr Geoffrey Sainsbury 1940 Maigret on the Riviera Tr Geoffrey Sainsbury 1988 Liberty Bar Translated by Watson David Penguin Classics 2015 ISBN 9780141396095 Cecile est morte 1942 Translations Maigret and the Spinster Tr Eileen Ellenbogen 1977 Cecile is Dead Translated by Bell Anthea Penguin Classics 2015 ISBN 9780141397054 Les caves du Majestic 1942 Translations Maigret and the Hotel Majestic Tr Caroline Hillier 1977 The Cellars of the Majestic Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2015 ISBN 9780241188446 L inspecteur Cadavre 1944 Translations Maigret s Rival Tr Helen Thomson 1979 Inspector Cadaver Translated by Hobson William Penguin Classics 2015 ISBN 9780241188477 Mon ami Maigret 1949 Translations My Friend Maigret Tr Nigel Ryan 1956 My Friend Maigret Translated by Whiteside Shaun Penguin Classics 2016 ISBN 9780241206393 L amie de Mme Maigret 1950 Translations Madame Maigret s Own Case Tr Helen Sebba 1959 Madame Maigret s Friend Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2016 ISBN 9780241240168 Les memoires de Maigret 1951 Translations Maigret s Memoirs Tr Jean Stewart 1963 Maigret s Memoirs Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2016 ISBN 9780241240175 Maigret et l homme du banc 1953 Translations Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard Tr Eileen Ellenbogen 1975 Maigret and the Man on the Bench Translated by Watson David Penguin Classics 2017 ISBN 9780241277447 Maigret s amuse 1957 Translations Maigret s Little Joke Tr Richard Brain 1957 Maigret Enjoys Himself Translated by Watson David Penguin Classics 2017 ISBN 9780141985879 Les scrupules de Maigret 1958 Translations Maigret Has Scruples Tr Robert Eglesfield 1959 Maigret s Doubts Translated by Whiteside Shaun Penguin Classics 2018 ISBN 9780141985893 Maigret aux assises 1960 Translations Maigret in Court Tr Robert Brain 1961 Maigret in Court Translated by Schwarz Ros Penguin Classics 2018 ISBN 9780141985916 Maigret et le voleur paresseux 1961 Translations Maigret and the Lazy Burglar Tr Daphne Woodward 1963 Maigret and the Lazy Burglar Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2018 ISBN 9780241303917 Maigret et les braves gens 1962 Translations Maigret and the Black Sheep Tr Helen Thomson 1975 Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse Translated by Schwartz Ros Penguin Classics 2018 ISBN 9780241303931 Maigret et le clochard 1963 Translations Maigret and the Bum Tr Jean Stewart 1973 Maigret and the Tramp Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2018 ISBN 9780241303993 Maigret et la fantome 1964 Translations Maigret and the Apparition Tr Eileen Ellenbogen 1974 Maigret and the Ghost Translated by Schwartz Ros Penguin Classics 2018 ISBN 9780241304037 Maigret a Vichy 1968 Translations Maigret Takes the Waters Tr Eileen Ellenbogen 1969 Maigret in Vichy Translated by Schwartz Ros Penguin Classics 2018 ISBN 9780241304211 L ami d enfance de Maigret 1968 translation Maigret s Boyhood Friend Tr Eileen Ellenbogen 1970 Maigret s Childhood Friend Translated by Whiteside Shaun Penguin Classics 2019 ISBN 9780241304235 Maigret et M Charles 1972 Translations Maigret and Monsieur Charles Tr Marianne Alexandre Sinclair 1973 Maigret and Monsieur Charles Translated by Schwartz Ros Penguin Classics 2020 ISBN 9780241304419 Romans durs Edit Les Fiancailles de M Hire 1933 Translations The Engagement Tr Anna Moschovakis New York Review Books NYRB Classics 2007 Monsieur Hire s Engagement Translated by Moschovakis Anna Penguin Classics 2014 ISBN 9780141978468 L Ane rouge 1933 Translations The Night Club Tr Jean Stewart London Hamish Hamilton 1979 Le coup de lune 1933 Translations Tropic Moon Tr Stuart Gilbert 1940 Tropic Moon Tr Marc Romano NYRB Classics 2005 ISBN 159017111X Les gens d en face 1933 Translations The Window Over the Way Tr Robert Baldick 1966 The People Opposite Translated by Reynolds Sian Penguin Classics 2022 ISBN 9780241534724 L homme de Londres 1933 Translations The Man from London Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2021 ISBN 9780241461570 Le testament Donadieu 1937 Translations The Shadow Falls Tr Stuart Gilbert London George Routledge amp Sons 1945 L homme qui regardait passer les trains 1938 Translations The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By Tr Marc Romano NYRB Classics 2005 The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By Translated by Reynolds Sian Penguin Classics 2016 ISBN 9780241258552 Chez Krull 1939 Translations The Krull House Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2020 ISBN 9780241453414 Les inconnus dans la maison 1940 Translations The Strangers in the House Tr Geoffrey Sainsbury NYRB Classics 2006 The Strangers in the House Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2021 ISBN 9780241487099 Le voyageur de la Toussaint 1941 Translations Strange Inheritance Tr Geoffrey Sainsbury London Routledge 1950 La veuve Couderc 1942 Translations The Widow Tr John Petrie NYRB Classics 2008 The Widow Couderc Translated by Reynolds Sian Penguin Classics 2023 ISBN 9780241534731 La fuite de M Monde 1945 Translations Monsieur Monde Vanishes Tr Jean Stewart NYRB Classics 2004 ISBN 1 59017 096 2 Trois chambres a Manhattan 1945 Translations Three Bedrooms in Manhattan Tr Marc Romano and Lawrence G Blochman NYRB Classics 2003 Three Bedrooms in Manhattan Translated by Romano Marc Blochman Lawrence G Penguin Classics 2020 ISBN 9780241461563 Lettre a mon juge 1947 Translations Act of Passion Translated by Varese Louise New York NYBR Classics 2011 ISBN 9781590173855 La neige etait sale 1948 Translations Dirty Snow Tr Marc Romano NYRB Classics 2003 The Snow was Dirty Translated by Curtis Howard Penguin Classics 2016 ISBN 9780241258569 Pedigree 1948 Translations Pedigree Tr Robert Baldick NYRB Classics 2010 ISBN 978 1 59017 351 0 Le fond de la bouteille 1949 Translations The Bottom of the Bottle Tr Cornelia Schaeffer New York Signet 1954 London Hamish Hamilton 1977 Les volets verts 1950 Translations The Heart of a Man Tr Louise Varese US Prentice Hall 1951 L enterrement de Monsieur Bouvet 1950 Translations Inquest on Bouvet Tr Eugene MacCown UK Penguin Crime 1958 Feux rouges 1953 Translations Red Lights Tr Norman Denny NYRB Classics 2006 ISBN 1 59017 193 4 L horloger d Everton 1954 Translations The Watchmender of Everton Tr Norman Denny London Hamish Hamilton 1955 Le grand Bob 1954 Translations Big Bob Tr Eileen M Lowe London Hamish Hamilton 1954 La boule noire 1955 Translations The Rules of the Game Tr Howard Curtis London Hamish Hamilton 1989 ISBN 978 0241122730 Le petit homme d Arkhangelsk 1956 Translations The Little Man from Archangel Translated by Reynolds Sian Penguin Classics 2021 ISBN 9780241487068 Le president 1958 Translations The Premier UK Penguin 1961 The President Tr Daphne Woodward Melville House Publishing 2012 ISBN 978 1 935554 62 2 Le veufe 1959 Translations The Widower Tr Robert Baldick London Hamish Hamilton 1961 Betty 1961 Translations Betty Translated by Schwartz Ros Penguin Classics 2021 ISBN 9780241487082 Le train 1961 Translations The Train Tr Robert Baldick Melville House 2011 ISBN 9781935554462 Les anneaux de Bicetre 1963 Translations The Patient Tr Jean Stewart London Hamish Hamilton 1963 The Bells of Bicetre US Harcourt Brace amp World 1964 Le petit saint 1965 Translations The Little Saint Tr Bernard Frechtman US Harcourt Brace amp World US 1965 Le chat 1967 Translations The Cat Tr Bernard Frechtman London Hamish Hamilton 1972 La prison 1968 Translations The Prison Tr Lyn Moir US Harcourt Brace amp World 1969 La main 1968 Translations The Man on the Bench in the Barn Tr Moura Budberg 1969 The Hand Translated by Coverdale Linda Penguin Classics 2016 ISBN 9780241284650 La disparition d Odile 1971 Translations The Disappearance of Odile Tr Lyn Moir London Hamish Hamilton 1972 Film adaptations EditSimenon s work has been widely adapted to cinema and television He is credited on at least 171 productions 123 Notable films include Night at the Crossroads La nuit du carrefour France 1932 written and directed by Jean Renoir starring Pierre Renoir as Maigret The Yellow Dog Le chien jaune France 1932 directed by Jean Tarride starring Abel Tarride as Maigret A Man s Neck France 1933 directed by Julien Duvivier starring Harry Baur as Maigret La Maison des sept jeunes filles France 1942 directed by Albert Valentin Annette and the Blonde Woman Annette et la dame blonde France 1942 adapted by Henri Decoin directed by Jean Dreville The Strangers in the House Les inconnus dans la maison France 1942 adapted by Henri Georges Clouzot amp Henri Decoin directed by Henri Decoin Monsieur La Souris France 1942 directed by Georges Lacombe Picpus France 1943 directed by Richard Pottier starring Albert Prejean as Maigret Strange Inheritance Le voyageur de la Toussaint France 1943 adapted from Strange Inheritance directed by Louis Daquin The Man from London L Homme de Londres France 1943 directed by Henri Decoin Cecile Is Dead Cecile est morte France 1944 adapted by Jean Paul Le Chanois amp Michel Duran directed by Maurice Tourneur starring Albert Prejean as Maigret Majestic Hotel Cellars Les caves du Majestic France 1945 directed by Richard Pottier starring Albert Prejean as Maigret Panic Panique France 1946 adapted from Les fiancailles de M Hire directed by Julien Duvivier Temptation Harbour UK 1947 adapted from L homme de Londres Newhaven Dieppe directed by Lance Comfort Last Refuge Dernier Refuge France 1947 adapted from Le locataire directed by Marc Maurette The Man on the Eiffel Tower 1949 adapted from La tete d un homme directed by Burgess Meredith starring Charles Laughton as Maigret La Marie du port France 1950 directed by Marcel Carne Midnight Episode UK 1950 adapted from Monsieur La Souris directed by Gordon Parry La Verite sur Bebe Donge France 1952 directed by Henri Decoin Brelan d as fr France 1952 anthology film directed by Henri Verneuil starring Michel Simon as Maigret Forbidden Fruit Le Fruit defendu France 1952 directed by Henri Verneuil The Man Who Watched Trains Go By UK 1952 adapted from L Homme qui regardait passer les trains directed by Harold French La neige etait sale France 1953 directed by Luis Saslavsky Maigret dirige l enquete France 1956 adapted from Cecile est morte directed by Stany Cordier starring Maurice Manson as Maigret A Life in the Balance 1955 adapted from Sept petites croix dans un carnet directed by Harry Horner and Rafael Portillo The Bottom of the Bottle 1956 adapted from Le fond de la bouteille directed by Henry Hathaway Le Sang a la tete France 1956 adapted from Le Fils Cardinaud directed by Gilles Grangier and starring Jean Gabin The Brothers Rico 1957 directed by Phil Karlson Maigret Sets a Trap Maigret tend un piege France 1958 written and directed by Jean Delannoy starring Jean Gabin as Maigret Edgar Award for Best Foreign Film from the Mystery Writers of America in 1959 The Stowaway Australia 1958 adapted from Le passager clandestin directed by Lee Robinson and Ralph Habib In Case of Adversity En cas de malheur France 1958 directed by Claude Autant Lara Maigret et l affaire Saint Fiacre France 1959 written and directed by Jean Delannoy starring Jean Gabin as Maigret Le Baron de l ecluse France 1960 directed by Jean Delannoy and starring Jean Gabin Maigret UK TV series 51 episodes 1960 1963 starring Rupert Davies as Maigret The President Le President France 1961 directed by Henri Verneuil and starring Jean Gabin The Passion of Slow Fire La mort de Belle France 1961 directed by Edouard Molinaro Emile s Boat Le bateau d Emile France 1962 directed by Denys de La Patelliere Maigret voit rouge France 1963 adapted from Maigret Lognon et les gangsters directed by Gilles Grangier starring Jean Gabin as Maigret Magnet of Doom L aine des Ferchaux France 1963 directed by Jean Pierre Melville Le inchieste del commissario Maigret Italy TV series 16 episodes 1964 1972 starring Gino Cervi as Maigret Three Rooms in Manhattan Trois chambres a Manhattan France 1965 directed by Marcel Carne Maigret und sein grosster Fall de West Germany 1966 adapted from La Danseuse du Gai Moulin directed by Alfred Weidenmann starring Heinz Ruhmann as Maigret Maigret a Pigalle Italy 1966 adapted from Maigret au Picratt s directed by Mario Landi starring Gino Cervi as Maigret Stranger in the House UK 1967 adapted from Les inconnus dans la maison directed by Pierre Rouve Les enquetes du commissaire Maigret France TV series 88 episodes 1967 1990 starring Jean Richard as Maigret Le chat France 1971 directed by Pierre Granier Deferre The Widow Couderc La veuve Couderc France 1971 directed by Pierre Granier Deferre The Train Le train France 1971 directed by Pierre Granier Deferre The Clockmaker L horloger de Saint Paul France 1974 directed by Bertrand Tavernier Armchair Cinema The Prison Euston Films Thames Television 1974 adapted from La prison The Murderer de West Germany 1979 directed by Ottokar Runze L Etoile du Nord France 1982 directed by Pierre Granier Deferre The Hatter s Ghost Les Fantomes du Chapelier France 1982 written and directed by Claude Chabrol Equateur France 1983 written and directed by Serge Gainsbourg Monsieur Hire France 1989 written and directed by Patrice Leconte Seven Days After Murder Azerbaijan amp Russia 1991 written by Rustam Ibragimbekov directed by Rasim Ojagov Maigret France TV series 54 episodes 1991 2005 starring Bruno Cremer as Maigret Betty France 1992 written and directed by Claude Chabrol El pasajero clandestino Spain 1995 adapted from Le passager clandestin directed by Agusti Villaronga La Maison du canal France and Belgium 2003 directed by Alain Berliner Red Lights France 2004 directed by Cedric Kahn The Man from London Hungary 2007 written and directed by Bela Tarr The Blue Room France 2014 written and directed by Mathieu Amalric La boule Noire France 2014 directed by Denis Malleval Maigret UK TV series since 2016 starring Rowan Atkinson as Maigret Maigret France 2022 directed by Patrice Leconte and featuring Gerard Depardieu as MaigretStage adaptations EditThe Red Barn written by David Hare and based on the novel La Main English title The Man on the Bench in the Barn Directed by Robert Icke at the Lyttelton Theatre London in October 2016 124 125 References Edit Assouline Pierre 2013 VII A la croisee d une œuvre Les ecrivains face a Simenon Cahiers de l Herne in French 102 221 225 Je tiens Simenon pour un grand romancier le plus grand peut etre et le plus vraiment romancier que nous ayons eu en litterature francaise aujourd hui Marnham Patrick 1994 The Man who Wasn t Maigret a portrait of Georges Simenon Harvest Books pp 10 11 ISBN 0156000598 a b Marnham 1994 pp 14 311 13 324 15 PDF UT Dallas Archived PDF from the original on 1 August 2020 Retrieved 17 March 2020 Marnham 1994 pp 30 31 Marnham 1994 p 29 Marnham 1994 p 32 Marnham 1994 pp 34 35 Marnham 1994 pp 39 43 Marnham 1994 pp 45 48 Marnham 1994 p 43 Marnham 1994 pp 51 52 Marnham 1994 pp 53 54 212 Becker Lucille Frackman Georges Simenon 1903 1989 In Amoia Alba della Fazia and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945 A Bio bibliographical Sourcebook Greenwood Publishing Group 2002 ISBN 0313306877 9780313306877 p 378 Archived 10 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Marnham 1994 pp 56 65 Marnham 1994 pp 70 72 Bresler Fenton 1983 The Mystery of Georges Simenon London Heineman Quixote Press pp 32 33 Marnham 1994 pp 78 79 93 103 Marnham 1994 pp 83 85 Marnham 1994 pp 89 92 Marnham 1994 pp 84 102 3 Marnham 1994 pp 108 09 Manham 1994 pp 109 10 Marnham 1994 pp 110 11 Marnham 1994 pp 111 12 Marnham 1994 pp 112 15 Becker Lucille Frackman Georges Simenon 1903 1989 In Amoia Alba della Fazia and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945 A Bio bibliographical Sourcebook Greenwood Publishing Group 2002 ISBN 0313306877 9780313306877 p 379 Archived 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine Marnham 1994 pp 117 19 199 Marnham 1994 pp 122 24 Marnham 1994 pp 123 27 Marnham 1994 pp 128 29 Marnham 1994 pp 130 32 a b Carly Michel 2007 Maigret notre contemporain Tout Maigret in French Vol 1 Paris Omnibus pp XIII XVI ISBN 9782258073401 Marnham 1994 pp 132 33 Marnham 1994 pp 133 34 146 47 Marnham 1994 pp 149 53 Marnham 1994 pp 154 59 Marnham 1994 pp 147 48 Marnham 1994 pp 165 276 Marnham 1994 pp 173 74 Bresler 1983 p 102 Bresler 1983 pp 112 15 a b Marnham 1994 pp 167 69 183 84 Marnham 1994 pp 184 189 Marnham 1994 pp 192 95 Marnham 1994 p 199 Marnham 1994 p 202 Marnham 1994 p 221 Theroux Paul 2018 Figures in a Landscape People amp Places New York Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Eamon Dolan pp 95 106 ISBN 9780544870307 Marnham 1994 pp 206 08 Marnham 1994 pp 200 01 Marnham 1994 pp 209 10 Marnham 1994 pp 214 16 Marnham 1994 pp 218 20 223 24 Marnham 1994 pp 229 30 a b Marnham 1994 pp 229 233 Bresler 1983 p 163 Marnham 1994 pp 236 40 Marnham 1994 pp 240 44 Marnham 1994 p 251 Bresler 1983 pp 172 74 Marnham 1994 pp 246 251 Marnham 1994 p 253 Marnham 1994 pp 255 56 259 64 Marnham 1994 p 248 Marnham 1994 p 268 Marnham 1994 pp 269 272 Marnham 1994 pp 272 3 281 Marnham 1994 p 290 Marnham 1994 p 282 Marnham 1994 p 281 Besler 1983 pp 193 4 199 Marnham 1994 p 293 Manheim 1994 p 291 Marnham 1994 pp 291 92 Marnham 1994 p 299 Marnham 1994 pp 298 302 Marnham 1994 pp 306 07 309 Marnham 1994 p 309 Marnham 1994 p 320 a b Marnham 1994 pp 2 3 Marnham 1994 p 147 Marnham 1994 p 135 Marnham 1994 pp 147 329 Marnham 1994 pp 131 2 329 Marnham 1994 pp 134 158 Marnham 1994 pp 141 2 Besler 1983 p 2 Marnham 1994 pp 132 3 136 Bradfield Scott 20 February 2015 The case of Georges Simenon The New York Times Retrieved 5 February 2023 Besler 1983 p 79 Besler p 83 4 Marnham 1994 p 135 145 46 Marnham 1994 pp 135 143 Besler 1983 pp 78 79 Besler 1983 pp 80 81 Banville John 11 January 2020 Maigret and the Master Financial Times p 8 Marnham 1994 pp 147 8 a b Besler 1983 p 7 Besler 1983 103 Besler 1983 pp 1 2 Besler 1983 pp 103 4 Marnham 1994 pp 173 4 Marnham 1994 pp 174 7 Marnham 1994 p 173 4 Besler 1983 p 181 a b The Simenon Year Le Soir magazine 2003 trussel com Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 23 June 2015 Marnham 1994 p 165 Besler 1983 p 222 Marnham 1994 p 237 Marnham 1994 p 244 Marnham 1994 p p 265 6 Marnham 1994 p 256 Marnham 1994 p 264 a b Acadame Royale des sciences des lettres et des beaux arts de Belgique 1997 Nouvelle Biographie Nationale in French Vol 4 Brussels Acadame Royale de Belgique pp 354 9 Member search Georges Simenon American Academy of Arts and Letters 1971 Retrieved 7 February 2023 The Simenon Year Le Soir magazine 2003 trussel com Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 23 June 2015 Georges Simenon Pedigree et autres romans La Pleiade in French 2009 Retrieved 8 February 2023 a b Marnham 1984 pp 326 34 Carly Michel ed 2007 Tout Maigret Paris Omnibus ISBN 9782258073401 Forshaw Barry 2022 Simenon The Man The Books The Films A 21st Century Guide UK Oldcastle Books ISBN 978 0857304162 Georges Simenon Penguin UK Retrieved 20 February 2023 Georges Simenon IMDb Archived from the original on 10 August 2015 Retrieved 23 June 2015 Tripney Natasha 17 October 2016 The Red Barn review at National Theatre London The Stage Archived from the original on 17 November 2016 Retrieved 16 November 2016 Carter David The Pocket Essential Georges Simenon The Pocket Essentials 2003 Further reading EditWenger Murielle and Stephen Trussel Maigret s World A Reader s Companion to Simenon s Famous Detective McFarland 2017 Biographies Edit Bresler Fenton 1987 The Mystery of Georges Simenon A Biography New York Stein amp Day ISBN 0812862414 Assouline Pierre 1992 Simenon A Biography New York Knopf ISBN 0679402853 Marnham Patrick 1994 The Man who wasn t Maigret A Portrait of Georges Simenon New York Harvest Harcourt Brace amp Company ISBN 0156000598 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georges Simenon Wikiquote has quotations related to Georges Simenon Carvel Collins Summer 1955 Georges Simenon The Art of Fiction No 9 The Paris Review Summer 1955 9 Centre d etudes Georges Simenon et Fonds Simenon de l Universite de Liege Petri Liukkonen Georges Simenon Books and Writers Simenon s Inspector Maigret Includes complete bibliography and English translation checklist Simenon at New York Review of Books Simenon s Estate at Peters Fraser amp Dunlop Simenon All Works french Georges Simenon UK official author website Archived 6 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Georges Simenon amp oldid 1141088637, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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