When Maigret arrives at the Hôtel du Port, he enters the bar-room and when he walks on:
So the foyer was newly built, an annex to the original building. This could only be done on the left side (North) of the building, looking to the hotel from the bridge. On the other side was, and still is, the road running.
Maigret and Hulot are therefore looking in the in-land direction while standing look-out on the bridge.
Gazing at the house, the customs officer tells Maigret:
"- My wife is watching the back of the house." (5)
This means that from their home she can see the part of the building that the two watchmen can not see. That is why Aline and Justin Hulot's house must be situated behind the house of Forlacroix, the judge, from the point of view of Maigret and Hulot.
carrefour
à deux sous
Cadavre
de bougie
bougie
du juge - 1
du juge - 2
du juge - 3
Maigret
Vichy
Saint-Fiacre
noyés
Châteauneuf
"La Providence"
Flamands
Until 1989 it was an annex to the Hôtel du Port. J.-P. Richardeau bought the house and now lives in it.
The house was so well known to Simenon because he stayed in it himself in 1940 to write.
That is what the newspaper article says that Mr. Richardeau sended. According to Claude Menguy (as mentioned in L'Univers de Simenon by Maurice Piron) "Félicie est la - Maigret and the toy village" was written in L'aiguillon.
This stay of Simenon in L'Aiguillon needs further investigation.
The photo that is shown is part of the newspaper article. I'll try to obtain pictures of a better quality.
Thanks very much to Mister Richardeau for his kind co-operation.
"- Do you like 'Mouclade'?
- What's that?
- Mussels with cream, a local dish.
...
It was a shame that all this happened just when the 'Mouclade', which was a culinary masterpiece, was served...
Maigret frowned his eyebrows, sat rudderless for a moment, gazed dreamy, and then, abrupt:
- Curry! He said triumphantly. I will bet anything that there is curry in it."
2 kg (4.4 lb) Mussels, 4 shallots, 100 gr (3.5 ounce) butter, 2,5 dl (8.5 fl.oz) dry white wine, 3 toes of garlic (chopped or pressed), 1 full tablespoon of flour, 1 egg yolk, 250 ml (6.7 fl.oz) sour full cream, 1 or 2 teaspoons of curry powder, 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, salt, black grained pepper.
Preparation:
Brush the mussels well under flowing water (remove the beards if there are any)
Peel and chop the shallots and fry them a short while in 60 gr (0.7 oz) of butter
Add the wine and let it boil for a very short while
Add the mussels, add pepper, turn the heat up, shake the pan once in a while
Remove the mussels from the casserole when the shells are open (after about 7 minutes)
Throw away the mussels that didn't open
Sieve the contence left in the casserole
Remove one part of the shells of the mussels and keep them warm
Fry the chopped garlic in the remaining butter, scatter the flower over it and stir constantly (do not let it become brown)
Add the sieved fluid little by little, keep stirring
Remove the casserole from the heat.
Mingle the yolk with the curry powder and the cream and stir this mixture gently through thickened fluid
Ad the parsley and salt and pepper
Heat the sauce gently while stirring: do not let it boil
Arrange the mussels on soup plates and pour the sauce over
Serve with a dry white wine and tasty white farm bread and butter.
- Photo Hôtel du Port: http://www.lafautesurmer.net domain: lafautesurmer.net owner-address: Renaud Pinoit, Glooton.com sarl, 5 passage du littoral, 85460, la faute sur mer, France (renaud@glooton.fr). Adaptation by G. de Croock.
- sketch of the locality: G. de Croock.
- Postcards Grande Rue, l'Aiguillon, FautaWeb, http://fautaweb.com.
- Photo "Moules Boucholeurs": Günther Beer, Barcelona. In: Culinaria Frankrijk,Kühnemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Keulen, 1998
Home, Summary, Analysis, Travel log
Links, Guestbook, Miscellaneous
La nuit du carrefour - 1, - 2
La guinguette à deux sous - 1, - 2
L' inspecteur Cadavre - 1, - 2, - 3
Les larmes de bougie - 1, - 2
Vente à la bougie - 1, - 2
La maison du juge - 1, - 2, - 3
Mon ami Maigret - 1, - 2, - 3
Maigret à Vichy - 1, - 2
l'Affaire Saint-Fiacre - 1, - 2
l'Auberge aux Noyés - 1, - 2
Le notaire de Chéteauneuf - 1, - 2
M.Gallet, décédé - 1, - 2,
- 3
Le charretier de "La Providence" - 1, - 2
Chez les Flamands - 1, - 2