Maigret Forum Archives 2006

The Simenon novel The Ostendeers (Le Clan des Ostendais) 1/1/06 – The Ostendeers (Le Clan des Ostendais) is listed by Peter Foord, Maigret and World War II, (11/15/04), as one of the few Simenon novels with references to the Second World War. As far as my research took me, the English translation has only been published once, in a 1952 hardback "Routledge & Kegan Paul" edition with the title The House by the Canal (THBTC). The book contains two novels: THBTC and The Ostendeers. A search for The Ostendeers would most likely come up with no finds. Anyone trying to find it should instead search for THBTC. Juan

New Year's in Paris 1/1/06 – Because of a very cheap fare on the Thalys high speed train, I decided to see in the New Year in Paris. I arrived with just less than one hour of 2005 remaining and used that time to get from the Gare du Nord (North Station) to the Sacré Coeur basilica. This large church is at the highest point in Paris and has a panorama over a large part of the City of Light.. I thought it would be an excellent place to watch the fireworks from. I knew in advance the Eiffel Tower and the Tour Montparnasse would not be open, so this seemed to be the best place in town for an overlook. To make this even more interesting, most of the RATP Métro (Paris Transport Subway/Underground), RER (Regional Express Network of surburban trains), the Noctillian network of night buses, and SNCF (French National Railways) local trains would be operating all night long and better yet for free. Well, as a member of several groups interested in transport, I couldn''t turn down an offer like that, could I? Anyway, there was no huge fireworks display that was visible from the Butte de Montmarte. Don't think that there were no fireworks as many people brought their own and set them off to liven things up. After a while I decided to check out the area around the Arc de Triomphe. I caught the last funicular (steeply inclined) car down to the rest of Paris and took the Métro to my next destination. By now it was past 1 AM and I was surprized to see a lot of police in the Etoile station. That was nothing compared to the huge number that were on the surface. I was amazed to see a fleet of police buses partly encircling the Arc! Vehicle traffic through the rond point (traffic circle/roundabout) was greatly curtailed and the Champs Elysées itself, the main street of Paris, had become closed to all but emergency vehicles. I suppose that part of the reason for the huge show of force was the huge number of empty and broken glass bottles that littered the street and sidewalks. They must have been abandoned on the spot as they became devoid of their contents. I did see a few people that had too much to drink, but considering the size of the crowds, it wasn't all that many. After taking all of this in for a while, I walked to the F. D. Roosevelt Métro station, en route to the Gare de Lyon. I think I should have found another way to get there. The festive crowds made a typical Paris rush hour look pretty mild by comparison. I must add that I did enjoy walking right down the middle of the Champs Elysées, something that would be suicidal at any other time. From the Gare de Lyon I took the night bus line N31 to Juvisy. This is where Louis Thouret lived with his wife and daughter in Maigret and the Man on the Bench. The bus ride took almost an hour and a half even though we left just before 3 AM. The bus was standing room only for most of the trip even though the service was running every ten minutes that night, triple the normal frequency. We never really left the greater Paris area and the only way to tell that you had entered another town was the city limits signs. Although this part of Paris had not been affected by the recent riots there, some of the landscape looked like a recent battle zone with many run down and seemingly abandoned buildings. Juvisy itself was not very much better, or at least the part of it that I saw. Just outside the station was a town map with an index of street names on it. There was no rue des Peupilers on the list, so Simenon must have made up the name of the street that the Thouret family lived on. He also gave the town a much more rural and much less developed character than it has today, with the Thouret's house being part of a new and still unfinished subdivision. After learning that the street didn't exist, I found no reason to ever return to Juvisy in the future as there would be nothing for me to find and photograph. Anyway, I decided to wait just over half an hour for the next RER train back to Paris rather than repeat my bus trip in the opposite direction. It was getting on toward six AM when I arrived back at the Arc de Triomphe. The Champs Elysées was back to being a regular street again and after a few minutes I returned to the Gare du Nord. After a little over an hour's wait, my train left for Bruxelles. I suppose that's a bit of a different way to spend New Year's Eve. I was overdressed as the temperatures were quite mild for the time and place and never once wore any or all of the three pair of gloves that I brought with me and had to remove one of my two sweatshirts. I was also wearing a brand new Paris Métro T-Shirt, bought in November. It was bright yellow and had the Circle-M symbol in bright blue. My next visit to Paris will be to celebrate Friday the Thirteenth. I'll be staying that night at the Hostel Square Caulaincourt, almost next door to what's now called le Cépage de Montmartois (my spelling may not be correct) and was known by Simenon as Chez Manière back in the day. This is located at 65 rue Caulaincourt, right next to the famous number 67. Chez Manière was mentioned in several of the Maigrets as being beside the stairs that led up from the place Constantine Pecquer. That is the location of a heating suply firm today. To my knowledge, it was always located at number 65, rue Caulaincourt. Simenon himself drank there on a number of occations, usually when his first wife was trying to see some of her paintings at the painters' market on the Square Constantine Pecquer. Depending on where he chose to cross the street, he probably passed directly in front of the door to number 67 any number of times. By the way, there's a small and seemingly cheap hotel at number 44, boulevard Richard-Lenoir. This is diagonally opposite where I believed that the Maigrets lived. Someday I'll spend a night there as well. I will NOT be staying in the Hotel Beauséjour at the foot of the rue Lepic even if it was mentioned in two or three different Maigret stories. The place is a dump. HAPPY NEW YEAR from Joe

MaigEn? C'est magnifique! 1/1/06 – Happy New Year! I can tell you why nobody has mentioned MaigEn to you yet – we're all stupefied in awe at the colossal magnitude of the project and at the consummate skill with which you've carried it through. That's my excuse, anyway. Thank you mille fois for this priceless resource of Simenon-Maigret scholarship and thanks again for the wonderful site. All the best to you for 2006! John H. Dirckx

MaigEn 1/1/06 – Thanks for this, it will save a lot of cross-checking and help my (failing!) memory. Best wishes for the New Year Roddy

Rupert Davies Series Oddity 1/1/06 – Am I the only one to have noticed this little oddity in the Rupert Davies series of Maigret TV programs? Inspector Lucas was played by Ewen Solan Inspector Torrence was played by Victor Lucas. Does anyone else know of something like this happening elsewhere in Maigret, where an actor's name is also a charachter's name? Joe

MaigEn 1/1/06 – Felicitations for all the work you put in the MaigEn ! I am amazed by the result and all the information it contains. Thanks again, it will prove very usefull to all. Regards, Jerome

Constantin-Pecqueur 1/2/06 – Oz Childs was wondering who the Place Constantin-Pecqueur (18th arrondissement) was named after (12/31/05). It is Constantin-Pecqueur (1801-1887) an influential socialist economist. More information can be obtained by referring to his name on the Internet. A Happy and successful 2006, Regards, Peter

Hotel Beauséjour, rue Lepic 1/2/06 – The third chapter of Madame Maigret's Own Case is entitled "A Shady Hotel on Rue Lepic". This refers to the Hotel Beauséjour and Maigret interviews the desk clerk for a good part of the chapter. I'm rather surprised that there was no apparent negative feedback form the Beauséjour's owners over this. On the other hand, the comment was probably correct. It certainly is correct in this day and age. MaigEn How may hundreds, or thousands, of hours did it take you to make the MaigEn? It's really very helpful and even amazing. It's great to have a single source for all of the people and places mentioned in the Maigret series. THANKS!!! Regards, Joe

Miscellany... 1/4/06 – Inspector Cadaver The Penguin edition I referred to below was published in 2003. It comprises the translation by Helen Thomson first published as Maigret's Rival by Hamish Hamilton in 1979, "with minor revisions and a new introduction". So I have answered my own question! I wonder if Peter Foord has any comments on the translation? Prefaces My Penguin edition of Inspector Cadaver (a recent edition -- were there any earlier translations?) has a preface by Paul Bailey. I haven't read it yet in case it spoils the book for me but I will report back on it later. Best Maigret actor? In The Guardian today (04.01.2006), its legal correspondent Marcel Berlins, who is half-French, half-English, reports that he watched a recent film adaptation of a Maigret story (no details, but surely one from the Bruno Cremer series) and was moved to wonder why the best Maigret of all was the Englishman, Rupert Davies. 1/3/06 – Félicie est là Although I enjoyed Félicie est là, it was spoiled for me by the unbelievable coincidence of Maigret and Félicie going to the same restaurant as the man, a complete stranger, into whose pocket Félicie had slipped a gun on the Metro. It is the most egregious coincidence I have ever read in a detective story, and unworthy of Simenon. Book Review: Jacquot and the Waterman by Martin O'Brien A review from a site I have not seen before, of a book which sounds interesting. Roddy

Commissaire Guillaume's Memoirs   A new book on Commissioner Guillaume – his memoirs, available at Amazon.fr... (in French). 1/7/06 – Marcel Guillaume (1872-1963), commissaire de police en 1913, promu divisionnaire en 1928, fut, entre 1930 et 1937, le chef de la fameuse "brigade spéciale" au 36, quai des Orfèvres. Dernier grand représentant des flics de la "vieille école", Marcel Guillaume fut le policier le plus célèbre de l'entre-deux guerres. Il inspira à Georges Simenon le personnage du commissaire Maigret. Inédites sous forme de livre, les Grandes enquêtes du commissaire Guillaume constituent des mémoires passionnants. En fin psychologue, dans un style haletant, il raconte sa traque de la bande à Bonnot, les crimes passionnels et crapuleux de son temps, sonde l'âme mystérieuse de Landru –le seul meurtrier qui parvint à lui faire baisser les yeux–, confesse Violette Nozières et l'assassin fou du Président Doumer, dévoile les secrets de l'affaire Stavisky. Le commissaire Marcel Guillaume n'hésite pas à faire part de ses états d'âme, doutes et convictions. Il invite le lecteur à participer à ses enquêtes et apporte un soin particulier à décrire l'ambiance des interrogatoires dans son bureau du 36, quai des Orfèvres. Une atmosphère digne des meilleurs Maigret ! Marcel Guillaume (1872-1963), Commissioner of Police in 1913, promoted to Divisionnaire in 1928, was, between 1930 and 1937, the chief of the famous "special brigade" at 36 Quai des Orfèvres The last great representative of the police of the "old school", Marcel Guillaume was the most famous policeman of the period between the two world wars. He inspired Georges Simenon's Commissioner Maigret. Previously unpublished in book form, The Great Cases of Commissioner Guillaume are fascinating memoirs. Like a psychologist, in breathless style, he tells of tracking the Bonnot gang, of the passionate and sordid crimes of his time, probes the mysterious soul of Landru – the only murderer who succeeded in making him lower his eyes – elicits the confession of Violet Nozières and the mad assassin of President Doumer, unveils the secrets of the Stavisky affair... Commissioner Marcel Guillaume doesn't hesitate to share his moods, doubts and convictions. He invites the reader to participate in his investigations and takes particular care to describe the ambiance of cross-examinations in his office at 36 Quai des Orfèvres – an atmosphere worthy of the best Maigrets! Jerome

Maigret's French TV debut in Télé - 7 jours - 1967 1/08/06 – Télé - 7 jours October 14-20, 1967 N° 395, pp 22-23, 28-29 Simenon has taught Jean Richard how Maigret should be played Janine BRILLET   original French A few interesting things in this almost-40-year-old Télé article – in addition to the fact of Jean Richard's Maigret debut – (he went on to star in about 90 episodes, the current record) – Brillet writes that "Danes, Norwegians, Swedes ... all have their own Maigret" and that Jean Richard is "Maigret's nineteenth interpreter". Just a week or so ago I put up here the photos of 25 Maigrets (of the 26 found so far), but I'm somehow surprised that she could so positively state that Richard was the 19th... Who was the Scandinavian TV Maigret? ST

Maigret of the Month: L’Inspecteur Cadavre (Maigret’s Rival) 1/08/06 – Ten months separate the writing of the two Maigret novels, Félicie est là (Maigret and the Toy Village) in May 1942 and L’Inspecteur Cadavre (Maigret’s Rival) in March 1943. Between these two novels, Simenon wrote the novel La Fenêtre des Rouet (Across the Street) and finished the third and final part of his longest novel Pedigree. The two Maigret novels are very different in tone, atmosphere and character. Located a few kilometres west of Paris, and although a murder has taken place, Maigret and the Toy Village is much lighter and fresher in tone, revolving mainly around the tussle of wills between the determined twenty-four year old Félicie and Maigret. The setting, in springtime, is on an estate in the process of being built, which will establish a community in the course of time. By contrast, Maigret’s Rival is darker, sinister and more complex, set in January in a village of the Vendée region of France with a well established and engrained rural way of life. During the Second World War, Simenon was living in various properties in the south west of France. In June 1940, France was partitioned into the Occupied Zone (the north, with an area down the west side of the country as far as Spain) and the Unoccupied Zone (the south, just north of Vichy to the Mediterranean). In October 1942 Simenon was hoping to move into the Free Zone, perhaps to go as far as the Island of Porquerolles off the coast of the Riviera, but the Zone was taken over by the Occupying forces and so he had to make other plans. He, his wife Tigy, their young son and Boule moved the forty kilometres from Fontenay-le-Comte (Vendée) to a rented villa in the village of Saint-Mesmin-le-Vieux in the same département, about mid-way along the route between Pouzauge (Vendée) and Cerizay (Deux-Sèvres). The villa had a very large garden in which Simenon planted vegetables, even tobacco. There were fruit trees and space for a variety of livestock so that they could become self sufficient as they were to remain there until the end of the war. It was in Saint-Mesmin-le-Vieux that the author finished the novel Pedigree, then wrote Maigret’s Rival, as well as five other novels. During 1944, he contracted pleurisy and convalescing on the coast at Les Sables d’Olonne managed to write only four short stories early in 1945. L’Inspecteur Cadavre (Maigret’s Rival) was the only Maigret work that he produced during this period. From the outset of this novel, Simenon, in his own succinct way, describes the atmosphere of the Vendée landscape in January, as Maigret travels by the local train to the village of Saint-Aubin-les-Marais. [Simenon has invented the location of this village exactly twenty-two kilometres from Fontenay-le-Comte (Vendée) in the direction of Niort (Deux-Sèvres). This places it between Benet (Vendée) and the border with the département of Deux-Sèvres, not far from the area know as the Marais Vendée]. A section of a map that shows the area between Niort and Fontenay-le-Comte. Simenon positions the village of Saint-Aubin-les-Marais between Benet (Vendée) and the border with the département of Deux-Sèvres. (Michelin Motoring Atlas: France, London, Paul Hamlyn, 1990). Earlier in Paris, Victor Bréjon, an Examining Magistrate, had requested Maigret to investigate, unofficially, the situation concerning Étienne Naud, Bréjon’s brother-in-law, who was living in Saint-Aubin-le-Marais. Recently in that area, the body of a local lad had been found on the railway line and all sorts of rumours were circulating in the village. Whilst on the train, Maigret recognises a fellow passenger, Justin Cavre, a former Inspector with the Police Judiciaire in Paris (who was nicknamed L’Inspecteur Cadavre), now a private investigator. Maigret is curious as to why Cavre has journeyed to the same village as himself, and for a while Maigret and Cavre seem to be playing a cat and mouse game as later they interview, independently, various people in the village. Maigret is met at the station by Étienne Naud who invites him to be a guest at his home, and almost at once Maigret senses the ponderous atmosphere that seems to envelope the household. This mood is not alleviated when he goes elsewhere to talk to other people. He soon discovers that there are certain factions within the community expressing views or hinting, some remaining silent, whilst others wanting the situation to fade from sight. With hostility towards him and being very much aware that he is acting in an unofficial capacity without his usual colleagues to assist him, Maigret wonders why he is there and considers seriously abandoning the enquiry and returning to Paris. The only person that shows an open interest is the lad Albert Fillon who was a friend of the victim. At least he is willing to help Maigret with his enquiries, so Maigret continues, discerning a situation involving deception and manipulation. The English translation was first published in hardback format by Hamish Hamilton in the UK in 1979 and by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in the USA in1980 under the title of Maigret’s Rival. The translator is Helen Thomson who follows Simenon’s French text closely. Roddy (1/4/06) refers to the Penguin paperback edition that was published in 2003, but under the title of Inspector Cadaver. To commemorate the centenary of the birth of Georges Simenon in 2003, a number of reprints were published. Many of these had different overall titles and a new introduction. All the Penguin Maigret titles reissued during 2003 and 2004 have minor revisions to the translations. This is stated on the reverse of the title page, but no names are credited. The exception is with the translation of The Madman of Bergerac where the revisions are more extensive, and The Bar on the Seine, which receives a new translation. The minor revisions to the Penguin edition of Inspector Cadaver seems to consist of exchanging certain capital letters for lower case ones, unless I have missed some other changes. Peter Foord UK see also: Inspector Cadaver at de Croock's Maigret-in-France

Maigret on 1/09/06 – A Maigret next Friday on France 2 – it is based on Le fou de Bergerac even if the action takes places in Lorraine: Origine : Fra - Blg - Sui. (2001) Stéréo. Scénario : Pierre Granier-Deferre et Michel Grisolia. Musique : Laurent Petitgirard. Réalisation : Claudio Tonetti. Distribution : Bruno Crémer (le commissaire Maigret), Alexandre Brasseur (Paul Lachenal), Philippe Magnan (le docteur Rivaud), Chrystelle Labaude (Janine). Date : 13/01/2006 Horaire : 20H55 - 22H35 Durée : 99 mn Showview : 7805955. Le commissaire Maigret rêve de quelques jours de vacances bien méritées à Strasbourg, où il accompagne son épouse. Malheureusement, quelques personnes mal intentionnées ont décidé de bouleverser ses plans. Alors qu'il a remarqué le comportement suspect d'un passager, Maigret se retrouve éjecté du train dans lequel il voyageait, après avoir été violenté par le mystérieux inconnu. Immobilisé dans une petite clinique de Lorraine avec quelques foulures, il apprend que la ville où il est contraint de résider vit dans la peur. Deux assassinats et une tentative de meurtre font craindre le pire aux autorités locales. Commissioner Maigret is dreaming of some days of well-deserved vacation in Strasbourg, where he is going with his wife. Unfortunately, some ill-intentioned people have decided to disturb his plans. Noticing the suspicious behavior of a passenger, Maigret finds himself ejected from the train, after have been assaulted by the mysterious stranger. Immobilized in a small Lorraine clinic with some sprains, he learns that the city where he is forced to reside is living in fear. Two murders and an attempted murder have the local authorities fearing for the worst... Jerome

New posters from Dominique Bauduinet 1/08/06 – Dominique Bauduinet has just sent a few more great scans from his Simenon poster collection – including this one, from Les Caves du Majestic (with Albert Prejean as Maigret). Isn't it a beauty! If you look over the posters section you'll see many of his, as it was his collection that started off the poster pages four years ago. Dominique is offering a set of 34 original Simenon movie posters – duplicates from his collection – for 7500€. If you're interested, email him: Dominique Bauduinet. ST

La Tête d'un homme edition 1/11/06 – I recently bought this book. It is an abridged version of La Tete d'un homme with a vocabulary in French/Flemish [© 1971]. Carl

Un commissaire d'avant la police scientifique 1/11/06 – Here's a review of the Guillaume book from today's Le Monde: Il y a du point d'exclamation dans ce livre-là. De la passion, du verbe haut. Et des voitures pétaradantes à 60 km/h, des policiers tout en cravate et en intuitions, un Paris à moins de 10 étages, des bandits pas manchots mais cruels à l'occasion, voire fous. Il y a, aussi, les grandes pages de l'histoire criminelle de la France des années 1920 et 1930, qu'on imagine à tort en noir et blanc. Pour la première fois viennent de paraître les Mémoires complets du commissaire Guillaume, publiés au printemps 1937 sous forme de feuilleton dans le grand quotidien Paris-Soir. Pour tout dire, l'homme qui a inspiré Georges Simenon pour donner corps au personnage de Maigret. Dans une préface bienvenue, l'historien Laurent Joly retrace le parcours de ce policier hors norme, à la fois charismatique et très chrétien, homme de terrain et de médias, qui a fasciné le romancier. Marcel Guillaume (1872-1963) était d'origine modeste et s'en flattait. Le mérite serait donc son moteur, sa morale. En 1919, il arrivait au prestigieux numéro 36 du quai des Orfèvres. Pendant une dizaine d'années, il a planché sur des histoires de vols et d'escroqueries, avant d'être promu commissaire divisionnaire en 1928. Entre 1930 et 1937, il dirigea la brigade spéciale du 36. Ses plus fameuses affaires lui valurent les gros titres de la presse populaire : la liquidation en 1912 de la bande à Bonnot, puis le dossier Prince en 1934, dans le cadre de l'affaire Stavisky. Il y eut aussi l'assassin des femmes d'âge mûr, Landru, évoqué dans le chapitre consacré aux "déments". La première phrase de ce chapitre donne une idée des qualités de conteur du commissaire, qui savait poser une ambiance, avec l'aimable complicité d'un ami écrivain qui a retravaillé son manuscrit : "La banlieue du côté de Meudon était, en 1913, charmante et idyllique, sans buildings, sans garages, sans relais d'essence, avec ses rues qui ressemblaient à des sentiers de jardins, ses villas coquettes et paisibles, ses boutiques villageoises et ses cafés aux boiseries de chêne et aux banquettes de velours rouge où de calmes rentiers ne prolongeaient jamais très tard la soirée devant une tasse de café crème ou un verre de bière en jouant à la manille ou au tric-trac." Les passages les plus captivants sont peut-être nichés dans le récit de ces enquêtes ordinaires, où excelle le commissaire Guillaume. Le goût du détail — de la couleur du ciel à celle des vêtements, des effluves de la soupe aux bruits de la rue — n'a d'égal que la précision des portraits psychologiques. Deux types de personnage l'intriguent particulièrement, note Laurent Joly : le garçon dévergondé, de bonne famille, qui s'égare dans le crime par cupidité ; l'escroc cachant ses griffes et sa rapacité derrière des manières précieuses et une chaude faconde. Marcel Guillaume appartient à l'histoire ; aujourd'hui, les policiers ont un profil de fonctionnaires, davantage guidés par la technologie que par le flair à l'ancienne. "Le policier idéal doit être éclairé sur tout, écrivait le commissaire Guillaume. Il doit être médecin, chimiste, polyglotte. Il doit surtout connaître les bas-fonds de Paris, les bouges et les hôtels louches qui servent de repaires aux mauvais garçons et aux filles perdues." par Piotr Smolar Jerome

Old television archives? 1/18/06 – While Googling for something Maigret, I ran across a dead link. Trying the Wayback Machine, (to search the internet archives), I found the original page, a notice of a series of television shows on Quebec's TV5 to honor Simenon's centenary, in February, 2003. Of course the page was down because it no longer had any relevance after the shows had aired, but reading the description of the fascinating-sounding documentaries made me wonder if somehow they're still available... What happens to shows like that when they enter the TV station's archives? Are they available to the public? Here's the notice: Pour publication immédiate - Lundi, 10 février 2003 TV5 CONSACRE UNE SOIRÉE HOMMAGE À GEORGES SIMENON POUR SOULIGNER LE CENTENAIRE DE SA NAISSANCE Pour souligner le centenaire de la naissance de Georges Simenon, TV5 Québec Canada propose une soirée exceptionnelle sur le créateur du commissaire Maigret, le mercredi 12 février dès 19 h 30 HE. Cette soirée unique propose une série d'émissions explorant la vie et l'œuvre de cet écrivain prolifique. Au programme : une fiction et quatre documentaires dont SIMENON EN AMÉRIQUE, un document fascinant du réalisateur québécois Guy Simoneau présenté en primeur et en exclusivité. FICTION : MAIGRET. Après Jean Gabin et Jean Richard, Bruno Cremer reprend le personnage mythique du commissaire Maigret. Dans cet épisode, Lili, strip-teaseuse au cabaret « Les Plaisirs », surprend la conversation d'un dénommé Oscar qui projette l'assassinat d'une comtesse. Le lendemain de sa déposition au commissariat, le corps de la jeune femme est retrouvé au cabaret. Chargé de l'enquête, Maigret apprend qu'une comtesse a effectivement été étranglée dans son appartement. En reconstituant petit à petit le passé des deux victimes, le policier espère trouver un lien entre les deux crimes lui permettant de démasquer ce mystérieux Oscar... MAIGRET : LES PLAISIRS DE LA NUIT, le mercredi 12 janvier à 19 h 30 (rediffusion le mardi à 0 h 15). ANATOMIE D'UNE MACHINE À ÉCRIRE. Découvrez les mécanismes de l'écriture de Georges Simenon. Ce passionnant documentaire reprend les différentes étapes de la fabrication des romans de Simenon au moyen de la fiction, des témoignages de l'auteur, d'interviews de spécialistes, de documents et de pièces à conviction diverses. Rappelons que sa ponctualité de livraison était légendaire auprès des éditeurs. Mais lorsqu'il se mettait à l'œuvre, son travail devenait alors si intense que l'écrivain avouait ne pouvoir supporter pareille tension pendant plus de 10 jours. Après quelques jours de repos, suivait une relecture ponctuée d'infimes corrections. Le roman était alors prêt pour l'imprimerie. ANATOMIE D'UNE MACHINE À ÉCRIRE, le mercredi 12 février à 21 h (rediffusion le jeudi à 15 h 05). SIMENON EN AMÉRIQUE. Ce documentaire fascinant raconte la période nord-américaine de Simenon et de sa famille, de 1945 à 1955. Le film relate ses succès, ses revers et son style de vie qui n'a pas manqué d'intriguer les mœurs américaines de l'époque. À l'automne 1945, inconfortable dans le climat étouffant d'après-guerre, le romancier belge quitte la France et part à la découverte d'espaces neufs. Il s'installe d'abord à Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson dans les Laurentides. Débutera ainsi l'étape qu'il qualifiera comme étant « la plus importante de sa vie. » En effet, de passage à New York par affaires, Simenon fait la connaissance de Denyse Ouimet, une Canadienne française dont il tombe éperdument amoureux. Un coup de foudre qui changera le cours de sa vie. À l'aide de témoignages de personnes ayant côtoyé le père de Maigret ainsi que des proches parents de Denyse Ouimet, SIMENON EN AMÉRIQUE nous éclaire sur l'homme derrière l'écrivain. De plus, Pierre Simenon, le plus jeune des enfants du grand romancier et de Denyse, nous parle de son père, avec amour mais lucidité, et rétablit certains faits. SIMENON EN AMÉRIQUE, le mercredi 12 février à 21 h 30 (rediffusion le jeudi à 6 h et le vendredi à 14 h 30). VISITEURS DU SOIR – GEORGES SIMENON « UN ARTISAN DES LETTRES ». Ce documentaire de la TSR explore la façon de travailler de Simenon, ainsi que sa vision des autres écrivains. VISITEURS DU SOIR – GEORGES SIMENON « UN ARTISAN DES LETTRES », le mercredi 12 février à 22 h 30 (rediffusion le vendredi à 15 h 30). HÔTEL. HOTEL est le dernier témoignage de Georges Simenon. Un entretien émouvant qu'il a accordé chez lui en 1989 à Pierre Pascal Rossi. HÔTEL, le mercredi 12 février à 23 h (rediffusion le vendredi à 16 h). For immediate publication - Monday, February 10, 2003 TV5 DEDICATES AN EVENING'S HOMAGE TO GEORGES SIMENON TO UNDERLINE THE CENTENARY OF HIS BIRTH To underline the centenary of the birth of Georges Simenon, TV5 Quebec, Canada, proposes an exceptional evening on the creator of Commissioner Maigret, Wednesday, February 12, from 7:30. This unique evening presents a set of broadcasts exploring the life and the work of this prolific writer. On the program: one fiction and four documentaries including SIMENON IN AMERICA, a fascinating document from the Québec producer Guy Simoneau - first exclusive presentation. FICTION: MAIGRET. After Jean Gabin and Jean Richard, Bruno Crémer takes up the mythical character of Commissioner Maigret. In this episode, Lili, stripper at the cabaret "Pleasures", overhears the conversation of a man named Oscar who plans a countess's murder. The day following her deposition to the police, the body of the young woman is recovered in the cabaret. Charged with the investigation, Maigret learns that a countess has actually been strangled in her apartment. While gradually reconstructing the past of the two victims, the policeman hopes to find a tie between the two crimes allowing him to unmask this mysterious Oscar... MAIGRET: PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT, Wednesday, January 12 at 7:30 (rebroadcast Tuesday at 12:15 am). ANATOMY OF A TYPEWRITER. Discover the mechanisms of the writing of Georges Simenon. This passionate documentary takes the different stages of the manufacture of the novels of Simenon by means of his fiction, the author's testimonies, interviews with specialists, documents, and various other items. Remember that his punctuality of delivery was legendary with publishers. But when he got to the writing, his work then became so intense that he confessed to not being able to stand the tension for more than 10 days. After some days of rest followed a rereading punctuated with minute corrections. The novel was then ready for printing. ANATOMY OF A TYPEWRITER, Wednesday, February 12, at 9:00 pm (rebroadcast Thursday at 3:05 pm). SIMENON IN AMERICA This fascinating documentary tells of the North American period of Simenon and his family, from 1945 to 1955. The film relates his successes, his reverses and his lifestyle, which didn't lack interest in the American customs of the time. In the fall of 1945, uncomfortable in the stuffy post-war climate, the Belgian novelist left France for the discovery of new spaces. He first gets settled at Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson in the Laurentides, where he will start the stage that he will qualify as being "the most important of his life". Indeed, visiting New York on business Simenon makes the acquaintance of Denyse Ouimet, a French Canadian with whom he falls completely in love. A love at first sight that will change the course of his life. With the help of testimonies of people having rubbed shoulders with the father of Maigret as well as relatives of Denyse Ouimet, SIMENON IN AMERICA illuminates the man behind the writer. In addition, Pierre Simenon, youngest child of Denyse and the great novelist, speaks of his father, with love but lucidity, and re-establishes certain facts. SIMENON IN AMERICA, Wednesday, February 12 at 9:30 (rebroadcast Thursday at 6:00 and Friday at 2:30pm). EVENING VISITORS – GEORGES SIMENON "A CRAFTSMAN OF LETTERS" This TSR documentary explores Simenon's way of work, as well as his view of other writers. EVENING VISITORS – GEORGES SIMENON "A CRAFTSMAN OF LETTERS", Wednesday, February 12, at 10:30pm (rebroadcast Friday at 3:30pm). HOTEL. HOTEL is the last testimony of Georges Simenon. A moving interview that he/it granted at home in 1989 to Pierre Pascal Rossi. HOTEL, Wednesday, February 12, at 11:00pm (rebroadcast Friday at 4:00pm). ST

Swiss francs, Belgian francs... how much in dollars? 1/18/06 – I've been working up Le Soir Illustré's "Tout Simenon" issue of September 1989, (to appear here soon), and I've run across "3.5 million Swiss francs (84 million FB) and 214,000 FS (5,136,000 FB)" – Swiss francs and Belgian francs. Given that that was 1989, can anyone tell me what that was worth in dollars or pounds (or French francs)? ST

Belgian francs... 1/18/06 – In 1989 a dollar would have gotten you between 39 and 43 Belgian Francs depending on just when during the year you are talking about. It was strongest during the summer time. I remember because I had just moved here then. I returned to the USA three and a half years later and returned again to Belgium at the end of 1996. I've been here ever since. Regards Joe So... using for convenience 40 BF to the dollar, 84,000,000 BF = $2,100,000... reportedly the amount Simenon supplied to the Swiss tax authorities about the value of his estate in 1989... a severe underestimate, to say the least. ST

Denise Simenon - 1961 - "I married Maigret" 1/19/06 – Woman's Own and Woman's Day Week ending November 11, 1961 pp 14-15, 83 I Married Maigret Denise Simenon Here's a "fairy tale" article from an English magazine of November 1961, Woman's Own and Woman's Day, from Madame S's point of view. (Maybe as Georges was "in novel" they had to make do with the head of the household.) This sort of story suggests that the popular magazines, whether French or English, pretty much presented the same view of Simenon at that time. ST

Jean Richard DVDs 1/19/06 – I saw today at Fnac that there is now a set of DVDs with the first Maigret by Jean Richard. Jerome

la grande rousse? 1/20/06 – Still working on the Le Soir Illustré articles, I ran across a line in one of them that I can't understand. Cela ne devait pas être facile d'être l'épouse de Simenon. Un ami, qui avait diné chez eux, à Lakeville, aux States, m'avait conté ce propos de Denise à table : « Georges, il va être l'heure de la grande rousse ! » Denise fut un parfaite épouse-secrétaire. It couldn't have been easy being Simenon's wife. A friend, who had dined with them in Lakeville, in the States, told me that Denise had said during dinner, "Georges, it's almost time for la grande rousse!" Denise was a perfect secretary-wife. Can anyone explain this phrase? Thanks, ST

La Grande Rousse 1/20/06 – Would La Grande Rousse be Lucille Ball? She was the star of 'I Love Lucy', one of the most popular programs on Amercian television back in the time when Simenon lived in Lakeville. She was a redhead, or pretended to be and that's why I thought of her. The DVD set of Jean Richard as Maigret looks like the one I bought at the FNAC Ternes in Paris back in late November. The one I bought was Volume One, but no others were available in the store at the time. Joe

La Grande Rousse 1/21/06 – Nice idea, Joe. The question is, would it have meant that to the Belgian reader of 1989? ST

La Grande Rousse 1/22/06 – I doubt if the average Belgian in 1989 or any other time knew anything about Lucille Ball. Could the reference to how difficult it was to be Mrs. Simenon have anything to do with the possibility that LGR was a mistress that Denise tolerated? Regards Joe

La Grande Rousse 1/22/06 – Regarding the sentence from Denise Simenon, I looked at Tigy Simenon's book and it looks like in Lakeville, Boule was there – she came from France in 1947. In 1945 he also hired a secretary: Denise Ouimet from Ottawa. (she was billingual in French and English) and was 25 years old. Denise became Madame Simenon in June 1950. Denise wrote that Boule followed her boss, Simenon when they moved to Lakeville in 1950. Do you know if Boule was a redhead? Tigy Simenon in her book does not mention the other women that were in Lakeville, but she was already separated from Simenon when they stayed in Lakeville. Jerome

La Grande Rousse 1/22/06 – Aha! I see that both Jerome and Joe have followed the old detective's maxim, cherchez la femme... but I wonder again if the average Belgian reader of the time would have caught the reference, assuming that was it. I've spotted something in one of the other articles in the issue that makes me wonder if it wasn't a beer – Speaking of the last time he saw Simenon, a few days before his death, the owner of the tabac Henry IV, in Paris, says, "Dans sa main droite il tenait un verre de bière, une bière rousse." - "In his right hand he was holding a glass of beer, a red beer." I don't know what red beer is, but could that have been referred to as la grande rousse? And understood to mean that by others? Could she have been suggesting, "Well, Georges, isn't it about time for a tall one?" (The Le Soir Illustré articles will be appearing here soon...) ST

Simenon Memorial Issue - Le Soir Illustré - 1989 1/24/06 – photo: Giancarlo Botti     Le Soir Illustré September 14, 1989 N° 2986, pp 4-20 Album of a prodigious life All Simenon his women - his children - his novels - his travels - his happiness - his grief - his end - his legacy   original French Curious since childhood Houses with a view Is communication closer Three brief encounters Liège lived in Simenon The Simenon atmosphere Jean Richard will make his 92nd I'm the last Parisian The Legacy at Liège The author of the naked man His handwriting reveals This Belgian issue has a lot in it... different sorts of articles from the usual, and as usual the home-town view of the son of Liège makes for interesting reading... It adds some to the Télé 7-jours Jean Richard article that went up here recently, and to the little "I married Maigret" from last week. The la grande rousse line is in Three brief encounters... Let me know if you've got any new ideas on that one, or find anything else in here that's a problem or worth talking about... ST

Garcia Márquez & Simenon 1/30/06 – The Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Márquez, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, wrote the following piece as an introduction to a small book entitled El mismo cuento distinto (Barcelona: Tusquets, 1994). That book, for reasons that will become apparent as you read the piece, contains Georges Simenon’s “L’homme dans la rue” and Guillaume Apollinaire’s “L’Hérésiarque et Cie,” both in Spanish translation. A German edition entitled Dieselbe Geschichte, nur anders was published in 1995 by KiWi (Kiepenheuer & Witsch). To the best of my knowledge Garcia Márquez’s introduction hasn’t been published in either French or English. The following is a translation of the Spanish original. Gabriel Garcia Márquez's introduction to El mismo cuento distinto During my all too brief youth I read a story that impressed me tremendously at the time and then faded into oblivion until about six months ago. Title, author, original language, the anthology in which it appeared — all was forgotten. It took me 44 years to track down that story, and when I did, I found it was just as striking as I remembered it, but for entirely different reasons. The first time I read it, in 1949, I was taking a break from a barely launched career in journalism to sell textbooks and encyclopedias on the instalment plan among the villages of Guajira [Colombia]. Actually that was just a pretext to get acquainted with the part of the world where my mother was born (and where her parents later shipped her back in order to put a few miles between her and a certain telegraph operator in Aracataca). I wanted to compare the reality with what I’d been hearing about it since childhood, and also to explore the area on my own account because I sensed that it was here that my roots as a writer lay. The book business left me so much leisure time that, after working through my personal stock of reading matter, I started in on my sales samples. I whiled away long hours in seedy wayside hotels studying surgical technique, law, bridge building and, when I got really desperate, an illustrated encyclopedia in ten volumes. From time to time people lent me other things to read, and somebody – I don’t remember who – gave me a collection of detective stories, which I devoured on the edge of my chair at a hotel operated by Victor Cohen on the square in Valledupar. The story in question, as I remembered it, involved a suspected criminal who was shadowed relentlessly day and night through the streets of Paris by a team of detectives. They were waiting for him to make a break for home, where they expected to uncover proof of his guilt. As always when I read a crime story, and for that matter in real life, I identified not with the pursuers but with the pursued. The bookselling venture turned out to be a failure, and I had to give Victor Cohen an IOU for a couple of months’ stay at his hotel. I also left him my samples, which were of no further use to me, and two or three other books that I’d finished reading. I’m pretty sure the detective story collection was among them. Six years later, now established as a journalist and with my first novel in print, I found myself at a loose end in Paris. It was a lazy autumn day and the city was at its most picturesque, with a lowering gray sky, the tang of roasting chestnuts in the air, whole pigs decorated with paper carnations hanging from the eaves of butchers’ stalls, and the accordions of summer giving out their last dying whimper. A blast of chilly wind across the Pont St. Michel drove me into the nearest café. The place was bright and cozy, like a scene out of Hemingway, with couples whose endless kisses were repeated endlessly in the mirrors, and old soldiers stirred up by the latest news from Algeria. Sitting down at a window table to read a newspaper, I got more interested in the barges maneuvering up and down the Seine like floating cottages, with diapers hanging out to dry and mangy dogs barking at the gargoyles of Notre Dame. Suddenly I had the distinct impression that somebody was watching me. I glanced back over my shoulder, and there he was — a tough-looking customer with three days’ growth of beard, dressed like a tramp, staring fixedly at me from a remote corner. I went back to my paper and pretended to read some more, but when I looked up again he was still there, motionless, watching. Of course he wasn’t really watching me at all, but for a few moments I had known the panic of the hunted — even more intensely than when I had read that story. Now that I got to thinking about the story, I couldn’t remember how it ended, so I decided to find it and read it again. I knew the book in which it appeared had at least 400 pages, but I had no idea who had lent it to me or whether it was in fact among the ones I’d left at the hotel. Like most of the books available in Colombia in those days, it had probably been published in Buenos Aires — very likely (because of its large format and clear print) by Santiago Rueda. Given the genre, the presumptive country of origin, and the time period, I guessed that it was one of many anthologies edited by Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares. The only other detail I could remember was that the book also contained a story by Guillaume Apollinaire about a sailor with a parrot on his shoulder. Nobody I talked to could put me on the track of that book. Oddly enough, by that time I had read a number of Georges Simenon’s novels, but never made the connection between him and the story I was trying to trace. He was already a figure of legend, not only because of the material he had published but also because of his writing methods and his almost incredible output. They said he finished a new book every Saturday...that he had turned out several while sitting in a window so that the public could see for themselves how fast he worked... that he was traveling round the world on a yacht... that he was planning to increase his output to a novel every day. Move ahead from Paris and revolution in Algeria to tropical Mexico, 1965. There I happened to read a story and see a name that made me leap right out of my chair: Maigret! With a flash of inspiration twelve years behind schedule, I now remembered that that was the name of the police inspector who had dogged the heels of the fugitive in my story. The obvious inference was that Simenon was the author of the story. Of course that was just a start, because looking for a story by Simenon without knowing the title was like dredging the ocean floor. I consulted experts on his work, including Alvaro Mutis, who once tried to get up a petition to have Inspector Maigret’s salary increased. Nobody recognized the plot, which I kept repeating like a broken record. Alvaro Cepeda Samudio, tired of hearing about it, said, "Write it yourself, for heaven’s sakes – it’s a corker of a story, just waiting to be put on paper." I dug through book lists and library catalogues in the hope of reasoning backwards from plot to title. That didn’t work. Eventually three people who had heard me outline the plot were sure they recognized it and sent me copies of three different stories by Simenon, none of which was the one I was looking for. I was beginning to wonder if, after all, the story might be by somebody else. One spring afternoon in the ’70s I was waiting for a friend at a café in Geneva. A man of about 70 in a light raincoat and soft hat, with an umbrella tucked under his arm, sat down at a nearby table. The waiter who was serving me couldn’t wait to whisper, “That’s Simenon, the writer.” Peering over the top of my paper, I saw him reading a paper of his own while gnawing at a burnt-out pipe. I never would have recognized him from his pictures, because he had the same anonymous Belgian face that he gave Maigret. Although he’d recently announced his retirement from writing, I saw no signs of aging or of the wear and tear of grinding out hundreds of books during the past 30 years. Never had I been so close to the solution of my puzzle, but I just couldn’t bring myself to approach him, even though I knew we had friends in common. Would Simenon himself remember a fugitive piece from so long ago? In April 1983, during a music festival in Valledupar, I arrived at the home of some friends to find all the guests watching an elderly man whirl a beautiful young lady around the floor like a professional dancer. He was impeccably dressed in white linen, with a particularly stylish straw hat, rimless glasses, and white suede shoes with black trim. It was Victor Cohen, at age 93 giving one of the most stunning exhibitions of dancing I’ve ever seen in my life. As soon as the music stopped he came over to me and, his patriarchal bearing softened by a twinkle of humor, handed me a slip of paper. “There’s a little present for you,” he said. It was the note for 900 pesos that I’d never paid off. That turned out to be the sensation of the festival. To this day they’re still talking about it in Valledupar. Even before thanking Cohen for his act of unparalleled generosity I asked him if, after 34 years, he still by any chance had some of the books I’d left behind. In his small but select library we found three — not, however, the one I was looking for. Julio Cortázar brought me a step further in my quest on a night of violent storm in Managua. We had been talking for hours about tales of pursuit, a favorite genre of his, when suddenly I thought of the Simenon story. To my amazement, before I could even finish outlining the plot he announced, in his melodious baritone with rolling r’s, “The title is ‘L’homme dans la rue.’ It’s part of a collection called Maigret et les petits cochons sans queue.” I felt so sure that I could easily put my hand on the story now that it never occurred to me to ask for further details. Big mistake. When, some while later, I picked up a Spanish translation of the book at a clearance sale, the story wasn’t there! Instead of trying to find a copy in the original French, I just assumed that Cortázar, who had passed away in the meantime, must have been mistaken, and once again abandoned the quest. (Now that I’ve seen the original edition I know that it contained nine stories, of which only six appeared in the pirated Spanish version.) Fast forward another ten years. Barcelona, the spring of 1993. Beatriz de Moura [founder and literary director of the publishing house of Tusquets] was telling me of her mammoth project to bring out, for the first time in Spanish, the complete works of Simenon in 214 volumes, starting that year and finishing up sometime after the millennium. I got so excited that she said I ought to write an introduction for one of the volumes. I realized later that she was only joking, but what I said then was in dead earnest. “I’ll write one for you,” I told her, “if you find me a Simenon story called ‘L’homme dans la rue.’ ” That was at eleven p.m., after dinner at La Balsa, Toni López’s restaurant on the heights of Bonanova. At nine o’clock the next morning I had the story in my hands. The puzzle that had seemed insoluble was solved. Just as Cortázar had said, it was one of the nine stories in Maigret et les petits cochons sans queue. I read it immediately, on the spot. A one-sentence synopsis of the plot, very much in the Simenon manner, appeared on the third page: “Thus began a chase that would go on for five days and nights, among pedestrians absorbed in their own affairs as they scurried along the sidewalks of Paris, a chase from bar to bar and from bistro to bistro – on one side, a man alone; on the other, Maigret and his crew, who threw themselves into the pursuit with such energy that by the end of it they were as worn out as the man they’d been tracking.” There it was, the lost story at last. And yet the enigma of so many years’ duration contained within it an even greater enigma. Because although the story was basically as I remembered it, there were important differences. It wasn’t told from the point of view of the hunted man, as I had thought, but from that of Maigret, the pursuer, and as I read it a second time I could feel my sympathies changing direction. In addition, the resolution of the plot wasn’t as straightforward as I remembered it. Like so many of the greatest works of literature, it involved a sacrifice made for love. Here was a case of the passing years reworking the very essence of a half-remembered story as the insights and experiences of real life supplied the deficiencies of memory. For the sake of that epiphany I suppose it was worth losing track of the story for almost half a century. Cartagena de Indias, 1993 (translated by) John H. Dirckx

Gabriel Garcia Márquez's introduction to El mismo cuento distinto 1/31/06 – In the English translation, I noticed the following sentence (last sentence in the 12th paragraph) taken from page 15 of the Spanish original: "Alvaro Cepeda Samudio, after hearing it once too many times, asked me why I didn't just write to Simenon and get it over with." The Spanish original reads as follows: Aburrido de tanto oírlo, Alvaro Cepeda Samudio me dijo: "De todos modos escríbalo usted, porque es un cuento del carajo que necesita existir." My preferred translation would be something along these lines: "Alvaro Cepeda Samudio, tired of hearing about it so many times, told me to write the story myself, since it is a hell of a story and it has a need to exist." This is not a criticism of the translation by John H. Dirckx, his translation is superb; I only wish I had John's ability to translate from Spanish to English. The original Spanish GIF document is not eye-friendly. The word in question could be read as "escríbale" or "escríbalo", although it looks more like "escríbalo". The word "escríbale" would not make much sense in that sentence. The word "escríbalo" means write the story, and the word "escríbale" means write to him. Cepeda Samudio didn't ask García Márquez to write to Simenon, but rather to write the damn story himself. Juan

Garcia Márquez 1/31/06 – Warmest thanks, Juan, for your kind words and welcome correction. I did indeed misread the original and then, like more than one translator since the Tower of Babel, tried to hide my confusion in a fog of poetic license. John

Maigret of the Month: Maigret se fâche (Maigret in Retirement) 2/01/06 – Having completed his convalescence in the coastal town of Les Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée) after contracting pleurisy, and with the Second World War almost at an end, Simenon travelled to Paris during the latter part of April 1945. His intention was to live in the United States of America, but he would have to wait until the necessary authorised documents could be obtained. Some years before, he made over his former apartment at 21 Place des Vosges in Paris to a business friend. This friend not being in Paris at the end of the war agreed that Simenon could make use of the apartment, so his wife, Tigy, their son Marc and Boule took up residence there, whilst he stayed at Claridge’s Hotel in the Avenue des Champs-Elysées. In June 1945 he booked into the Hôtel de Cambrai in the Rue de Turenne, around the corner from the Place des Vosges, where he wrote two of his longer short stories, La Pipe de Maigret (Maigret’s Pipe) and Le Bateau d’Émile (Émile’s Boat — not translated into English). Not long afterwards he travelled the 44 kilometres south to Saint-Fargeau (Seine-et-Marne) in order to write Maigret se fâche, which he completed by the 4th of August 1945. It is possible that this work was commissioned by Simenon’s friend Pierre Lazareff who now owned the daily newspaper France-Soir, and it was in this journal that Maigret se fâche was first published in 38 instalments between March and May 1946. Occasionally there is some confusion concerning the status of Maigret se fâche, whether it is a short story or a novel. This probably arises from the first publication of the French text in book form, as well as the first appearance of the English translation in a volume of collected short stories. The French text was published by Presses de la Cité in 1947 with the front cover and the spine of the dust wrapper printed only with the title La Pipe de Maigret, although the cover of the book has La Pipe de Maigret suivie de Maigret se fâche. The title page has only Maigret se fâche. This has led some to assume that this publication contains two, albeit long, short stories. 1n 1976 Hamish Hamilton in Great Britain published the first volume in English translation of the “Complete” Maigret Short Stories under the title of Maigret’s Christmas. This volume contains nine works, the last of which is Maigret in Retirement, all just called stories in the introduction on the front flap of the dust jacket. (In 1977 Hamish Hamilton published the second volume of the “Complete” Maigret short stories, but “Complete” is a misnomer as there are only 25 short stories in the two volumes out of a possible 28). But Maigret se fâche is a novel, although not as long as many of the other Maigret novels (refer to the Maigret Forum: Reference: Length of the Maigrets). Michel Lemoine, one of the major researchers of Simenon’s work and life, has written an intriguing article concerning this novel: ‘...In this novel, Simenon seems to be going out of his way to muddle up the tracks since he placed the action at “Orsenne, a village on the banks of the Seine between Corbeil and the Forest of Fontainbleau”. In reality Orsenne does not exist. Initially, one is tempted to see in this name the transposition of Seine-Port, a place name phonetically close to Orsenne: the inversion of the two parts of the name and the suppression of the initial P in effect giving [P]ort-Seine = Orsenne. The fact that Maigret stayed at the Angel Inn, in the past run by a certain Marius, tends all the more to confirm to us this opinion, as in the past at Seine-Port there was an inn called Chez Marius. Nevertheless the novel makes clear that Orsenne is situated at 5 kilometres from Seine-Port. This obliges us to abandon this place and to fall back on Morsang-sur-Seine, the other locality bounded by the river and situated at 5 kilometres down stream from Seine-Port, moreover a locality that Simenon knew very well since in 1930 and 1931, on board the “Ostrogoth”, he wrote several of the first Maigret novels. Once again the phonetics come to our aid if we want to prove that Orsenne represents Morsang: in effect, the suppression of the initial M from the place name allows the appearance of a form of Orsang close to the fictional place name Orsenne. However satisfied by these findings based on the close place names and geography of Seine-Port and Morsang, the reader looking for the elements of transposition must certainly become disillusioned as Seine-Port and Morsang are situated on the right bank of the Seine, whilst Orsenne evidently is situated on the left bank of the river. As a consequence, if we are able to believe that the name Orsenne was inspired by that of Morsang and/or Seine-Port, the geographic transposition prompts us instead to search for an inspiration among the localities of the left bank, to know that Le Coudray-Montceaux, mentioned under the simplified form of Le Coudray, in La Peniche aux deux pendus and Menaces de Mort, Saint-Fargeau-Ponthierry, mentioned under the simplified form of Saint-Fargeau, in M.Gallet, décédé and Maigret et le fantôme, indeed even Tilly, mentioned in Le Grand Bob, our preference focuses, for topographic reasons, towards Le Coudray-Montceaux; moreover one will notice that Monceaux is not so phonetically remote from Orsenne.’ (Michel Lemoine: in Quelques particularités toponymiques dans l’œuvre romanesque de Georges Simenon. In TRACES, volume 4, Centre d’Études Georges Simenon, Université de Liége, 1992. The text translated by Peter Foord). Claude Menguy, the major Simenon researcher, some time ago visited this part of the Seine, interviewed some of the inhabitants and researched the whole area thoroughly. In a separate article, Claude Menguy agrees with Michel Lemoine that Le Coudray-Montceaux is the setting for Orsenne. A section of the river Seine indicating Morsang-sur-Seine, Le Coudray-Montceaux (“Orsenne”), Seine-Port, Saint-Fargeau and Ponthierry. (Institut Geographique National, Évry.Melun, 2415 OT, 2004) [click map to enlarge]. This novel finds Maigret retired from the police force for nearly two years and living with his wife at their home at Meung-sur-Loire (Loiret). (This is the second novel, in the written sequence, where Simenon has Maigret living in retirement and called upon to investigate a crime at the request of a private individual. The first novel in which this situation occurs is Maigret (Maigret Returns) written in 1933, but the author places Maigret in similar circumstances in five of the short stories that he wrote during the winter of 1937 to 1938). There is a touch of humour at the beginning of this novel as the formidable Bernadette Amorelle, aged 81, in seeking Maigret’s help, mistakes him and his wife for two other people. Maigret goes by train to Orsenne and during a very warm August at first enjoys the change of scene. He arrives at the Angel Inn where he meets Bernadette’s son-in-law Ernest Malik with whom, he discovers, he was at school. Also Maigret soon realises that Ernest Malik is still the same self-opinionated individual that he was in his younger days, and when Maigret gradually meets the rest of the family, residing in their well-appointed villas, he finds the atmosphere unfriendly and he now resents being there. As it transpires it is a situation that makes him angry, hence the French title of this novel. But it is Raymonde the maid at the Angel Inn who restores the balance and Maigret’s interest. At the Inn, where he enjoys a couple of improvised meals with Raymonde, he is reminded of the past and of the many types of people with whom he came into contact. Raymonde is also informative and this spurs Maigret to continue with his enquiries. He pays more than one visit to Paris, meeting up with some of his former colleagues, such as Lucas, Janvier and Torrence, from whom he requests information mainly about the family that he is investigating. One of his requests is to locate Mimile, a former circus performer, with a police record, who is now working with the animals at the menagerie at Luna Park in Paris. (Luna Park was opened in 1909 at Porte Maillot in Paris in the seventeenth arrondissement for the general public. Among other attractions there was a funfair, a scenic railway, a water chute, a menagerie and facilities for dancing. It closed and was demolished in 1948. Today the site is occupied by the Palais des Congrès complex). Armed with information and with the help of certain people, Maigret’s task becomes hectic, moving between Orsenne and Paris, later even using the apartment in the Place des Vosges, as the author, in fiction, echoes his own situation in reality. Eventually Maigret discerns that the main culprit, over a period of time, had been using and maniplulating various people for a number of devious reasons.   The only translation is by Jean Stewart, which is very close to the author’s French text. Jean Stewart has translated more of Simenon’s work than anyone else, and in my opinion is one of the best translators, if not the best. Peter Foord UK

Maigret on TV 2/4/06 – ITV3, a UK digital channel, is reshowing the Michael Gambon Maigret series at 8pm on Saturdays... and on Sundays at 4.45pm. Roddy

Bruno Cremer DVD's 2/9/06 – Having watched the ten episodes on Coffret no 1, I am now accustomed to Bruno's Maigret. I like the period setting of the early fifties, the sub-titles are no problem either. What I find puzzling however is the obviously deliberate omission of Lucas, Janvier, Lapointe, Torrence, and even Coméliau. Can anyone shed any light on the subject? Martin Cooke

51 Minutes 2/14/06 – I finally got "Jeumont, 51 Minutes' Stop" in the post yesterday. It came from an Ebay seller in the UK in the form of "Maigret's Pipe", a collection of 18 short stories. As I already had the US version of this book, which does not have "Jeumont", I was curious to see if any of the stories in the US edition had been dropped from the UK version.. No, all of them were included and they were in the same order as in the UK edition. "Jeumont" was between "At the Etoile du Nord" and "Mlle Berthe and her Lover". Actually, this is the best place to put it given that in "Nord", M is working together with Lucas on his last day as a policeman while in "Berthe", it was mentioned that Lucas was killed in the line of duty before M retired. Having another story between these two somewhat lessens the shock of reading "Nord" and "Berthe" one right after the other. Anyway, by getting "Jeumont" in English, I now have the entire M series in my native tounge. I previously had "Jeumont" in French and it was my last holdout in my collection. Joe

Simenon Quote 2/14/06 – This quote appears on this site, in A Belgian Appreciation of Georges Simenon, by Herman Dehennin, Belgian Ambassador to the U.S. [Simenon Festival '87 booklet]: "What you have not absorbed by the time you reach the age of eighteen you will never absorb. It is finished. You will be able to develop what you have absorbed. You will be able to make something or nothing at all of it, but your time for absorption is over and for the rest of your life, as a consequence, you will be branded by your childhood and early adolescence." Does anyone know the bibliographical reference for this quote? Where and when did he say it? Bill Shepherd

Thank you 2/17/06 – Thank you very much for all your energy you put in the "Maigret" site. I am a very fanatic collector of Simenon works. You opened for me a world which I had never found. Ton Ruijs Netherlands

Where to BEGIN reading Simenon??? 2/25/06 – Quick question for a Simenon buff: If someone doesn't really like mysteries, but wants to read ONE Maigret mystery to see what all the fuss is about - which one would you recommend? I have two reasons for asking. One is for myself, because I want to read one and I know the first one isn't always the best. The other reason is that my cousin has started a website, www.debbiesidea... where people can look up an author and get advice, from that author's fans, about which book to start with. I have a Simenon bio and complete list of titles and dates ready, with a link to this website, and I'd like to add your recommendation (or recommendations) too. Thanks very much, Marian F. Bock Brooklyn

Where to BEGIN reading Simenon??? 2/26/06 – My vote would be for Maigret and the Strangled Stripper. There might be a more typical Maigret, but to me this is it. Juan

Where to BEGIN reading Simenon??? 2/26/06 – Well, I would recommend Maigret and the Loner, Maigret and the Man on the Bench, or Maigret and the Fortuneteller in no particular order. They are all excellent. Joe

Still no Rupert Davies DVD? 2/28/06 – Is there still no news regarding either the a DVD release or rebroadcast of the Rupert Davies "Maigret" television series, by the BBC? I'm aware that any venture such as this would require an amount of basic restoration work on both sound and vision of at least one week per episode, however it seems astonishing that they have not been partially rebroadcast or made available to the home viewing market. There appears to be a demand for them and the continued lack of response is surprising, given the high esteem in which they were held at the time, and also as they have perhaps yet to be truly bettered? Regards, Peter Young Cambridge, UK

Maigret of the Month: Maigret à New-York (Maigret in New York’s Underworld / Maigret in New York) 3/01/06 – In Paris in August 1945, Simenon obtained the necessary papers to travel to Canada and the United States. With his wife Tigy and their six-year-old son Marc, the first stage was to travel to London where they stayed at the Savoy hotel in the Strand waiting for more documents that would allow them to travel from the port of Southampton to New York. Boule stayed in Paris at the apartment in the Place des Vosges and did not join them in the United States until September 1947. They arrived in New York in early October 1945 and were met by Justin O’Brien a friend and former colonel in the United States army who was to about to take up his post as the Chair of French Literature at Harvard and at Columbia University. The Simenons booked in to the Drake hotel on Park Avenue (Built in 1925, this hotel is now the Swissotel New York, the Drake, 440 Park Avenue, New York, near East 56th Street). The need to have a French-speaking friend like Justin O’Brien was necessary for Simenon as his English then was rudimentary. He spent part of his time visiting his American publisher at Doubleday and being interviewed by journalists, although the Simenons did see parts of New York guided by Justin O’Brien who had a home in Greenwich Village. Deciding to settle somewhere in order to become acclimatised to his new life, return to writing and to learn more English, Simenon chose to travel by train to Montréal in Canada. He selected a location just over fifty miles north of Montréal, the village of Sainte-Marguerite near Lake Masson in the Province of Quebec where he rented a house with an adjacent log cabin, this latter building acting as his office. By early November 1945, in this French speaking area, Simenon was able to settle after several hectic weeks. He hired a governess for his son Marc and decided that he needed a French-speaking secretary. He met and appointed Denyse Ouimet, a Canadian who was bilingual, who not only became his secretary, but his mistress and, in 1950, his second wife. After a break of five months, Simenon settled down to writing fiction once more and perhaps it was not surprising that he set his next two novels in New York. The first novel that he wrote in Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson was Trois Chambres à Manhattan (Three Beds in Manhattan), clearly based on his meeting with Denyse Ouimet. This novel is dated the 26th January 1946. Perhaps it is also not surprising that he followed this novel by introducing Maigret to New York in Maigret à New-York (Maigret in New York’s Underworld / Maigret in New York) which he completed on the 7th of March 1946. Once more Maigret is enjoying his retirement at Meung-sur-Loire (Loiret) when he is visited by nineteen-year-old Jean Maura accompanied by his lawyer Monsieur d’Hoquélus, requesting his help. Jean Maura states that his father John Maura, a rich man, is in trouble, even in danger, the nature of which is obscure. Maigret finds himself accompanying the young Jean Maura to New York. Maigret’s arrival by ship parallels Simenon’s own experience of disembarking at New York. Both with a limited knowledge of English, they find help from certain individuals who are bilingual. Is it by chance that two of the latter have the same surname of O’Brien? In Simenon’s case it is Justin O’Brien, a professor of French and in Maigret’s case it is Michael O’Brien, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both Simenon and Maigret are booked into hotels fairly near to each other in Midtown Manhattan — Simenon at the Drake (440 Park Avenue and East 56th Street) with Maigret at the St. Regis (East 49th Street and 5th Avenue). It is most likely that Simenon, through Maigret’s eyes, is describing the interior of the Drake hotel, although giving it another name — the St. Regis — with a slightly different location. Part of a general map of New York City from Manhattan to the Bronx. This is the main location of the novel. On two occasions Maigret travelled from Manhattan to the South Bronx. (Road Atlas USA, Collins / Rand McNally, 1990). [There is a St. Regis hotel, then and now, at 2 East 55th Street and 5th Avenue, built in 1904, and it is most likely that Simenon knew of its existence. As in his Maigret novel Maigret and the Hotel Majestic (Les Caves du Majestic), written in December 1939, he substituted the name of an existing hotel in Paris]. But Maigret at the point of disembarkation in New York is faced with a problem as the young Jean Maura, who persuaded him to make the journey, has disappeared. When Maigret meets the father, John Maura, a shadowy figure (and only sketched in by the author) at the same hotel, the atmosphere is far from conducive. This situation is similar to the last occasion when initially Maigret’s help was sought (Maigret se fâche / Maigret in Retirement) and his presence was met with a cool reception, making him wonder what he was doing away from home. Disgruntled, Maigret, with O’Brien as his main companion, wonders as to what his next move might be (Did the author know at this juncture?). Part of a map of Midtown Manhattan. This is the location of Simenon’s hotel (The Drake, 440 Park Avenue and East 56th Street), Maigret’s first hotel in the novel (The St. Regis, East 49th Street and 5th Avenue) and the existing St. Regis hotel (2 East 55th Street and 5th Avenue). (The AA Key Guide New York, 2004). But Maigret’s mood changes when he moves to another hotel off Broadway in a much livelier location that reminds him of certain parts of Paris. Through O’Brien’s help, he acquires the services of a rather eccentric private detective, which leads him to make visits to a certain location in the Bronx, as well as meeting and talking to a couple of “characters” in Greenwich Village. As a result of the information now gleaned, Maigret is able to arrive at a conclusion. Part of a map of the New York Subway — a section of the South Bronx. Maigret travelled twice to the intersection of Findlay Avenue and East 169th Street (marked with an arrow), the second time by the Subway. (Website: Straphangers NYC Subway Map, 2004). The English translation by Adrienne Foulke, which follows the author’s text closely, was first published as a hardback in the United States in 1955 by Doubleday under the title Maigret in New York’s Underworld. It wasn’t until 1979 that Hamish Hamilton published the same translation in hardback in Great Britain as Maigret in New York. Peter Foord UK

Maigret of the Month: Maigret à New-York (Maigret in New York’s Underworld / Maigret in New York) 3/07/06 – This is not one of my favorite M's. Perhaps it reflects Simenon's turmoil in moving to a different continent or something, but I don't much care for it. M himself was rather out of character at a number of points in the story. Also, at the end, why did M ask for John Maura to send him a phonograph from the USA? An American phonograph cound not be plugged into a French wall socket and even if you did get an adapter to use it, the French 220 volt current would have ruined it before the first record played on it came to an end. Was this supposed to be a photograph rather than a phonograph? A photo would have made a much better souveneir, I think. Joe

Maigret of the Month: Maigret à New-York (Maigret in New York’s Underworld / Maigret in New York) 3/08/06 – Joe is right; a phonograph is not a good memento of Maigret's trip to New York. The 220V vs. 110V problem can be easily rectified by using a 220V/110V transformer, but it still leaves a phonograph that was designed for American 60 cycle alternate current (AC) to run on European 50 cycle AC. The phonograph motor will run slow and the sound will be distorted. I understand that there are ways to convert from 60 to 50 cycles but is not as easy as buying a transformer. When I was living in Spain and tried to use my American turn table I couldn't get over the 60 to 50 cycle problem and ended up buying a European turn table. I confess that at the time I read Maigret in New York I didn't pick on that; good eyes, Joe. If Maigret had brought an American electric clock to France it would have lost 10 minutes every hour! Juan

Maigret of the Month: Maigret à New-York (Maigret in New York’s Underworld / Maigret in New York) 3/08/06 – In answer to Joe’s question (3/07/06), I looked at the end of the French First Edition of this Maigret novel. Madame Maigret says: 'Tu aurais pu tout au moins me rapporter quelque chose pour moi, un souvenir, je ne sais pas…' A cause de quoi, il se permit de câbler à Little John: Prière envoyer appareil à disques. Ce fut tout ce qu'il conserva, avec quelques pièces de bronze et quelques nickels, de son voyage à New-York. You could at least have brought something for me, a souvenir, I don’t know...' As a result of which, he permitted himself to cable Little John: Please send phonograph. It was all he kept, together with a few pennies and a few nickels, from his trip to New York. Most likely Maigret was requesting a wind-up gramophone that would play 78 rpm shellac records. This was still the era of that type of home entertainment, and the 78-shellac record was still being sold to the general public in 1956. The transition to the vinyl long playing record began when The Columbia Company of America issued its first 33 rpm LP in July 1948, followed by RCA Victor bringing out the 45 rpm 7 inch record in February 1949 As Simenon completed Maigret à New-York on the 7th of March 1946, the idea of Maigret requesting the then type of gramophone is feasible as far as the dates are concerned. As a twelve year old, I remember sorting out a cupboard at home, only to come across a wind-up gramophone with a small case holding a few eight-inch shellac records. Apparently this gramophone had been a present to my parents many years before from an uncle and aunt I was intrigued to find out if it was still in working order. It was. There was the handle at the side that was used to wind up the mechanism of the turntable, and the heavy arm, at the end of which was the circular sound box. But what was amazing was the steel needle that screwed into the underside of the soundbox, and then when the turntable was operational this needle was lowered onto the groove. Although quite heavy to carry around, and with the 78 records only with a longest playing time of just less than five minutes, it could be played anywhere as no power source was needed. Peter Foord UK

Phonograph 3/08/06 – In reply to Joe's comments on the Maigret of the Month, I agree that Maigret in New York works about as well as Miss Marple in Tibet. Since Simenon wrote appareil à disques, there's no possibility that he meant "photograph" rather than "phonograph." Maigret would have needed a transformer as well as a plug adapter to play records on an American machine. I believe these were readily available in post-war Paris. John H. Dirckx

New York 3/09/06 – Looks like I really started something here. It seems odd that a wind-up phonograph did not exist in France and that M had to ask to have one sent from NY. I think the character of Dexter was not believable, maybe the worst in all of the M series of books. Also, I've noticed that M's ability in English seems to vary with the story. He seems to be at least partly proficient in this one in spite of a heavy accent. In others, he can barely speak a word and has to depend nearly totally on others to translate for him. Joe

Paris and Detective Novels 3/11/06 – Marc Lemonier has published a new book "Balades policières dans Paris" (Nouveau Monde - 3/9/06) about detective novels and movies that took place in Paris. Simenon and Maigret are often mentioned. There are some illustrations... from Paris, the books, and the movies... Jerome

J. Maclaren-Ross (Magiret and the Burglar's Wife) 3/11/06 – Is J. Maclaren-Ross, who translated La Grande Perche (Maigret and the Burglar's Wife), Julian Maclaren-Ross, the famous Soho dandy (and according to Amazon) literary figure tormented by and finally succumbing to alchol drug addiction etc? Does anyone know of any other translations by him (this site suggests he only translated the one Maigret novel) or why he was chosen to translate this one? I am doing some work on the standard of the translation, and have the impression that JMR was not a translator by profession and simply turned this out as a quick way of earning some money. However, I would not like to do the poor fellow down without makimg an effort to establish the facts. Searching the net has revealed little apart from a couple of his autobigraphies which I will check but it struck me someone might know something that I don't. Any help will be appreciated. Bill Rispin

J. Maclaren-Ross (Magiret and the Burglar's Wife) 3/13/06 – To answer Bill Rispin’s question (3/11/06), the translator of this Maigret novel is the writer Julian Maclaren-Ross (1912-1964). He was born James Ross to an Anglo-Indian mother and a Latin American father who lived in various English coastal towns before travelling to Marseilles and Nice, where in his late teens he revelled in the café life of the French Riviera and from that time called himself Julian Maclaren-Ross. He gravitated back to London and in the 1940s often frequented first one then another of the public houses in Rathbone Place in Soho. He dressed flamboyantly, holding sway with some of the writers, painters and poets who, with others, frequented those public houses. His extravagant life style meant that he was invariably short of money. Writing in his spare time, he supported himself with odd jobs, at one time as a gardener and a vacuum cleaner salesman. Through some of his Soho friends, he made contact with certain publishers, so that some of his work in the 1940s began to be published. Unfortunately his writing career was often blighted by his arguments with publishers over fees and advances for work to be written, which lasted all his life. Taking on any work that would bring him in money, such as book reviews and scripts for radio plays, in 1950 he accepted a commission to translate Pierrot mon ami by Raymond Queneau into English. Under the title of Pierrot it was published in 1950 by John Lehmann. The only other translation that came his way was Georges Simenon’s novel Maigret et la Grande Perche from the publisher Hamish Hamilton. There is an amusing anecdote concerning this novel from Paul Willetts who wrote the biography of Maclaren-Ross: ‘Steadfast in his (Maclaren-Ross’s) refusal to surrender to Madame Simenon’s ludicrous demand that he should aim for a word-for-word rendition under the title of Maigret and Lanky Liz, he tried to capture some of the casual quality of the original.’ The Madame Simenon referred to here is the author’s second wife Denise, neé Denyse Ouimet. Denise Simenon’s choice of the English title with the alliteration is obviously playing with the translation of la Grande Perche (from pole to bean pole to tall lanky person). The name refers to the burglar’s wife Ernestine Jussiaume, neé Micou. In 1954 Simenon changed his British publisher from Routledge to Hamish Hamilton. He became dissatisfied with Routledge for their lack of promotion of his books, as well as his discovery of the most used translators altering his texts in some ways. Simenon responded very well to Jamie (Hamish) Hamilton who remained his British publisher for the rest of his life. With a constant flow of texts coming in from Simenon, Hamish Hamilton commissioned many more translators, at times just using some of them once only, as in the case of Maclaren-Ross. A few years later, in 1960 and 1961, Hamish Hamilton published two of Maclaren-Ross’s detective novels, but once more disagreements with this publisher led him to look elsewhere. Julian Maclaren-Ross died of a heart attack in 1964 aged 52, leaving behind a small but very interesting body of work that has acquired a cult following. Peter Foord UK

Rupert Davies Maigret 3/19/06 – The Rupert Davies Maigret series is my first memory of television and of Maigret and has remained in my mind as the most wonderful of programmes. Does anybody know how copies of any of these programmes can be obtained? They must be in some archive and what a treasure house of memories they would provide for so many Simenon fans. I should be pleased to hear of any material available. John Patrick

Commissaire Guillaume's home 3/24/06 – We have just discovered that our house was the country retreat/retirement home of Commissaire Guillaume. We would be delighted to hear from anyone who has any relevant information to assist in putting together a history of this. Thanks in advance Stan Thompson

Who is this Maigret? 3/25/06 – I spotted this photo (left) on an Italian Maigret site, Le inchieste di Maigret. It looks like it should be Maigret, but there's no indication of the actor's name, and when I emailed to ask, my mail bounced back. Anyone know who this is? Maybe Boris Tenine? The site also has this nice photo (right, inscribed to Simenon) of Jean Morel, who played Maigret in the stage adaptation of Liberty Bar in 1955: ST

Who is this Maigret? - It's Michel Simon 3/25/06 – It's Michel Simon. The film was Brelan d'as (1952). John H. Dirckx

Who is this Maigret? - It's Boris Tenine 3/27/06 – Answering your question in the Forum (3/25/06), the top photograph is of the Russian actor Boris Tenine in the role of Maigret. Peter Foord

BBC - Rupert Davies Maigret 3/27/06 – The mystery of the unissued BBC Rupert Davies Maigret programmes rumbles on with no result. I seem to remember that a contact at the BBC was mentioned some time ago in this forum. I wonder how many fans took the trouble to write/email and nag the beeb. I suspect that we are in a minority and way down the list of priorities when it comes to choosing what they re-issue.We should inundate the BBC with our requests. Bill

C. Day Lewis on Simenon - 1967 4/6/06 – Weekend Telegraph (London) May 26, 1967, pp. 24-26 Number 138   The Man Who Isn't There By Cecil Day Lewis Photographs by PETER KEEN

Maigret of the Month: Les Vacances de Maigret (A Summer Holiday/ Maigret on Holiday) 4/11/06 – At the end of October 1945, having found suitable rented accommodation in Canada at Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson some fifty miles north of Montréal, once more Simenon was able to establish his writing schedule. During 1946 and 1947 he wrote 10 novels (3 of them involving Maigret) and 10 of the longer short stories (with Maigret featuring in 4 of them), but they were not all written at the same locations. After spending six months at Sainte-Marguerite, in May 1946 he moved to the small fishing village of Saint Andrews on Canada’s Atlantic coast near to the border with the United States and the State of Maine. Another six months stay, at the end of which he felt ready to move into the United States. Having bought two second-hand cars, in mid-September 1946, Simenon, his wife Tigy, their son Marc with his governess and Denyse Ouimet left Saint Andrews and crossed the border into the United States. They followed Route Number One taking in the Eastern States until they reached Miami in Florida. Disliking Miami, they drove to Sarasota on Florida’s west coast and north of there Simenon rented accommodation at a location named Bradenton Beach. He capitalised on this journey by writing nineteen articles entitled L’Amérique en auto (America by car — not translated), eleven of which were published in the French newspaper France-Soir in November 1946. (All nineteen articles have been reprinted in book form in recent years). Simenon was based at Bradenton Beach from November 1946 until August 1947 when he with his eight-year-old son Marc and Denyse Ouimet left there by car travelling west through several of the Southern States until they reached Tucson in Arizona. At the end of May 1947, his wife Tigy had returned to France primarily to sort out finances. On this visit she obtained a visa for Boule who accompanied her back to New York in September1947, but Boule had to reside in Nogales on the Mexican / Arizona border for a while before joining the rest of the group in Tucson. When staying for some time in such locations as Sainte-Marguerite and Saint Andrews in Canada, Bradenton Beach in Florida and now in Tucson, Simenon took the opportunity to write certain novels and some short stories.   Initially landing in New York, and visiting there from time to time, had given him the impetus to write again after leaving Europe. Set in New York, his first novel was Trois Chambres à Manhattan (Three Beds in Manhattan) clearly based on his meeting with Denyse Ouimet who became his secretary, mistress and later his second wife. His keenness — perhaps over keenness — to bring Maigret to New York, led to his second novel Maigret à New York (Maigret in New York’s Underworld / Maigret in New York) being written soon after in March 1946. Unfortunately this Maigret novel is not so successful as the more recent ones, being somewhat patchy and disjointed, with certain characters slotted in to the narrative rather than being more integrated. It is as if Simenon’s enthusiasm for a new city had got the better of him, rather than for him to have been able to absorb its way of life. Whether he sensed this is a matter of conjecture, as he did not write another Maigret novel for another twenty months, the only works involving Maigret being four short stories all with European settings. Also he did not attempt another novel with an American setting for almost the same period of time, waiting until he had settled for a time in Tucson, Arizona, before he wrote the novel La Jument Perdue (The Lost Mare — not translated) in October 1947. (The title refers to the name of a ranch, which he located near Tucson). In November 1947 Simenon wrote Les Vacances de Maigret (A Summer Holiday / No Vacation for Maigret / Maigret on Holiday), which is very different from the previous novel Maigret in New York. Here Simenon reverts back to Maigret being a member of the Police Judiciaire in Paris, but as the French title indicates, Maigret is on holiday with his wife. They have decided to spend their August holiday at Les Sables d’Olonne in the département of the Vendée. This particular coastal resort was well known to Simenon. He had visited it for the first time with his wife Tigy in the summer of 1927 soon after ending his liaison with Josephine Baker. He became very attached to this part of the Atlantic coast of France, especially La Rochelle, and from time to time lived in various places along this stretch of the coast. In the summer of 1944 Simenon contracted a viral infection and was advised to recuperate by the sea. He was living in the Vendée region of France and in early September 1944 he decided to go to Les Sables d’Olonne. The last of the Occupying forces had left there on the 28th of August (Paris having been liberated only three days before on the 25th) in what were the later stages of the Second World War. Simenon was to remain in Les Sables d’Olonne for eight months until April 1945. This shows the main part of Les Sables-d’Olonne. Key: A= The Church of Nôtre-Dame-de-Bon-Port; H= Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall); G = Gendarmerie; White Cross in a square = Hôpital des Sables. Hôtel de Remblai et de l’Océan, 68-70 Quai Clemenceau et 1 Place Foch (in the novel Brasserie du Remblai). Hôtel Bellevue, 66 Promenade de la Plage. The Remblai is the general name given to the area of the beach. (from Guide Michelin: France: 1934) His detailed knowledge of this place is obvious from the novel, although he was writing it hundred of miles away, and two years on, recapturing the atmosphere, the sights, smells and sounds as if he was still there. Undoubtedly he used the same establishments in the novel as he did when he was living there, this being confirmed by the detailed research of Michel Carly, although some go under different names. The church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port is next to the market and although there is a Rue de Bel Air, the hotel of that name is the Hôtel Roches-Noires (12, Promenade Georges Clemenceau). Maigret visits regularly the Brasserie du Remblai which at 67 Quai Clemenceau is the Hôtel du Remblai-Océan. The Hôtel Bellevue is to be found at 66 Promenade de la Plage, whilst the Hôpital des Sables (which Simenon attended and where Madame Maigret is a patient) is off the Boulevard Pasteur. Although outside his jurisdiction, Maigret is gradually drawn into an investigation. Near to the beginning of their holiday, Madame Maigret is taken ill with an appendicitis and has to have an operation in the local hospital. Left on his own, Maigret develops a routine of visiting his wife each day and calling in on various establishments around the town. One of these is the Brasserie du Remblai where every afternoon he watches some of the prominent men of the town play bridge. But his curiosity is aroused when he finds a note relating to a certain patient in the hospital, which has been slipped surreptitiously into his coat pocket. Simenon gradually builds up the storyline, with Maigret exploring various parts of the town, questioning a variety of people in an endeavour to discover more facts. At times he comes across a certain class system, at others a certain reticence, which makes him worried and frustrated, but by being persistent, he arrives at a certain point in his thinking where a likely result is within his grasp, a result that resolves from obsession and revenge. In some ways Simenon explores the character of the culprit in a way that echoes some of those that are found in his other novels that are often called the psychological novels or the novels of destiny. Some years ago, to commemorate the author’s association with Les Sables d’Olonne, a square in the town was renamed the Place Georges Simenon.   There are two English translations of this Maigret novel. It was first published in 1950 in a two novel hardback volume entitled Maigret on Holiday in the United Kingdom by Routledge and Kegan Paul. This volume contains A Summer Holiday (Les Vacances de Maigret) and To Any Lengths (Signé Picpus) both in the usual freer translations by Geoffrey Sainsbury. A second translation by Jacqueline Baldick under the title of Maigret on Holiday was published in 1970 as a paperback by Penguin Books in the United Kingdom, this translation being closer to the author’s French text. This shows the main part of Les Sables-d’Olonne. Key: Red Cross in a square = Hôpital des Sables, Boulevard Pasteur. h = Hôtel Bellevue, 67 Promenade G. Clemenceau. s = Hôtel Roches Noires, 12 Promenade G. Clemenceau (in the novel Hôtel Bel Air). (from Michelin: France 1964) [click to enlarge] Peter Foord UK

Maigret audio books 4/12/06 – Am I correct in saying that the Listen for Pleasure audio tapes read by Geoffrey Hutchings are abridged versions? There seems to be a lot of stories in 3 hours of pl