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Please feel free to contribute to this Forum... Over ten years of earlier Forums can be read in the Archives, where you can find answers to many Maigret/Simenon questions. You can search the archives with the Google site search form at the bottom of this page.
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( Newest entries first )
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Book titles for Cremer Maigrets?
 1/11/10 – I bought the tv-video's starring Bruno Cremer as Maigret. There are 2 titles I cannot find anywhere in my lists. The 2 titles are :
-Maigret en Finlande.I suppose they used other titles for the film/tv. Do you know what the correct titles are? Greetings, Maigret en Finlande is based on Un crime en Hollande |
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Maigret of the Month - January 2010: La Folle de Maigret (Maigret's Madwoman)
1/7/10 – Enjoying a short week of vacation in Paris, I walked around this afternoon, following Maigret in La Folle de Maigret... Place des Victoires
Boulevard Beaumarchais
Place de la Bastille
Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville
Pont Neuf
Quai des Orfèvres
Place Dauphine
Quai de la Mégisserie
Jérôme |
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Maigret in translation
1/7/10 – Here's something I ran across today - It's been online here for about 5 years, but maybe not to easy to find... and it seems relevant to the current translation discussion.
ST |
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re: Maigret, starting all over
1/6/10 –
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Maigret of the Month - December 2009: Maigret et le marchand de vin (Maigret and the Wine Merchant)
1/5/10 – Photos of locations where some of the action takes place in Maigret et le marchand de vin...
Jérôme |
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Maigret, starting all over
1/5/10 – I'm a literary translator with a decade of work behind me, and have long been a fan of Simenon (both Maigret and the romans durs) and have long been puzzled and angered at how shoddily and erratically he has been translated and published in English, and consequently - despite being to my mind the most spare and truly modern of Golden Age writers (though he hardly fits the mould), a scant handful of the Maigret books are in print. I've finally persuaded a major publisher to begin again (after years of hearing 'Simenon just doesn't work in English'). They have committed to retranslating and seriously publishing half a dozen in the first year and would hope to make it an ongoing project. I have, obviously, my own ideas as to where to start: I'm reluctant to start at the very beginning beginning (Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien, Pietr-le-Letton) as I think it would be prudent to start later when the character of Maigret is fully established but I would welcome thoughts and ideas from you and from your Simenophiles for - say three books to be published together - either complementary or sequential– My own ideas are hardly original: I would probably suggest beginning with the Gallimard novels (of which four are out of print and consequently available: Cécile est morte, La Maison du juge, Signé Picpus, Felicie est la) Or three of the Presses de la Cité series that puts flesh on the bones of Maigret: (1913, Maigret et son mort, Maigret et la jeune morte) I would be very grateful for any thoughts or insights you might have on the subject. Faithfully, |
Maigret à Vichy
Maigret-of-the-month - August 2009 (M. Wenger)
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Maigret in Hungarian
  1/4/10 – First of all I wish all contributors of the website a very peaceful and Happy New Year for 2010.
I would like to add some new titles. After some research I found some of the titles in literary anthologies and in a weekly journal. Some interesting facts about the Hungarian Maigret editions: Maigret se défend was published three times: in 1976, 1994, 2005 (2005 - new translation).New titles for the list: Maigret utazása / Maigret voyage Best wishes,
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Maigret of the Month: Maigret et le marchand de vin (Maigret and the Wine Merchant)
12/21/09 – 
The entire structure of this novel is built on a binary principle of opposition, of contrast. Here are some determining elements...
Murielle Wenger
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Boire, boire, boire!
12/20/09 – Am I alone in perceiving the entire Maigret saga as one long pub crawl punctuated by fits of detection? Even allowing for certain peculiarities of French culture, I have no hesitation in pronouncing Commissaire Maigret an alcoholic. Qu'est-ce que vous en pensez, vous autres? John H. Dirckx some references: |
Mysterious Blue Bottle
 12/17/09 – First a big thank you for your Maigret site – it’s by far the best and every time I return I see new stuff which is fantastic.
There was some discussion (2/11/99) about the blue bottle Simenon was talking about [in Maigret at the Coroner's]. The one we thought might contain Alka Seltzer. Someone on your site mentioned a different name, “Bromo Seltzer” (2/20/99) – I searched and found this picture... I hope this helps to clarify the issue. I have picked up your search for the Viennese Lamplighter as I thought as a native German speaker it's easier for me to trawl the Austrian and German sites. No luck so far but I keep looking. Keep going with your fantastic site
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Georget and "Trois bénédictions un matin"?
12/5/09 – I read a short story in a Hungarian anthology (publ. in 1967) which reminds me very much of the story, "Le témoignage de l'enfant de choeur" (cho) [Hungarian: A ministránsgyerek vallomása]. It is not a murder, only a simple story of a young boy who serves every morning at the benediction for the dead in the church of the hospital. A cold, foggy morning a man stops him and promises him a bicycle if he unbolts the door between the church and the hospital. He does it and feels very guilty, tries to confess but finally he keeps his secret. He gets the bicycle and his family thinks that an aunt has sent it. The name of the boy is Georget – maybe an autobiographical story? The name of his nasty classmate is Gallet. Can you help me find the French title of the story and when was it published for the first time? The Hungarian title is: "Trois bénédictions un matin". Thank you very much and best wishes,
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New Maigrets in Hungarian
12/1/09 –
Hétfő úr / Monsieur Lundi |
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Maigret of the Month: Maigret et le tueur (Maigret and the Killer)
11/25/09 – 
1. Mini-analysis of the novel This novel is split into two large parts. In the first, the author paints a sort of picture of the life of the districts of Paris. It's as if Simenon wants to offer us a condensation of the various milieus of the capital... thus the author leads us successively into the district where the Maigrets live, that of "little people", craftsmen and shopkeepers, then into the well-to-do Ile Saint-Louis (where the Batilles live), then, with the aid of the recordings made by young Antoine, into the cafés of the Bastille district, whose habitués are underworld types. It's a chance for the author to describe to us the ambiance of the cafés where Maigret feels comfortable, in contrast with the muffled atmosphere of Tout-Paris – the Paris smart set, represented by the Batilles. And without missing a chance to show us the closeness of the Maigret couple. Up until the middle of the novel, we witness a parade of images, like "flashes", as if Simenon were enjoying recalling for us all the different milieus in which Maigret had led his investigations. And then, after an episode almost out of Rocambole, the arrest of the gang of thieves, as if the author were showing us that if he wanted to, he could also write us an "American-style action novel", with suspense and exciting arrests, suddenly the tone changes in Ch. 5, which begins the second part of the novel. The playing is over. Maigret attends Antoine's funeral, and we are brought back to reality – someone has been killed in this story, and the killer has to be found. The author presents us with a few more of the victim's traits, by way of questioning his schoolmates and his girlfriend, and then, while we might imagine that Maigret will focus, as he often does, on the life of the victim, the projector changes its target once more... it's the murderer who will take front stage. And thus begins the second part of the novel, where the author will ask, once again, one of his fundamental and permanent questions, that of human responsibility, in particular when one has committed murder. After the killer sends a letter to a newspaper, he regularly phones Maigret, and the Chief Inspector himself will constantly try to understand the personality of his caller and gain his trust, to have him give himself up. So we observe a "demonstration" of Maigret's faculty of empathy, as summed up in this sentence Simenon attributes to Mme Maigret, certainly the person who understands best, "from the inside" the reactions of the Chief Inspector. "She knew hardly more than the newspapers, but what the newspapers didn't realize, was how much energy he put into trying to understand, the kind of concentration he brought into play during the course of certain investigations. You could say that he identified with those he tracked, and that he suffered the same torments they did." The tragic confession of the killer leaves us with a bitter taste. He relieves himself of his anguish, putting his fate in Maigret's hand, but his situation will be no better than before... the care he needs will not be given, and he will be condemned to an "ordinary" detention, with no true hope for recovery. How better could the author have expressed his feeling of the uselessness of the justice of men faced with the question, with no answer, or responsibility... 2. To the movies, for a change of ideas At the end of Ch. 4, Maigret phones his wife to tell her he'll be home for dinner, and he suggests going to the movies, "for a change of ideas". If Maigret likes going to the movies, it's not so much for the film itself – he's simple enough in his taste on that point – he likes westerns, and comedies from the 20s and 30s, Chaplin, and Laurel and Hardy (NEW). In fact, what he likes about the movies, is going there accompanied by his wife. From the beginning of the corpus, there have been few allusions to the cinema. It was while following Pietr le Letton (LET) that he entered a movie theater, where a "puerile film" was showing. Maigret hardly watched the screen, satisfied to mull over his investigation. It's somewhat the same "technique" that he uses in the memorable scene in CEC, where we see "Maigret, his two hands in his pockets, pipe in his teeth, strolling down Boulevard Montparnasse, looking grouchy. He stops in front of a movie theater". He asks for a seat in the balcony, settles himself in, encased in his overcoat, and "in that state of physical numbness, his thoughts, like in dreams, sometimes going to the absurd, followed paths that pure reason wouldn't have discovered... And that's how he thinks without thinking, in snatches, by pieces of ideas which he doesn't try to put end to end." But aside from this "professional" use of the cinema, it's above all for the pleasure of sharing a good moment with Mme Maigret that the Chief Inspector goes to the movies. And it's especially in the Presses de la Cité period, where Mme Maigret takes on greater importance, that we see the couple going off, arm in arm, to a local movie house, for example on Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle (BAN, CLI), or Boulevard des Italiens (MME), or, more rarely, to one of the big theaters on the Champs-Elysées (AMU). 3. Maigret's leisure time... complete article
Murielle Wenger |
Simenon Tour in Liege by Little Christmas Train
 11/24/09 – Noël en petit train - Sur les traces de Simenon: Nov. 27 - Dec 30 - Place Saint-Lambert, Tivoli side... The tour will visit places Simenon knew, some of which may surprise you, like La Caque, the artists' hangout frequented by young Sim, described in Le pendu de Saint-Pholien. Your guide, Jean-Denys Boussart, mayor of Saint-Pholien, created this tour dedicated to the noted author. Roddy |
Visitor Globe
 11/9/09 – Click on the globe or press the "End" key on your keyboard to go to the bottom of the page and you'll see the new "RevloverMap" that records your location when you vist this page... Suggested by Przemek... who keeps us updated on new Maigrets appearing in Polish... Thanks Przemek! |
Maigret and Cognac
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Bruno Crémer Maigret Coffret 5
11/6/09 – I checked this afternoon the coffret 5 ( volume 21 to 25) and it is in French with no English sub-titles from what I saw at the back of the box. Older coffrets like coffret 2 had the mention "english subtitles" on them. Regards |
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Bruno Crémer Maigret Coffret 5
11/6/09 – Maigret Coffret No.5 - There are English subtitles. All Cremer coffrets have English subtitles as had the two-disc releases up to number 21, the others (vol 22 - 27) do not have any subtitles. Mattias Siwemyr |
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More on “Bruno Crémer Maigret Coffret 5... subtitles?”
11/5/09 – I went and searched Amazaon.co.uk. I could not find Coffret 5. 1-4 have subtitles; 5 may be available in France without subtitles but I do not think it is available elsewhere with subtitles. Maybe it will just be a matter of time. However, if anyone finds Coffret 5 with subtitles, I would think that to be major news for our Forum! And... regarding “What to Read that’s like Maigret.”
Stephen Cribari |
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Re: What to read that's like Maigret?
11/1/09 – I can highly recommend Nicolas Freeling's Van der Valk novels. They (and possibly his Castang series although I haven't read any) are heavily influenced by Simenon. This debt is explicitly mentioned a few times when Van der Valk, himself is a Maigret fan, sometimes wonders what Maigret would have done in a given situation. The Dutch detective even visits the Maigret statue in Delfzijl in the last Van der Valk book written - Sand Castles. Van de Valk series
Henri Castang series
Graeme Sutherland |
Maigret of the Month - 2010
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2/1/10 – The cinématheque in Toulouse has a special cycle on Simenon from January 16th to February 28th.
The first Maigrets to appear in English were six 1931-32 Fayard novels, published in five volumes by Covici-Friede, New York in 1933-34, and in three volumes by Hurst & Blackett, London, 1933-34, translated by Anthony Abbot:
