The Maigret Collection

Inspector Maigret #1-4, 6-7

by Georges Simenon

This collection contains the first six Maigret novels, which appeared in 1931-2: Pietr the Latvian, The Late Monsieur Gallet, The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien, The Carter of 'La Providence', The Yellow Dog, Night at the Crossroads. These early novels range in setting from Maigret's home turf in Paris, to sleepy coastal towns and Liege, the city where Simenon himself grew up. Each unforgettable novel takes the inspector into an unfamiliar world with a distinct atmosphere, be it rich expats, international criminal gangs, isolated boating communities or secret societies. Penguin Classics is publishing all seventy-five Maigret novels, in their original publication order in authentic new translations that bring the reader closer than ever to Simenon's gritty originals. "One of literature's most exceptional characters." (Ian Sansom, New Statesman). 'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray 'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century...Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." (Guardian). "A supreme writer ...unforgettable vividness." (Independent).

912 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2015

About the author

Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (1903 – 1989) was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.

Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.

He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.

During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).

Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).

In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.

In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.