Georges Simenon’s Maigret Books

This entry was first intended as a private note, but I have thought it can be of some interest to readers of this blog. Most of this information has been taken from the excellent resources provided by Maigret site at http://www.trussel.com/f_maig.htm

I have highlighted in the text, in bold, the books that are generally recognised as Maigret bests. For some his best novels can be found in The Gallimard cycle, but my personal preference, at this stage, is tending towards the Fayard cycle. However I must recognise I have read very few of the books from his last period, the ones published between 1955 and 1972, after his return to Europe.

Please bear in mind that this post is a work in progress, you may read my reviews of the books I’ve read so far clicking on the books’ titles. Besides, your comments are welcome.

The Other Maigrets. Seven “Maigrets” have apparently never been published in English — three short stories, and four novels written in the summer of 1929, published under the pseudonyms Christian Brulls and Georges Sim: the so-called “precursors of Maigret,” since Simenon proclaimed that “Pietr-le-letton” was “the first Maigret”

The Early Maigrets, (The 19 novels of the Fayard cycle): Pietr the Latvian (Pietr-le-Letton, mai 1931), The Late Monsieur Gallet (Monsieur Gallet, décédé, février 1931), The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien (février 1931), The Carter of ‘La Providence’ (Le Charretier de la Providence, mars 1931), The Yellow Dog (Le Chien jaune, avril 1931), Night at the Crossroads (La Nuit du carrefour, juin 1931), A Crime in Holland (Un crime en Hollande, juillet 1931), The Grand Banks Café (Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas, août 1931), A Man’s Head (La Tête d’un homme – L’homme de la Tour Eiffel) septembre 1931), The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin (La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin, novembre 1931), The Two-Penny Bar, (La Guinguette à deux sous, décembre 1931), The Shadow Puppet (L’Ombre chinoise, janvier 1932), The Saint-Fiacre Affair (L’Affaire Saint-Fiacre, février 1932), The Flemish House (Chez les Flamands, mars 1932), The Madman of Bergerac (Le Fou de Bergerac, avril 1932), The Misty Harbour (Le Port des brumes, mai 1932), Liberty Bar (Liberty Bar, juillet 1932), Lock Nº 1 (L’Écluse nº 1, juin 1933), and Maigret (Maigret, mars 1934)

The Gallimard cycle, 6 novels: Cécile is Dead (Gallimard, 1942); The Cellars of the Majestic (Gallimard, 1942); The Judgeʻs House (Gallimard, 1942); Signed, Picpus (Gallimard, 1944); Inspector Cadaver (Gallimard, 1944), and Félicie (Gallimard, 1944).

The Presses de la Cité cycle (50 novels)

a) In the United States and Canada, 1945–1955: Maigret Gets Angry (’47), Maigret in New York (’47), Maigret’s Holiday (’48), Maigret and His Dead Man (’48), Maigret’s First Case (’49), My Friend Maigret (’49, Maigret at the Coroner’s (’49), Maigret and the Old Lady (’50), Madame Maigret’s Friend, (’50), Maigret’s Memoirs (’51), Maigret at Picratt’s (’51), Maigret Takes a Room, (’51), Maigret and the tall woman, (’51), Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters, (’52), Maigret’s Revolver (’52), Maigret and the Man on the Bench, (’53), Maigret is Afraid (’53), Maigret’s Mistake (’53), Maigret Goes to School (’54), Maigret and the Dead Girl (’54), Maigret and the Minister (’55), Maigret and the Headless Corpse (’55).

As from here onwards, I don’t have yet the titles of the New Penguins, under new translations except for Maigret Sets a Trap (’55).

b) The return to Europe, 1955–1972: Maigret Sets a Trap (’55), Maigret’s Failure (’56), Maigret Enjoys Himself  (’57), Maigret Travels (’58), Maigret Has Scruples (’58), Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses (’59), Maigret Has Doubts (’59), Maigret in Court (’60), Maigret in Society (’60), Maigret and the Lazy Burglar (’61), Maigret and the Black Sheep (’62), Maigret and the Saturday Caller (’62), Maigret and the Dosser, Maigret and the Bum (’63), Maigret Loses His Temper (’63), Maigret and the Ghost, Maigret and the Apparition (’64), Maigret on the Defensive (’64), The Patience of Maigret, Maigret Bides His Time (’65), Maigret and the Nahour Case (’67), Maigret’s Pickpocket (’67), Maigret Takes the Waters, Maigret in Vichy (’68), Maigret Hesitates (’68), Maigret’s Boyhood Friend (’68), Maigret and the Killer (’69), Maigret and the Wine Merchant (’70), Maigret and the Madwoman (’70), Maigret and the Loner (’71), Maigret and the Flea, Maigret and the Informer (’71), Maigret and Monsieur Charles (’72).

(updated 12-08-2017)