Simenon in Lakeville (Connecticut)


SHADOW ROCK FARMIn 1950 Georges Simenon married Denyse Ouimet (they met in NYC in 1945) and lived at Shadow Rock Farm (Lakeville, Connecticut). According to details in a income tax case filed against him later on, he first rented the house on July 27, 1950 and subsequently purchased it on November 1, 1950. He lived there until March 19, 1955 when he left the USA for good. (Source: Simenon Simenon). This was a particularly prolific period for our author. According to some sources he wrote more than 25 novels between Maigrets and romans-durs. More precisely the years that followed the birth of his daughter Marie-Jo (February 1953), marked ‘the beginning, for Maigret, of a change in his manner of leading investigations. The character moves further and further from a simple “detective style” to reflecting on the questionings of his creator, on the culpability of man, the legitimacy of justice and the police machinery. The title of the novels to follow indicate this evolution well.’ Some of these titles are: Maigret is Afraid (’53), Maigret’s Mistake (’53), Maigret’s Failure (’56), Maigret`s Doubts (’58) and Maigret Hesitates (’68).’ (Source: Murielle Wenger). All this is relevant since I’m reading Maigret is Afraid, and I’m looking forward to reading soon Maigret’s Failure and Maigret Hesitates. Stay tuned.

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