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 at Maigret forum.
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 Judge’s 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).
b) The return to Europe, 1955–1972: Maigret Sets a Trap (’55), Maigret’s Failure (’56), Maigret Enjoys Himself (’57), Maigret Travels (’58), Maigret`s Doubts (’58), Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses (’59), Maigret’s Secret (’59), Maigret in Court (’60), Maigret and the Old People (’60), Maigret and the Lazy Burglar (’61), Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse (’62), Maigret and the Saturday Caller (’62), Maigret And The Tramp (’63), Maigret’s Anger (’63), Maigret And The Ghost (’64), Maigret Defends Himself (’64), Maigret’s Patience (’65), Maigret and the Nahour Case (’67), Maigret’s Pickpocket (’67), Maigret Hesitates (’68), Maigret in Vichy (’68),
The following titles don’t have a publication date yet and their new title on Penguin’s paperback reissues:
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).
The 28 Maigret short stories
La Péniche aux deux pendus, L’Affaire du Boulevard Beaumarchais, La Fenêtre ouverte, Monsieur Lundi, Jeumont, 51 minutes d’arrêt, Peine de mort, Les Larmes de bougie, Rue Pigalle, Une erreur de Maigret, L’Amoureux de Madame Maigret, La vieille dame de Bayeux, L’Auberge aux noyés, Stan le tueur, L’Étoile du Nord, Tempête sur la Manche, Mademoiselle Berthe et son amant, Le Notaire du Châteauneuf, L’improbable Monsieur Owen, Ceux du Grand Café, L’Homme dans la rue, Vente à la bougie, Menaces de mort, La Pipe de Maigret, On ne tue pas les pauvres types, Le Témoinage de l’enfant de chœur, Le Client le plus obstiné du monde, Maigret et l’inspecteur malgracieux (malchanceux) and Un Noël de Maigret.
The majority of this short stories, translated into English, are collected in two books: Maigret’s Pipe: Seventeen Stories by Georges Simenon and Maigret’s Christmas: Nine Stories. Three of this stories, previously untranslated into English, are now available at the excellent Maigret Forum website: The Group at the Grand Café (1938); The Unlikely Monsieur Owen (1938) and Death Threats (1942).
As a footnote, I would like to add that today it is widely accepted that Maigret’s saga is made up of 75 novels and 28 short stories, for a total of 103 Maigret episodes published between 1931 and 1972, written by Georges Simenon. The length of the novels varies between 78 and 121 pages, while the short stories size is much more varied. It ranges from the 47 pages of Maigret’s Christmas to the 8 pages of stories such as Mr. Monday, Death Penalty, Death of a Woodlander, In the Rue Pigalle and Maigret’s Mistake. In fact, very few of Maigret novels may be considered novels with an extension of more than 40.000 words. The majority are novellas in size (between 17.000 and 40.000 words). Sixteen of the so-called short stories are novelettes (between 7.500 and 17.000 words) and the rest are short stories strictly speaking (between 3.500 and 7.500 words).
Please let me know of any error and/or omission you may find on this page. Thanks beforehand.
A Crime is Afoot 