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Belgian born writer Georges Simenon (Liège, February 13, 1903 – September 4, 1989), is considered one of the best mystery writers of all times, even though some of his “psychological novels” are only being discovered. He was also a very prolific writer, and was known to be able to write anywhere between 60 to 80 pages a day. Such ability to write quickly produced almost 200 novels, 150 novellas, a number of autobiographical works, quite a number of articles and even more so called pulp novels which he wrote under various pseudonyms. When counted, Simenon had almost 550 million copies of his works printed.
Order of Inspector Maigret Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett / Pietr the Latvian | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Maigret Meets a Milord / The Carter of 'La Providence' (Short Story) | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
3 | The Death of Monsieur Gallet / The Late Monsieur Gallet / Maigret Stonewalled | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
4 | The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien / The Crime of Inspector Maigret / Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
5 | A Battle of Nerves / A Man\'s Head / Maigret Bides His Time / The Patience of Maigret / Maigret\'s Patience | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
6 | The Yellow Dog / Maigret and the Concarneau Murders | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Maigret at the Crossroads / The Night at the Crossroads | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
8 | Maigret in Holland / A Crime in Holland | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
9 | The Sailors' Rendezvous / Maigret Answers a Plea / The Grand Banks Cafe (Short Story) | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
10 | The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin / Maigret at the Gai-Moulin | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
11 | Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine / The Two-Penny Bar | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
12 | The Shadow Puppet / Maigret Mystified | 1932 | Description / Buy | |
13 | Maigret Goes Home / The Saint-Fiacre Affair / Maigret on Home Ground / Maigret and the Countess | 1932 | Description / Buy | |
14 | Maigret and the Flemish Shop / The Flemish House | 1932 | Description / Buy | |
15 | Maigret and the Death of a Harbor-Master / Misty Harbour / Maigret and Monsieur Labbe | 1932 | Description / Buy | |
16 | The Madman of Bergerac | 1932 | Description / Buy | |
17 | Liberty Bar / Maigret on the Riviera | 1932 | Description / Buy | |
18 | Lock No. 1 / The Lock at Charenton | 1933 | Description / Buy | |
19 | Maigret / Maigret Returns | 1934 | Description / Buy | |
20 | The Cellars of the Majestic / Maigret and the Hotel Majestic | 1942 | Description / Buy | |
21 | The Judge's House / Maigret in Exile | 1942 | Description / Buy | |
22 | Maigret and the Spinster / Cécile is Dead | 1942 | Description / Buy | |
23 | Maigret and the Fortuneteller / To Any Lengths / Signed, Picpus (Short Story) | 1944 | Description / Buy | |
24 | Félicie / Maigret and the Toy Village | 1944 | Description / Buy | |
25 | Inspector Cadaver / Maigret's Rival | 1944 | Description / Buy | |
26 | Maigret Gets Angry / Maigret in Retirement | 1947 | Description / Buy | |
27 | Maigret in New York / Maigret in New York's Underworld | 1947 | Description / Buy | |
28 | Maigret's Holiday / A Summer Holiday / No Vacation for Maigret | 1948 | Description / Buy | |
29 | Maigret's Dead Man / Maigret's Special Murder | 1948 | Description / Buy | |
30 | Maigret's First Case | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
31 | My Friend Maigret / The Methods of Maigret | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
32 | Maigret at the Coroner's / Maigret and the Coroner | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
33 | Maigret and the Old Lady | 1950 | Description / Buy | |
34 | Madame Maigret's Own Case / The Friend of Madame Maigret / Madame Maigret's Friend | 1950 | Description / Buy | |
35 | Maigret's Memoirs | 1951 | Description / Buy | |
36 | Maigret in Montmartre / Maigret and the Strangled Stripper / Maigret at Picratt's | 1951 | Description / Buy | |
37 | Maigret Takes a Room / Maigret Rents a Room | 1951 | Description / Buy | |
38 | Maigret and the Burglar's Wife / Maigret and the Tall Woman | 1951 | Description / Buy | |
39 | Maigret and the Gangsters / Inspector Maigret and the Killers / Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
40 | Maigret's Revolver | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
41 | Maigret and the Man on the Bench / Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard | 1953 | Description / Buy | |
42 | Maigret Afraid / Maigret Is Afraid | 1953 | Description / Buy | |
43 | Maigret's Mistake | 1953 | Description / Buy | |
44 | Maigret Goes to School | 1954 | Description / Buy | |
45 | Maigret and the Calame Report / Maigret and the Minister | 1954 | Description / Buy | |
46 | Maigret and the Dead Girl / Maigret and the Young Girl | 1954 | Description / Buy | |
47 | Maigret and the Headless Corpse | 1955 | Description / Buy | |
48 | Maigret Sets a Trap | 1955 | Description / Buy | |
49 | Maigret's Failure | 1956 | Description / Buy | |
50 | Maigret Enjoys Himself / Maigret's Little Joke / None of Maigret's Business | 1957 | Description / Buy | |
51 | Maigret Travels / Maigret and the Millionaires | 1958 | Description / Buy | |
52 | Maigret Has Scruples / Maigret's Doubts | 1958 | Description / Buy | |
53 | Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses | 1959 | Description / Buy | |
54 | Maigret's Secret / Maigret Has Doubts | 1959 | Description / Buy | |
55 | Maigret in Court | 1960 | Description / Buy | |
56 | Maigret and the Old People / Maigret in Society | 1960 | Description / Buy | |
57 | Maigret and the Idle Burglar / Maigret and the Lazy Burglar | 1961 | Description / Buy | |
58 | Maigret and the Black Sheep / Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse | 1962 | Description / Buy | |
59 | Maigret and the Saturday Caller (Short Story) | 1962 | Description / Buy | |
60 | Maigret and the Tramp / Maigret and the Dosser / Maigret and the Bum | 1963 | Description / Buy | |
61 | Maigret's Fury / Maigret Loses His Temper / Maigret's Anger | 1963 | Description / Buy | |
62 | Maigret and the Ghost / Maigret and the Apparition | 1964 | Description / Buy | |
63 | Maigret on the Defensive / Maigret Holds His Own / Maigret Defends Himself (Short Story) | 1964 | Description / Buy | |
64 | Maigret and the Nahour Case | 1966 | Description / Buy | |
65 | Maigret and the Pickpocket / Maigret's Pickpocket | 1967 | Description / Buy | |
66 | Maigret in Vichy / Maigret Takes the Waters | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
67 | Maigret Hesitates | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
68 | Maigret's Boyhood Friend / Maigret's Childhood Friend | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
69 | Maigret and the Killer | 1969 | Description / Buy | |
70 | Maigret and the Wine Merchant | 1970 | Description / Buy | |
71 | Maigret and the Madwoman / Maigret\'s Madwoman | 1970 | Description / Buy | |
72 | Maigret and the Loner | 1971 | Description / Buy | |
73 | Maigret and the Informer / Maigret and the Flea | 1972 | Description / Buy | |
74 | Maigret and Monsieur Charles | 1973 | Description / Buy |
Order of Inspector Maigret Short Story Collections
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Maigret's Pipe: Seventeen Stories | 1945 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Maigret et les petit cochons sans queue | 1950 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Maigret's Christmas | 1976 | Description / Buy |
Order of Georges Simenon Standalone Novels
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Girl with a Squint | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
2 | The Engagement | 1933 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Tropic Moon | 1933 | Description / Buy | |
4 | The Window Over the Way (Short Story) | 1933 | Description / Buy | |
5 | The Lodger | 1934 | Description / Buy | |
6 | The Long Exile | 1935 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Donadieu's Will | 1936 | Description / Buy | |
8 | The Man Who Watched Trains Go By | 1938 | Description / Buy | |
9 | Girl In Waiting | 1938 | Description / Buy | |
10 | Three Crimes | 1938 | Description / Buy | |
11 | The Strangers in the House | 1940 | Description / Buy | |
12 | The Widow | 1942 | Description / Buy | |
13 | The Truth About Bebe Donge | 1942 | Description / Buy | |
14 | Across the Street | 1942 | Description / Buy | |
15 | The Suspect | 1944 | Description / Buy | |
16 | Monsieur Monde Vanishes | 1945 | Description / Buy | |
17 | Three Bedrooms in Manhattan | 1946 | Description / Buy | |
18 | Act of Passion | 1946 | Description / Buy | |
19 | The Mahé Circle | 1946 | Description / Buy | |
20 | Death of a Nobody (Short Story) | 1947 | Description / Buy | |
21 | Pedigree | 1948 | Description / Buy | |
22 | The Snow Was Dirty | 1948 | Description / Buy | |
23 | Magnet of Doom | 1948 | Description / Buy | |
24 | The Bottom Of The Bottle | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
25 | Four Days in a Lifetime | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
26 | The Pitards | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
27 | Strange Inheritance | 1950 | Description / Buy | |
28 | The Heart of a Man | 1950 | Description / Buy | |
29 | A New Lease On Life | 1951 | Description / Buy | |
30 | The Burgomaster of Furnes | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
31 | Escape in Vain | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
32 | Havoc by Accident | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
33 | On the danger line | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
34 | Belle | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
35 | In Two Latitudes | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
36 | The Trial of Bebe Donge | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
37 | Dirty Snow | 1953 | Description / Buy | |
38 | Red Lights | 1953 | Description / Buy | |
39 | The Iron Staircase | 1953 | Description / Buy | |
40 | The Watchmaker of Everton (Short Story) | 1954 | Description / Buy | |
41 | The Clockmaker (Short Story) | 1954 | Description / Buy | |
42 | Big Bob | 1954 | Description / Buy | |
43 | The Accomplices (Short Story) | 1955 | Description / Buy | |
44 | The Rules of the Game | 1955 | Description / Buy | |
45 | The Burial of Monsieur Bouvet | 1955 | Description / Buy | |
46 | The Fugitive | 1955 | Description / Buy | |
47 | A Sense of Guilt | 1955 | Description / Buy | |
48 | The Little Man From Archangel | 1956 | Description / Buy | |
49 | The Stowaway | 1957 | Description / Buy | |
50 | Sunday (Short Story) | 1958 | Description / Buy | |
51 | The President | 1958 | Description / Buy | |
52 | The Son | 1958 | Description / Buy | |
53 | The Widower (Short Story) | 1959 | Description / Buy | |
54 | The Grandmother | 1959 | Description / Buy | |
55 | The Negro | 1959 | Description / Buy | |
56 | Young Cardinaud | 1959 | Description / Buy | |
57 | The Blue Room | 1960 | Description / Buy | |
58 | Betty | 1960 | Description / Buy | |
59 | Justice | 1960 | Description / Buy | |
60 | The Family Lie (Short Story) | 1960 | Description / Buy | |
61 | The Train | 1961 | Description / Buy | |
62 | Striptease | 1961 | Description / Buy | |
63 | Poisoned Relations (Short Story) | 1961 | Description / Buy | |
64 | The hatter's ghosts | 1961 | Description / Buy | |
65 | The Door (Short Story) | 1962 | Description / Buy | |
66 | The House on Quai Notre Dame | 1962 | Description / Buy | |
67 | The Others (Short Story) | 1962 | Description / Buy | |
68 | The Bells of Bicetre | 1963 | Description / Buy | |
69 | The Magician | 1963 | Description / Buy | |
70 | Inquest on Bouvet | 1963 | Description / Buy | |
71 | The Man With the Little Dog | 1964 | Description / Buy | |
72 | The Venice Train | 1965 | Description / Buy | |
73 | The Survivors | 1965 | Description / Buy | |
74 | Black Rain | 1965 | Description / Buy | |
75 | Ticket of Leave | 1965 | Description / Buy | |
76 | The Cat | 1966 | Description / Buy | |
77 | The Old Man Dies | 1966 | Description / Buy | |
78 | The Mouse | 1966 | Description / Buy | |
79 | Fate of the Malous | 1966 | Description / Buy | |
80 | The Little Saint | 1967 | Description / Buy | |
81 | The Brothers Rico | 1967 | Description / Buy | |
82 | The Reckoning (Short Story) | 1967 | Description / Buy | |
83 | The neighbours | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
84 | The Prison | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
85 | The Premier | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
86 | The confessional. | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
87 | The Patient | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
88 | The Witnesses | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
89 | Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself in | 1969 | Description / Buy | |
90 | Uncle Charles | 1969 | Description / Buy | |
91 | November | 1970 | Description / Buy | |
92 | The Rich Man | 1970 | Description / Buy | |
93 | Enigmas | 1970 | Description / Buy | |
94 | The Glass Cage | 1971 | Description / Buy | |
95 | The Innocents | 1972 | Description / Buy | |
96 | The Disappearance Of Odile | 1972 | Description / Buy | |
97 | The Girl in His Past / Le temps d'Anaïs | 1976 | Description / Buy | |
98 | The Nightclub | 1977 | Description / Buy | |
99 | The White Horse Inn (Short Story) | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
100 | The Little Doctor | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
101 | The Outlaw | 1987 | Description / Buy | |
102 | The Murderer | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
103 | The Hand | 2016 | Description / Buy |
Order of Georges Simenon Non-Fiction Books
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Simenon's Paris | 1970 | Description / Buy | |
2 | When I Was Old | 1971 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Letter to My Mother (Short Story) | 1976 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Intimate Memoirs: Including Marie-Jo's Book | 1981 | Description / Buy |
Order of Inspector Maigret Short Stories/Novellas
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | L'Étoile du Nord | 1938 | Description / Buy |
Georges Simenon Anthologies
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews | 1957 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Nine Detective Stories | 1964 | Description / Buy | |
3 | City Sleuths and Tough Guys | 1989 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Murder Intercontinental | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
5 | The Oxford Book of Detective Stories | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Murder Most Merry | 2002 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Murder On The Railways | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
8 | The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction | 2004 | Description / Buy |
Simenon is best known and remembered for a series of 75 novels and 28 short stories covering the adventures of police commissioner (Commissaire) Maigret. The first novel in the series appeared in 1931, while the last one hit the shelves in 1972. Currently there is quite a number of sites that continue to discuss Maigrets cases (http://www.trussel.com/f_maig.htm). The success of the Maigret series meant that the works from this series were translated into all major languages, while several of them became movies and radio plays. Maigret became particularly popular in Great Britain, where Simenon’s works were used as a base for two Maigret television series (1960-63 and 1992-93).
Simenon spent a good period of his life and career in the United States. This, so called Simenon’s “American” period is considered his most creative. Simenon drew quite some inspiration from his life in America as some of his novels were set in the scenery he lived through: (Trois chambres à Manhattan – Three Rooms in Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New – Maiget in New York York (1947), Maigret se fâche – Maigret Gets Angry (1947)).
Some of his “psychological novels” have only recently begun to catch the eye of the reading public, and include titles like La neige était sale – Snow is Dirty (1948) or Le fils – Sons (1957). H also wrote a series of autobiographical works like Je me souviens – I Remember (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes – Intimate memoirs (1981).
Georges Simenon Awards
While living and working in the US, Simenon was awarded the MWA (Mystery Writers of America) Grand Master Award.
In Belgium he was also nominated in 2005 for the title “De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). There were two versions of this title: Flemish and Wallon one. In the first he was in 77th place and in the other he came in 10th.
Georges Simenon Books Into Movies:
Prolific writing and popularity with readers brought along quite a number of movies and TV series being produced based on Georges Simenon works, to be precise exactly 142. Only in 2016 two TV movies were made based on Inspector Maigret series: “Maigret’s Dead Man” and “Maigrest Sets a Trap”. The first movie based on a Simenon novel was made as early as 1932: “Night At The Crossroads”. Out of these, there were 10 different TV series completed based on Simenon’s writings.
Some of Simenon’s novels are considered as a basis for some of the best movies made in the so called Film Noir genre.
Best Georges Simenon Books
There are many accounts that Georges Simenon’s tales of mystery, scandal and even sexual misconduct are in many ways based on his personal life story. It would be hard today to say what differentiates truth for fiction, but here are some of the Simenon’s key written works:
Inspector Maigret novel series. It is said that if you read one of the novels in the Inspector Maigret series, you will read all 75 of them. Of course, the quality of all is not equal, but you are sure to enjoy practically all of them, particularly if you are a mystery novel buff.
Intimate Memoirs (1981): Some critics have called Simenon’s Inspector Maigret series as “comfort food” that you recover from his more serious work. This autobiographical work only confirms, as one critic said, that a good meal was not the only thing Georges Simenon liked to enjoy. A wife and two mistresses will do the trick in that respect.
The Mahé Circle: One of so called “more serious” works of Simenon that was only recently translated into English. In it you can find the essential Simenon male character. As with most Simenon main characters presented in his “serious” works discovering different freedoms poses a challenge in making a distinction between what is just enough and what is going overboard.
Any of the mentioned “American” series novels of Simenon are worth a read, particularly “Three Rooms in Manhattan”.
In any case, anything you grab that has Georges Simenon’s name on the cover is worth your reading time. They are bound to be worth your time. As far as the movies produced based on the Simenon works, any produced during the golden era of Film Noir (late Forties to early Sixties) should be a fascinating watch for film buffs even today.
When Does The Next Georges Simenon book come out?
Georges Simenon doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Hand and was released on October, 6th 2016.