Maigret's Pickpocket


Book Description

“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré When Inspector Maigret's wallet and badge are stolen on a bus, it sets off a chain of events culminating in a grisly murder case A pickpocket steals Maigret's wallet only to contact him the following day, returning the stolen items on the condition that he come to the thief's apartment. When the agitated young thief leads Maigret to the body of his wife, dead of a gunshot wound to the head, he implores Maigret to take the case. Unsure whether he can trust him, the inspector becomes embroiled in a most unusual murder investigation. Putting the detective's knowledge of Paris's underworld to the test, Maigret's Pickpocket is a shocking mystery from Georges Simenon.




Maigret's World


Book Description

Georges Simenon's 75 novels and 28 short stories that feature Chief Inspector Jules Maigret provide us with a great deal of information about the French police detective--but only in small, episodic doses. As readers become acquainted with Maigret one detail at a time, he slowly takes on a flesh-and-bone realism--not merely a character in a story, but someone we would like to meet in real life. This book presents all the canonical facts and details about the detective and his world in one place, presented with tabulations and analyses that enable a better understanding of the works and of Maigret himself.




Maigret's Patience


Book Description

'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray Maigret finds himself back on the Rue des Acacias just ten days after cracking another case there. This time it is the murder of a criminal Maigret has known for over twenty years and one he always suspected was behind a string of jewellery robberies in the city. Maigret's patience is tested as he eliminates neighbour by neighbour in his hunt for the murderer. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret Bides His Time. 'His artistry is supreme' John Banville '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




Maigret Defends Himself


Book Description

'His artistry is supreme' John Banville For the first time in his career Inspector Maigret receives written summons to the Chief Commissioner's office where he learns that he has been accused of assaulting a young woman. With his career and reputation on the line, Maigret must fight to prove his innocence. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret on the Defensive. '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




Maigret and the Ghost


Book Description

During an undercover case Inspector Lognon is shot in a room he was sharing with a beautiful woman who has since disappeared. Inspector Maigret retraces Lognon's secretive last few days and is drawn into the darker side of the art world. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret and the Apparition. 'His artistry is supreme' John Banville '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




Investigating Simenon


Book Description

For nearly a century, the work of Belgian crime writer and psychological novelist Georges Simenon, creator of Chief Inspector Maigret, has captivated readers worldwide. This investigation situates Simenon's work in its historical context and interprets it as a reaction to shifting gender relations in Western society. Simenon's compelling narratives capture the anxieties of men whose patriarchal position was under threat in an era of insurgent feminist movements. These concerns are also evident in Simenon's pervasive preoccupation with sexuality, as well as his political stance that stems from his petit-bourgeois upbringing. This groundbreaking study includes interwoven commentary on all 191 novels Simenon published under his own name, including several that have never been translated into English, as well as a number of short stories and several pseudonymous works.




Literary Afterlife


Book Description

This is an encyclopedic work, arranged by broad categories and then by original authors, of literary pastiches in which fictional characters have reappeared in new works after the deaths of the authors that created them. It includes book series that have continued under a deceased writer's real or pen name, undisguised offshoots issued under the new writer's name, posthumous collaborations in which a deceased author's unfinished manuscript is completed by another writer, unauthorized pastiches, and "biographies" of literary characters. The authors and works are entered under the following categories: Action and Adventure, Classics (18th Century and Earlier), Classics (19th Century), Classics (20th Century), Crime and Mystery, Espionage, Fantasy and Horror, Humor, Juveniles (19th Century), Juveniles (20th Century), Poets, Pulps, Romances, Science Fiction and Westerns. Each original author entry includes a short biography, a list of original works, and information on the pastiches based on the author's characters.




Famous Movie Detectives II


Book Description

A sequel to the 1979 offering investigates such celluloid gumshoes as Mike Hammer, Miss Jane Marple, Philip Marlowe, Perry Mason, The Shadow, Sherlock Holmes, and The Whistler, as well as those with brief careers, including Kitty O'Day, Tony Rome, and Lord Peter Whimsey. Reveals the characters, the actors, the films, and the literary works that set off the whole chain of events. Includes dozens of movie stills and corrections to the base volume. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR




Essays on Detective Fiction


Book Description




Maigret and the Nahour Case


Book Description

“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré When a gambler is discovered dead in his home, a coincidence at the scene sends Inspector Maigret down a twisted path of secrets and lies in search of a killer Maigret receives an urgent call in the middle of the night from a doctor friend who says he has just treated a wealthy woman for a suspicious gunshot wound. Not long after, Maigret is called to the home of professional gambler, Felix Nahour, who has just been found by his chambermaid, shot dead. The inspector is shocked to find that he recognizes a photo of the man's wife, who quickly becomes his main suspect. All signs point to her guilt, but as he digs deeper, Maigret begins to infer there might be more to this complicated affair. Suspenseful and terrifically sinister, Maigret and the Nahour Case is a masterful exploration of the twin passions of love and hate as they mingle in the shadowy mind of a criminal.