Maigret

Jules Maigret, known as (Commissaire) Maigret to most people, including his wife, is a fictional police detective, created by writer Georges Simenon.

 

Seventy-five novels and twenty-eight short stories about Maigret were published between 1931 and 1972, starting with Pietr-le-Leton (Latvian Pete) and concluding with Maigret et Monsieur Charles (Maigret and Monsieur Charles). The Maigret stories were also adapted for television and radio.

 

Franklin Library edition

  The Patience of Maigret - Library of Mystery Masterpieces - 1987

(This page contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.)

Some of his trademark features are his pipes, his mixed approach to detecting (at times relying on pure intuition, at times on method), and his fondness for alcohol. Often during an investigation, he will step into a small cafe or bar for a drink and possibly a light lunch. His drink of choice is beer or cider, though he has also been known to drink pastis as well as wine at dinner or when it is the only thing available. This is not to say that he is a drunk, as it is a matter of personal pride that he can hold his liquor, and would be deeply embarrassed if he allowed himself to get intoxicated. Maigret often wears a heavy overcoat, even when traveling to the Riviera — a fact which leads people unfamiliar with him to mark him instantly as a policeman.

Maigret was supposedly born 1884 in Saint-Fiacre, although different birth dates can be concluded from different books. He is married to Louise, who is almost exclusively referred to as Madame Maigret in the books. They had a daughter who died at birth.

While not having any children of his own, Maigret has shown himself to be fond of children, treating them with kindness and patience, and often indulging them. He is shown as living with his wife at 132 Boulevard Richard-Lenoir in most books but, in Maigret in Retirement, he is said to have retained his apartment on the Place des Vosges in the 4th arrondissement of Paris.

As with most protagonists in detective fiction, he is usually successful. His relationship with his sidekicks, usually junior Metropolitan officers or the local constabulary (when he is away from Paris), is most often portrayed as a mentor-pupil relationship. Maigret is genuinely proud and happy when one of his junior officers meets with some professional success. The role of mindless puppet, only there to contrast with the brilliance of Maigret, is reserved for the public prosecutor or more frequently the Juge d'instruction or Examining Magistrate.

Seventy-five novels and twenty-eight short stories about Maigret were published between 1931 and 1972, starting with Pietr-le-Leton (The Case of Peter the Lett) and concluding with Maigret et Monsieur Charles (Maigret and Monsieur Charles).

TV series

There have been numerous incarnations of Maigret on the small screen all around the world. There are many actors who played inspector Maigret including French, British, Irish, Austrian, Dutch, German, Italian, and Japanese actors.

In France, Jean Gabin played the part in three films and is seen by many as the best Maigret. Arguably, the most celebrated French version stars Bruno Cremer, who has played him in 54 adaptations from 1991-2005. Jean Richard had an earlier long-running series playing the character on French television — however, Simenon himself is said to have disliked Richard's Maigret because he would not take his hat off when entering a room.

The Italian actor Gino Cervi played the character on Italian television, starting from 1964 up to 1972, Simenon himself considered Cervi's interpretation of the character to be possibly the best.

One of the most popular versions of the Chief Inspector was that played by British actor Rupert Davies who made his debut on October 31, 1960. Davies took over the part after Basil Sydney who appeared as Maigret in the original transmitted pilot proved unavailable due to ill-health. Davies went on to star in more than 50 adaptations for BBC TV in the 1960s. His portrayal won two of the highest accolades: his versions were dubbed into French and played across the Channel; and Simenon himself presented Davies with a novel inscribed to his "perfect Maigret".

The British television channel ITV produced an adaptation of Maigret in 1992 and 1993, in which Michael Gambon starred as Maigret. A less successful earlier version (1988) on ITV cast Richard Harris in the lead role, with a somewhat idiosyncratic reading of the character.

Maigret on masterpiece is 2025 tv series based on the Jules Maigret novels.

Radio

Maurice Denham played Chief Inspector Maigret in a series of half-hour dramatizations of the novels on BBC Radio 4 from 1992 to 2002, with Michael Gough playing Georges Simenon.

The format of each play would begin with Maigret and Simenon sitting together discussing some fact or event which would then lead into Maigret's recounting a particular case, with Simenon asking questions or commenting from time to time.

After Denham's death, the series was continued in 2003 with Nicholas Le Prevost playing a gruffer, more earthy Maigret and Julian Barnes playing Simenon.

Maigret books in order

The Strange Case of Peter the Lett (Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett) - 1931

The Crime at Lock 14 (Maigret Meets a Milord) - 1931

The Death of Monsieur Gallet (Maigret Stonewalled) - 1931

The Crime of Inspector Maigret (Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets) - 1931

A Battle of Nerves (Maigret's War of Nerves - A Man's Head) - 1931

A Face for a Clue (Maigret and the Concarneau Murders - Maigret and the Yellow Dog - The Yellow Dog) - 1931

Maigret at the Crossroads - 1931

A Crime in Holland (Maigret in Holland) - 1931

The Sailor's Rendezvous (Maigret Answers a Plea) - 1931

At the Gai Moulin (Maigret at the Gai Moulin) - 1931

Guinguette by the Seine (Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine - Maigret to the Rescue - A Spot by the Seine - The Bar on the Seine) - 1932

The Shadow in the Courtyard (Maigret Mystified) - 1932

Maigret and the Countess (The Saint-Fiacre Affair - Maigret Goes Home - Maigret on Home Ground) - 1932

The Flemish Shop (Maigret and the Flemish Shop) - 1932

Death of a Harbour Master (Maigret and the Death of a Harbor Master) - 1932

The Madman of Bergerac - 1932

Liberty Bar (Maigret on the Riviera) - 1932

The Lock at Charenton (Maigret Sits It Out - Lock No. 1) - 1933

The Redhead - 1933

Maigret Returns - 1934

Maigret in Exile - 1940

Maigret and the Hotel Majestic (The Hotel Majestic) - 1942

Maigret and the Spinster - 1942

To Any Lengths (Maigret and the Fortuneteller) - 1944

Maigret and the Toy Village - 1944

Maigret's Rival (Inspector Cadaver) - 1944

Maigret in Retirement - 1945

Maigret in New York (Inspector Maigret in New York's Underworld - Maigret in New York's Underworld) - 1946

A Summer Holiday (No Vacation for Maigret - Maigret on Holiday) - 1947

Maigret's Dead Man (Maigret's Special Murder) - 1948

Maigret's First Case - 1948

My Friend Maigret (The Methods of Maigret) - 1949

Maigret at the Coroner's - 1949

Madame Maigret's Own Case (Madame Maigret's Friend - The Friend of Madame Maigret) - 1949

Maigret's Memoirs - 1950

Maigret and the Old Lady - 1950

Maigret and the Strangled Stripper (Maigret in Montmartre - Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper) - 1950

Maigret Takes a Room (Maigret Rents a Room) - 1951

Inspector Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (Maigret and the Burglar's Wife) - 1951

Inspector Maigret and the Killers (Maigret and the Gangsters) - 1951

Maigret's Revolver - 1952

Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard (Maigret and the Man on the Bench - The Man on the Boulevard) - 1953

Maigret Afraid - 1953

Maigret's Mistake - 1953

Maigret Goes to School - 1953

Inspector Maigret and the Dead Girl (Maigret and the Young Girl) - 1954

Maigret and the Minister (Maigret and the Calame Report) - 1954

Maigret and the Headless Corpse - 1955

Maigret Sets a Trap - 1955

Maigret's Failure - 1956

Maigret's Little Joke (None of Maigret's Business) - 1956

Maigret and the Millionaires - 1957

Maigret Has Scruples - 1957

Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses - 1957

Maigret Has Doubts - 1959

Maigret in Court - 1959

Maigret in Society - 1960

Maigret and the Lazy Burglar (Maigret and the Idle Burglar) - 1961

Maigret and the Black Sheep - 1961

Maigret and the Saturday Caller - 1962

Maigret and the Dosser (Maigret and the Bum) - 1962

Maigret Loses His Temper - 1962

Maigret and the Ghost (Maigret and the Apparition) - 1963

Maigret on the Defensive - 1964

The Patience of Maigret (Maigret Bides His Time) - 1965

Maigret and the Nahour Case - 1966

Maigret's Pickpocket (Maigret and the Pickpocket) - 1966

Maigret Takes the Waters (Maigret in Vichy) - 1967

Maigret Hesitates - 1968

Maigret's Boyhood Friend - 1968

Maigret and the Killer - 1969

Maigret and the Wine Merchant - 1969

Maigret and the Madwoman - 1970

Maigret and the Loner - 1971

Maigret and the Flea - (Maigret and the Informer) - 1971

Maigret and Monsieur Charles - 1972 

Short stories

Maigret's Mistake - 1938

The Stronger Vessel (Madame Maigret's Admirer) - 1938

Stan the Killer - 1938

The Inn of the Drowned (The Drowned Men's Inn) - 1938

The Barge with Two Hanging Bodies (Inspector Maigret Thinks - Dead Man's Barge - Two Bodies on a Barge) - 1938

The Affair of the Boulevard Beaumarchais (The Mysterious Affair in the Boulevard Beaumarchais) - 1938

Mr. Monday (Inspector Maigret Hesitates) - 1938

Jeumont, 51 Minutes Wait! (Inspector Maigret Deduces - Jeumont, 51 Minutes Stop) - 1938

Journey Into Time (Journey Backward Into Time - Death of a Woodlander) - 1938

Rue Pigalle (Inspector Maigret Investigates - In the Rue Pigalle) - 1938

The Old Lady of Bayeux - 1938

At the Étoile du Nord - 1938

Storm in the Channel (Storm over the Channel) - 1938

Maigret and the Frightened Dressmaker (Mademoiselle Berthe and her Lover) - 1938

The Unlikely Monsieur Owen - 1938

The Group at the Grand-Café - 1938

Inspector Maigret and the Missing Miniatures (The Three Daughters of the Lawyer) - 1938

The Open Window (Inspector Maigret Smokes His Pipe) - 1938

The Man on the Run (Inspector Maigret Pursues - The Man in the Street) - 1939

Under the Hammer (Inspector Maigret Directs - Sale by Auction) - 1939

Death Threats - 1942

Maigret's Pipe - 1945

Elusive Witness (According to the Altar Boy - Crime in the Rue Sainte-Catherine - The Evidence of the Altar-Boy) - 1946

The Most Obstinate Man in Paris (The Most Obstinate Customer in the World - The Most Obstinate Man in the World) - 1946

Maigret and the Surly Inspector - 1946

Inspector Maigret's War of Nerves (Death Penalty) - 1946

Maigret's Christmas - 1950 

 

 

Source and additional information: Jules Maigret