Created by: George Simenon (1903-1989)
There already is a remarkably exhaustive and beautifully illustrated English-language site devoted to the character
of Maigret, and therefore we did not believe
that it was necessary to repeat the same information here. At the same time, we strongly felt that Maigret should be included in the French
Wold Newton Universe site, and therefore deserved a page on this site. So
what we have done is list a few basic facts, then create a link to the appropriate pages from the Maigret site.
URL to the MAIGRET site:
http://www.trussel.com/f_maig.htm
Maigret's Biography:
Jules Amedée François Maigret was born on
February 13, 1887, in Saint-Fiacre, near Moulins, in Central France. His father, Evariste
Maigret, died in 1908. After leaving medical school, Maigret moved to Paris
and married Louise Léonard in 1912;
the couple soon moved from the Place des Vosges to their permanent address, 132 Boulevard Richard-Lenoir in the
11th district of Paris. Maigret's first investigation was at age 26 in 1913. He was promoted Inspector at age
35 in 1922, then to Commissioner in 1928. His work during World War II in the Free France remains unchronicled.
It is generally estimated that Maigret retired at 69 and/or c. 1956 to his holiday house in Meug-sur-Loire, where
he and Madame Maigret lived happily ever after (even though he was still involved in solving several mysteries
during his retirement).
David F. Drake's Maigret Timeline:
http://www.trussel.com/maig/ddchron1.htm
Bibliography -- the Maigret books and stories:
There were four "proto-Maigret" novels written by Simenon in 1929 under pseudonyms, which he later deemed
to be outside continuity. The first "official" Maigret novel was Pietr le Letton
published in 1931. In total (excluding the four proto-novels mentioned above), there are 75 novels & 28 stories
(103 texts) featuring Maigret. The last
was Maigret et Monsieur Charles published
in 1972.
Complete bibliography:
http://www.trussel.com/maig/maibib.htm
Story summaries of the Maigret books and stories:
http://www.trussel.com/maig/maiplots.htm
Films and Television:
Maigret was the subject of many film and
television adaptations in several countries.
France: There were eleven Maigret feature films, starring: (1) Pierre Renoir (one
film, 1932), (2) Abel Tarride (one film, 1932), (3) Harry Baur (one film in 1932), (4-6) Albert Préjean
(three films, 1942, 1943 and 1944), (7) Michel Simon (one film, 1952), (8) Maurice Manson (one film, 1955), (9-11)
Jean Gabin (three films in 1957, 1959 and 1963). There were also two television series: (1) one that ran from
1967 to 1990 starring Jean Richard and (2) the current series that began in 1991 starring Bruno Cremer.
In the U.S., there was a 1949 movie starring
Charles Laughton (The Man on the Eiffel Tower), two television adaptations, both on CBS, one in 1950 starring Herbert
Berghof, and one in 1952 starring Eli Wallach, and more recently a 1988 co-production television movie starring
Richard Harris.
In England, Maigret first appeared in
a 1959 BBC teleplay starring Basil Sydney, then in two television series: (1) from 1960 to 1969 starring Rupert
Davies, then (2) in 1992-93 starring Michael Gambon.
Other Maigret productions include a 1966 German
feature film starring Heinz Ruhmann, a 1965 Dutch
series starring Jean Teuling, a long-running (1962-73) series of Italian teleplays starring Gino Cervi, a 1970 Japanese series starring Kinya Aikawa, and a 1969 Soviet teleplay starring Boris Tenine.
Illustrated Filmography of Maigret's Feature films & Television Series:
http://www.trussel.com/maig/maigfilm.htm
Maigret in the Comics:
From 1950 to 1953, fourteen Maigret novels
were adapted as daily strips by artist Jacques Blondeau. Between 1992 and 1997, Belgian publisher Lefrancq published five graphic novels drawn by Philipe
Wurm featuring Maigret.
Maigret in the Comics:
http://www.trussel.com/maig/bandes.htm#mort
