Maigret et moi: Part 4

I have continued to work my way through Georges Simenon's Maigret books, and to date I have read the books shown in bold:

1. Pietr the Latvian
2. The Late Monsieur Gallet
3. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien
4. The Carter of La Providence
5. The Yellow Dog
6. Night at the Crossroads
7. A Crime in Holland
8. The Grand Banks Cafe
9. A Man's Head
10. The Dancer at the Gai Moulin
11. The Two-Penny Bar
12. The Shadow Puppet
13. The Saint-Fiacre Affair
14. The Flemish House
15. The Madman of Bergerac
16. The Misty Harbour
17. Liberty Bar
18. Lock No. 1
19. Maigret
20. Cecile is Dead
21. The Cellars of the Majestic
22. The Judge's House
23. Signed, Picpus
24. Inspector Cadaver
25. Félicie
26. Maigret Gets Angry
27. Maigret in New York
28. Maigret's Holiday
29. Maigret's Dead Man
30. Maigret's First Case
31. My Friend Maigret
32. Maigret at the Coroner's
33. Maigret and the Old Lady
34. Madame Maigret's Friend
35. Maigret's Memoirs
36. Maigret at Picratt's
37. Maigret Takes a Room
38. Maigret and the Tall Woman
39. Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters
40. Maigret's Revolver
41. Maigret and the Man on the Bench
42. Maigret is Afraid
43. Maigret's Mistake
44. Maigret Goes to School
45. Maigret and the Dead Girl
46. Maigret and the Minister
47. Maigret and the Headless Corpse
48. Maigret Sets a Trap
49. Maigret's Failure
50. Maigret Enjoys Himself
51. Maigret Travels
52. Maigret's Doubts
53. Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses
54. Maigret's Secret
55. Maigret in Court
56. Maigret and the Old People
57. Maigret and the Lazy Burglar
58. Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse
59. Maigret and the Saturday Caller
60. Maigret and the Tramp
61. Maigret's Anger
62. Maigret and the Ghost
63. Maigret Defends Himself
64. Maigret's Patience
65. Maigret and the Nahour Case
66. Maigret's Pickpocket
67. Maigret Hesitates
68. Maigret in Vichy
69. Maigret's Childhood Friend
70. Maigret and the Killer
71. Maigret and the Wine Merchant
72. Maigret's Madwoman
73. Maigret and the Loner
74. Maigret and the Informer
75. Maigret and Monsieur Charles

I have also read the following short stories:

• Maigret's Pipe
• Maigret's Christmas
• Seven Little Crosses in a Notebook
• The Little Restaurant in Les Ternes

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The most interesting of the recent books that I have read was MAIGRET’S MEMOIRE. It tells the story of the relationship between a young Belgian author called Georges Sim (who is later revealed to be Georges Simenon) and Chief Inspector Jules Maigret. They are introduced to each other by Maigret’s boss, the head of the Police Judiciare, when the author wants to write about the more unusual crimes that Maigret works on. He follows Maigret around, listening to and watching him whilst he works. Over the years, the two become friends.

In his memoir, the ‘real’ Maigret tries to correct some of the inconsistencies told in the stories about the ‘fictional’ Maigret and his team. For example, in some of the stories the ‘fictional’ Maigret wears a bowler hat, but this disappears in later ones ... and the ‘real’ Maigret explains why. Likewise, the ‘real’ Maigret explains that Simenon used a limited number of ‘real’ names for the Inspectors who worked for the ‘fictional’ Maigret, and this is why some of them seem to change during the course of the stories. In particular, Inspector Torrence is killed in PIETR THE LATVIAN ... and then reappears in later stories.

The ‘real’ Maigret also explains that Simenon did not always retell the stories in the correct chronological order, and that real names and locations were changed for the purpose of the storytelling process.

In fact, the whole book is a wonderful artifice by Georges Simenon to explain away the inconsistencies in the Maigret books ... and it is extremely enjoyable to read. It also tells how Maigret met his wife Louise ... or as she is usually just referred to, Madam Maigret.