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Jules Maigret
Maigret statue by Pieter d'Hont in Delfzijl, Netherlands. The unveiling was made by Simenon himself on 3 September 1966, at the place where he had written the first Maigret novel, and was attended by Maigret actors from various countries.
First appearance	The Strange Case of Peter the Lett (1931)
Last appearance	Maigret and Monsieur Charles (1972)
Created by	Georges Simenon
Portrayed by	Numerous Pierre Renoir Abel Tarride Harry Baur Charles Laughton Michel Simon Albert Préjean Romney Brent Luis van Rooten Maurice Manson Jean Gabin Gino Cervi Basil Sydney Louis Arbessier Rupert Davies Kees Brusse Heinz Rühmann Jan Teulings Jean Richard Rudolf Hrušínský Boris Tenin Maurice Denham Kinya Aikawa Richard Harris Armen Dzhigarkhanyan Bruno Cremer Michael Gambon Vladimir Samoilov Sergio Castellitto Nicholas Le Prevost Rowan Atkinson Gerard Depardieu Benjamin Wainwright Denis Podalydès
In-universe information
Occupation	Detective Chief Superintendent
Family	Evariste Maigret (father) Hernance Maigret (mother)
Spouse	Louise Léonard ​(m. 1912)​
Nationality	French

Jules Maigret (French: [ʒyl mɛɡʁɛ]), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a commissaire ("commissioner") of the Paris Brigade Criminelle (Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres), created by writer Georges Simenon. The character's full name is Jules Amédée François Maigret.

Between 1931 and 1972, 75 novels and 28 short stories about Maigret were published, starting with Pietr-le-Letton ("The Strange Case of Peter the Lett") and concluding with Maigret et Monsieur Charles ("Maigret and Monsieur Charles"). With the creation of Maigret, Simenon renewed the detective novel genre. The novels and stories have been translated into more than 50 languages.

The Maigret stories have also received numerous film, television and radio adaptations. Penguin Books published new translations of 75 books in the series over as many months; the project was begun in November 2013 by translators David Bellos, Anthea Bell, and Ros Schwartz.

Character

Creation

The character of Maigret was invented by Simenon while drinking in a cafe and imagining a Parisian policeman: "a large powerfully built gentleman...a pipe, a bowler hat, a thick overcoat." Maigret was reputed to be based on Marcel Guillaume, an actual French detective although Simenon himself variously claimed not to remember the inspiration or that Maigret was influenced by Simenon's own father.

Biographers Thomas Narcejac and Fenton Bresler both see Simenon himself in his creation.

Description

Maigret is described as a large, broad-shouldered man; he is gruff but patient and fair.

Recurring characters in the series include Maigret's wife Louise (usually referred to simply as Madame Maigret) and in particular "The Faithful Four", a group consisting of his four loyal police colleagues (Sgt./Inspector Lucas, Janvier, Lapointe, and Torrence). Other prominent characters include police surgeon Dr. Paul, Judge Coméliau, the Examining Magistrate who alternates between being a help and a hindrance to Maigret, and Dr. Pardon, Maigret's friend and physician.

Maigret doesn't like his first name being used and prefers to be simply called "Maigret". Even Maigret's wife largely restricts herself to calling him "Maigret", only calling him by his first name a handful of times.

In most novels, Maigret is aged around 45 to 55 years. There are contradictory clues to his year of birth. In Monsieur Gallet, décédé, which takes place in 1930, Maigret is described as 45, indicating 1885 as his year of birth. In another novel La première enquete de Maigret, where the investigation takes place in 1913, the author states that Maigret is 26, which establish his year of birth as 1887. In the 1932 novel L'affaire Saint-Fiacre, Maigret is 42, which would mean he was born in 1890, assuming that Maigret is contemporary to the year the novel was written.

Maigret began working as a police officer in Paris in his twenties. At the age of 30, he entered the Homicide Squad and later, nearing his forties, became chief inspector of the squad. It is mentioned that Maigret retired when in his mid-fifties, which gave him over 30 years of experience in the police.

He was from the village of Saint-Fiacre in the Allier Department, where his father Evariste Maigret was the bailiff for the local landowner; see Simenon's novel Maigret's Failure (Un échec de Maigret), about a school bully and contemporary, "Fatty" Ferdinand Fumal from the same village.

Characteristics

Maigret wears a thick black overcoat, a bowler hat (which he later swaps out for a fedora) and frequently smokes a tobacco pipe. He is described as tall and heavy, with broad shoulders, large hands, a thick face, thick hair, thick eyebrows and bright eyes of a "greenish gray" colour. He has strongly growing facial hair and therefore shaves every morning.

In his investigations, Maigret's method is to put himself in another person's place in order to discover why the crime was committed, rather than just finding out whodunit. He is described as a person with extraordinary humanity.

List of novels

List of Maigret novels with date of French-language publication as well as the Penguin reissue dates and titles.

List of short stories

List of Maigret short stories by date of first publication in French.

In other media

Audiobooks

Following the Penguin reissue of the 75 novels, actor Gareth Armstrong started recording each for Audible. Recordings took one day per book. By September 2015, he had recorded 25 of them. He has since completed all 75 recordings.

Theatre

A production called Maigret and the Lady by Philip Mackie toured in England and Scotland in 1965, before playing at the Strand Theatre in London in October 1965. Madame Maigret was played by Charmian Eyre, and Maigret was Rupert Davies.

Film

The cinematic potential of Maigret was realized quickly: the first screen Maigret was Pierre Renoir in 1932's Night at the Crossroads, directed by his brother Jean Renoir; the same year brought The Yellow Dog with Abel Tarride, and Harry Baur played him in 1933's A Man's Neck, directed by Julien Duvivier.

In 1950, Charles Laughton played the first English-language Maigret in The Man on the Eiffel Tower, adapted from the 1931 novel A Battle of Nerves. The film co-starred Franchot Tone, Burgess Meredith, and Wilfrid Hyde-White. Back in France, Michel Simon played the character in Full House.

Albert Préjean portrayed Maigret in three films; Picpus, Cecile Is Dead, and Majestic Hotel Cellars. A decade later, Jean Gabin played the part in three other films; Maigret Sets a Trap, Maigret et l'Affaire Saint-Fiacre, and Maigret voit rouge. Maurice Manson appeared in Maigret dirige l'enquête (1956), whilst Heinz Rühmann played the lead in a 1966 European international co-production Enter Inspector Maigret.

Gerard Depardieu starred as Maigret in a 2022 French film, entitled Maigret, adapted from Maigret and the Dead Girl.

In 2025, director Pascal Bonitzer announced he will write and direct Maigret in Society, starring Denis Podalydès.

Television

There have been numerous incarnations of Maigret on the small screen all around the world. He has been portrayed by French, British, Irish, Austrian, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, and Russian actors. A French version, Les Enquêtes du Commissaire Maigret, starred Jean Richard in 88 episodes between 1967 and 1990; however, Simenon himself is said to have disliked Richard's Maigret because he would not take his hat off when entering a room. Later, Bruno Cremer played the character in 54 adaptations between 1991 and 2005.

Romney Brent played Maigret in the Studio One episode "Stan the Killer", whilst Luis van Rooten starred in an episode of Suspense entitled "The Old Lady of Bayeux". Louis Arbessier appeared in a televised film of Liberty Bar. The Italian actor Gino Cervi played the character on Italian television from 1964 up to 1972 in Le inchieste del commissario Maigret; Simenon himself considered Cervi's interpretation of the character to be "very good." This series resulted in 14 novels and 2 short stories being adapted.

In the late 1960s, Simenon's son Marc created a television spinoff entitled Les Dossiers de l'Agence O. Pierre Tornade starred as Maigret's former sidekick Torrence, now working for a private investigation agency. The series featured guest appearances by other characters from the Maigret canon, including inspectors Lucas (Pierre Mondy), and Janvier (Louis Arbessier).

In the Soviet Union, Russian theatre actor Boris Tenin portrayed Maigret in several TV films in the 1970s. In Soviet cinema, apart from Boris Tenin, Maigret was portrayed by cinema actors Vladimir Samoilov and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan.

In Japan, Kinya Aikawa played Megure, a Japanese-born equivalent to the French Maigret, reinvented in a modern Japanese setting, in Tōkyō. Megure Keishi, a 25-episode TV series aired from 14 April to 29 May 1978 on Asahi TV. Megure's wife was played by Sato Tomomi, who earned the praises of Simenon himself: "The best 'Madame Maigret' in my opinion, even including the French ones, was the 'Madame Maigret' on Japanese television. She was exactly right".

Rupert Davies played the title role in the 1960s British Maigret TV series, which debuted on 31 October 1960. Davies took over the part after Basil Sydney, who appeared as Maigret in the original transmitted pilot, proved unavailable owing to ill-health. Davies went on to star in 52 adaptations for BBC TV in that decade. His portrayal won two of the highest accolades: his versions were dubbed into French and played across the Channel; and Simenon himself said of Davies "At last, I have found the perfect Maigret!" The theme tune to the TV series, "Midnight in Montmartre", was composed by Ron Grainer. Kees Brusse and Jan Teulings also portrayed the character in separate Dutch adaptations produced around the same time.

Granada Television produced an adaptation of Maigret for ITV in 1992 and 1993 in which Michael Gambon starred as Maigret; there were 12 adaptations in the two series. An earlier version, Maigret (1988) on ITV cast Richard Harris in the lead role.

In 2004, Sergio Castellitto played Maigret in two Italian TV movies: La trappola ("The Trap") and L'ombra cinese ("The Chinese Shadow").

Rowan Atkinson played Maigret in four television films made by ITV from 2016 to 2017. The first two episodes were adapted from Maigret Sets a Trap and Maigret's Dead Man. Two further episodes were broadcast in 2017, adapted from Maigret at the Crossroads and Maigret in Montmartre.

In 2021, the Simenon estate signed a co-production and licensing deal with Playground Entertainment and Red Arrow Studios to produce a new English-language series, with the option extending to the entire Maigret canon. In September 2024, the cast and crew for the series was announced, led by Ben Wainwright as Maigret.

Radio

Maurice Denham played Chief Inspector Maigret in a series of three-quarter-hour dramatizations of the novels on BBC Radio 4 beginning in 1976, 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.

In the interim, Bernard Hepton starred in a 1986 Saturday Night Theatre adaptation of Maigret's Special Murder, whilst Barry Foster played the detective in 1998's Maigret's Christmas for the Afternoon Play.

In 1990-1991, abridgments of some of the novels (including "Madame Maigret's Case," "Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine," and "Maigret in Montmartre") were serialized in daily one-minute installments on WNCN, a classical music station in New York City. They were read every night at midnight in a radio program called the "H.B.J. Midnight Murder Mystery Minute."

Comics

Jacques Blondeau adapted the novels into the comic series Maigret (1950–53), published in Samedi Soir and Paris Journal. Rumeu (drawings) and Camille Dulac (script) adapted the Maigret story L'Affaire Nahour into the comic strip Maigret in 1969. Between 1992 and 1997 the series Maigret inspired five albums, drawn by Philippe Wurm [fr] and Frank Brichau [fr].

References

1. ^ Ousby, Ian (1997). Guilty Parties: A Mystery Lover's Companion. Thames & Hudson. pp. 132–134. ISBN 0-500-27978-0.
2. "The Maigret Statue at Delfzijl". Trussel.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
3. ^ Sansom, Ian (20 November 2013). "The quiet commissaire: the extraordinary ordinariness of Maigret". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
4. ^ Wenger, Murielle; Trusel, Stephen (2017). Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective. McFarland & Company. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-1476669779.
5. "Penguin to publish 75 Maigret novels". Thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
6. Lawson, Mark (25 March 2016). "Inspecting Maigret: Rowan Atkinson puts on his thinking hat". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
7. ^ Haining, Peter (5 March 2015). "The Great Detectives: Maigret". The Strand Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
8. ^ Wenger, Murielle; Trusel, Stephen (2017). Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective. McFarland & Company. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-1476669779.
9. Murielle Wenger, Stephen Trussel Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective, McFarland 2017, p.9
10. Murielle Wenger, Stephen Trussel Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective, McFarland 2017, p.11
11. Murielle Wenger, Stephen Trussel Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective, McFarland 2017, p.21
12. Murielle Wenger, Stephen Trussel Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective, McFarland 2017, p.16-19
13. Murielle Wenger, Stephen Trussel Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective, McFarland 2017, p.1-2
14. "List of Penguin Reissues". Penguin.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
15. Rosen, Jody (25 September 2015). "The Voice of Maigret — and the Art of the Audiobook". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
16. Armstrong 2023, Gareth. "Gareth Armstrong". Gareth Armstrong - Director Author Teacher Voice Actor. Retrieved 21 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
17. Lachman, Marvin (2014). The villainous stage : crime plays on Broadway and in the West End. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9534-4. OCLC 903807427. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
18. Keslassy, Elsa (13 January 2022). "Gerard Depardieu Starrer 'Maigret' Sells to Major Territories for SND (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
19. Croll, Ben (15 January 2024). "Pascal Bonitzer Takes Art World Inspiration for 'Auction,' Charts New Course for Georges Simenon's Maigret (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
20. "Pascal Bonitzer : " J'ai voulu écrire un conte à la Dickens "". Le Point. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
21. "Table ronde avec Pascal Bonitzer et John Simenon". Fondation Jan Michalski. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
22. "Table ronde avec Pascal Bonitzer et John Simenon" on YouTube
23. "Paris : 3 enfants de 10 à 14 ans recherchés pour un film avec Denis Podalydès". Figurants. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
24. "Maigret star Richard dies". BBC News. 12 December 2001. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
25. ^ Gauteur, Claude (November 1989). "Simenon by Simenon". La Revue du Cinéma (454): 67–72. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
26. Tôkyo Megure Keishi on the Japanese Misplaced Pages (in Japanese)
27. "A picture of Kinya Aikawa as Maigret/Megure, and Simenon's quote from La Revue du Cinéma nº 454, November 1989. Article retrieved on Trussel.com". Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
28. Winn, Christopher (2009). I Never Knew That About Wales. Random House. p. 39. ISBN 9781407028231.
29. "Ron Grainer". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
30. "What did you think of Maigret's Dead Man?". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
31. Rees, Jasper (17 April 2017). "Maigret's Night at the Crossroads review - 'more straight faces from Rowan Atkinson'". The Arts Desk. Archived from the original on 20 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
32. Sweeting, Adam (24 December 2017). "Maigret in Montmartre, ITV review - dirty deeds in clubland". The Arts Desk. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
33. Ramachandran, Naman (22 June 2021). "New Inspector Maigret Series in the Works From Playground, Red Arrow Studios". Variety. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
34. Goldbart, Max (10 September 2024). "'Maigret' TV Adaptation Lands At PBS Masterpiece Starring 'Belgravia: The Next Chapter's Benjamin Wainwright & Stefanie Martini". Deadline. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
35. "Maigret on the Radio". www.trussel.com.
36. McDowell, Edwin (9 January 1991). "Book Notes". New York Times. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
37. "Jacques Blondeau". Lambiek.net. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
38. "Philippe Wurm". Lambiek.net. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.

On page 6 of Maigret's Revolver it states his name as Jules-Joseph Anthelme Maigret

Further reading

• Bingemer, Stephan. "Holidays with Inspector Maigret: Mixed Reality Adventures as Value Drivers in Future Tourism." in Science Fiction, Disruption and Tourism (2021).
• Chartrand, Tanya L., and John A. Bargh. "The chameleon effect: the perception–behaviour link and social interaction." ;;Journal of personality and social psychology 76.6 (1999): 893+ online.
• Wenger, Murielle, and Stephen Trussel. Maigret's World: A Reader's Companion to Simenon's Famous Detective (McFarland, 2017).

External links

• Simenon's Maigret (bibliography, statistics, online texts, links)
• Titles matching "Maigret" on IMDb

• Book series introduced in 1931
• BBC Radio dramas
• Characters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction
• Literary characters introduced in 1931
• Fictional French detectives
• Fictional French people
• Fictional French police detectives
• Fictional French police officers
• Georges Simenon
• Belgian novels adapted into films
• Belgian novels adapted into plays
• Novels adapted into radio programs
• Belgian novels adapted into television shows
• Novels adapted into comics
• Male characters in literature