MASTERPIECE on PBS has announced an exciting new adaptation of author Georges Simenon’s iconic work. Maigret Stories that bring the legendary Chief Inspector back to the small screen in a new light. When Simenon introduced Maigret in his 1931 novel Pietr of LatviaIn fact, he created literature’s first real police detective. The world was soon connected. Dive into the legacy of Simenon’s book series, the famous actors who brought Maigret to life, and why a modern remake is welcome.

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   There are 75 Maigret Novels, 28 Short Stories

   To say that Belgian writer Georges Simenon was prolific would be an understatement. its top ten Maigret His novels were published in 1931, and seven of his novels were published in 1932. It is said that he only spent about 10-11 days writing for each title. Each novel stands alone and says “the books are short, averaging around 150 pages” New York Times. “The mystery of Inspector Maigret is like a shot of good liquor: a tangy, delicious substance that soothes the senses when swallowed in one gulp.”

   Despite producing books at an unprecedented rate, Simenon it was He received critical praise for his work. More than 800 million copies Maigret The books have been sold in more than 50 languages, making them the second best-selling detective series ever after Sherlock Holmes.

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   Georges Simenon Takes Down Detective Tropes

   Police procedures are so commonplace now that it’s hard to remember a time when detectives did them. wasn’t police officers. But with his grumpy French inspector, Simenon actually invented the fictional police detective. The author also branched out into new territory by exploring crime as a product of human nature. Simenon was not interested in the plot-driven puzzles of Agatha Christie or the ingenious deductions of Sherlock Holmes. With Inspector Maigret, we have a police officer who solves cases with dispassionate observation, intuition, and an empathetic understanding that patiently follows a criminal’s motives. Maigret is “a man of moral restraint who practices the art of listening, not questioning,” he says New Yorker. “He knows that people will share their stories if given the opportunity.”

   There’s more: Simenon included real social issues and moral complexity in his books. The lead investigator sympathizes with the criminals he investigates and is aware of how their motivations and choices are shaped by their situations. While highlighting social injustices and personal struggles, Maigret The narratives are much more than simple detective stories; They paved the way for more nuanced storytelling in the genre.

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   Paris Trembles with Its Own Character in Maigret

   We’ll always have Paris and it’s true will When we follow Jules Maigret. Simenon is known as the first person to reveal his own character in a detective novel. Their stories are set in the 1940s and 50s, mostly in the Marais, a working-class district on the city’s right bank. The author states that “(a) vividly summarizes Paris from its neighborhood bars and bistros, pay phones and platform buses, saving us neither from the gloom of November nor from the heat of August” France Today. “It satisfies us with the smell of floor polish or the smell of food. ragoût de mouton or Journeys in Caen Mode. With Maigret in your hand, you can scan every corner of Paris.”

   Details of the chief inspector’s daily life, whether he grabs a drink in a small bar near the Police Judiciaire, walks along the Saint-Martin Canal, or evaluates a case amid the chaos of a bustling bistro on the Place des Vosges, show how involved he is. the texture of the city. “Each book captures a different subtle corner of the city,” he says Crime Fiction Lover. “Maigret’s absorption of the Paris that surrounds her captures the public and social mentality at the heart of Parisian life.”

4. 4.
   

   More than 30 Actors Played Maigret

   Many theatergoers have had a hard time resisting the chief inspector’s iconic pipe and trench coat, and they’ve seized the opportunity in countless adaptations for film, radio and TV. Remarkably, French films appeared almost as soon as the first novels were published. Accordingly Contemporary World LiteratureAt least 34 actors played Inspector Maigret, including Michael Gambon (Harry Potter, The King’s Speech, Little Women, Churchill’s Secret) in MASTERPIECE Mystery! In the early 1990s. Gambon’s unforgettable performance earned him a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nomination.

   More recently Rowan Atkinson (Johnny EnglishBean) while playing Maigret in the 2016-2017 British TV series, while Gérard Depardieu (Cyrano de Bergerac, Green Card) He played the chief inspector in the 2022 French film Maigret. the final adaptation will air on MASTERPIECE with Benjamin Wainwright (Belgravia: The Next Chapter, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim) ahead.