History of detective literature - Commissioner Megra. The most famous detectives: Commissioner Maigret Who wrote the Megra
A French detective, whose protagonist is a criminal police commissioner, is not uncommon. But if the list of books dedicated to the character crosses the number 75, there is a reason to get to know the hero better. Commissioner Maigret, whose adventures never cease to interest readers, reveals new facets of detective talent in each book. And for a gripping story, a man doesn't need spy equipment or a love affair. Dead girl, a couple of clues - that's enough.
History of creation
- the author of the popular hero - began work on the image of Maigret in 1929. The idea to write a novel about a murder investigation came to the writer during a sailing trip to France and the Netherlands. The first work dedicated to the Commissioner Maigret is called "Peter Lettish", but a similar image can be found in the earlier works of Simenon.
The character initially appears before readers not as a young gambling policeman, but as a cunning, sophisticated commissioner, whose age has already reached 45 years:
“There was something plebeian in his figure. He was huge, broad-boned, with tight muscles looming under his suit. In addition, he had his own special demeanor, as if on the sidelines. "
Carried away by the new character, the writer obtained permission to conduct a study of the work of police officers from the Orfevre embankment. The man talked with employees for a long time, studied criminal cases and attended workshops.
These actions gave rise to the assertion that Inspector Maigret has a prototype. Among the possible inspirers of the writer are the names of Commissioner Marcel Guillaume and his deputy Georges Massu. The men provided Simenon with all possible assistance in studying the police case.
However, the writer himself has repeatedly stated that Maigret is a completely fictional person, partially supplemented by the features of Simenon's father. Regardless of who is right, the books about the Commissar Maigret presented the author with a prize in the Grand Master category.
Detectives with Commissioner Maigret
Jules Joseph Anselme Maigret was born in 1884 to a French aristocrat estate manager. Maigret's mother died during childbirth, so the child was raised by his father. Wanting to give the boy an education, the man sends his son to a boarding house.
After a couple of months, unable to withstand strict rules educational institution, Jules asks his father for permission to leave the school. A kind-hearted parent takes the boy and transports his son to Jules's own aunt in Nantes.
There, under the care of a baker and his wife, Maigret spends his childhood and adolescence. At the age of 19, Jules's father dies, the hero remains an orphan. The young man leaves the medical university, where he studied, and gets a job in the police.
At first, at work, the hero is not at all busy solving murders. The young man serves as secretary to the district police station commissioner. But in 1913, the hero is confronted with a crime that makes Maigret want to expose and punish the murderer. Conceived easily succeeds, and the young man gets a promotion. Maigret now serves in the Criminal Police Department, which is located on the Orfevre quay.
Four inspectors work under the command of the commissioner: Janvier, Luca, Torrance and Lapuente. Men admire their own boss, who, despite a close-knit team, often solves murders on his own.
The commissioner does not sit in his office - Maigret spends a lot of time at the crime scene and communicates with suspects. This approach became the basis of the male investigation method. Maigret seems to get used to the situation, with the help of psychoanalysis and careful observation, he finds out the motives of the crime.
Still from the film "Maigret and Gangsters"
Unlike most of his colleagues, Maigret is not eager only to punish the murderer. The main thing for the commissioner is to unravel the riddle and find out the reasons for the act. Often, having got to the bottom of the truth, Maigret is more sympathetic to the killer than to the victim:
“Although you are guilty of the death of Albert Retaio, you are at the same time a victim. I’ll even say more: you were the instrument of the crime, but you are not really to blame for his death. ”
The hero met a woman early, with whom he linked life. Louise Maigret became a real support for her husband. The woman is sympathetic to her husband's work and does not interfere with the commissioner's investigation. Alas, the spouses have no heirs. The only daughter of the Commissioner and Madame Maigret died in infancy. Therefore, Louise directs all the unspent love to the man.
As with any police work, Commissioner Maigret's investigations can be dangerous at times. During the action of the novels, the hero was injured three times in shootings. Having reached retirement age, the man and his wife moved to a house near the castle of Maine-sur-Loire, but did not stop solving crimes.
Even in retirement, Maigret does not change his own habits. The man does not part with his smoking pipe, regularly visits his favorite pub, and every spring he walks with his wife around Paris.
Screen adaptations
The first detective story about a talented detective came out in 1932. The script for the film "Night at the Crossroads" was rewarded with revision, and later with the approval of Georges Simenon. The role of Commissioner Maigret went to actor Pierre Renoir.
A joint creation of Italy and France in 1958 tells about the capture of a maniac who hunted girls on the streets of Montmartre. The film Maigret Sets the Trap has won several BAFTA awards. The actor portrayed the commissioner on the screen. The artist played again the main role in the next film adaptation - "Maigret and the Saint-Fiacre affair" (1959).
From 1967 to 1990, the series "Investigations of Commissioner Maigret" was released. In it, the image of Maigret was tried on by Jean Richard.
In 1981, a motion picture was published under the title "Signed:" Fura ", but the Soviet viewer is familiar with the work under the name" Sign Furax ". Jean Richard played the role of Commissioner Maigret in it.
The works of Georges Simenon, popular in the USSR, also became the basis for domestic television performances. Actor Boris Tenin reincarnated as a French detective three times. The artist is involved in the filming of Maigret and the Man on the Bench (1973), Maigret and the Old Lady (1974), Maigret Hesitates (1982).
The Soviet film "Maigret at the Minister" (1987) achieved no less popularity. The two-part film tells the story of an investigation into the disappearance of a government report. The role of Maigret was performed.
The international character of the image is confirmed by the creation of Italian filmmakers. In 2004, the film Maigret: The Trap was released. The film became a kind of remake of "Maigret sets the snares", the role of the commissioner went to the actor Sergio Castellitto. The artist consolidated his own success in a difficult way in the film "Chinese Shadow" (or "Megre: Playing with a Shadow"), released the same year.
One of the most complete adaptations of Simenon was the series "Maigret". The first issues of the multi-part film were shown in 1999, and the last season was released in 2005. The image of a talented and thorough policeman played.
Since 2016, the English film company ITV has launched its own version of the series. One of the producers of the project was the grandson of Georges Simenon. Viewers have already seen two seasons of the series, the role of Maigret was played by the actor.
- Commissioner doesn't like being called full name... Even his wife simply calls the hero Maigret.
- More than 50 film adaptations are devoted to the Commissioner's investigations
- The chronology of works about the character consists of 75 novels and 28 short stories.
Quotes
“Usually one person commits a crime. Or an organized group. In politics, everything is different. The proof of this is the abundance of parties in the parliament ”.
“Every time I come into contact with someone’s difficult fate and, as it were, go through the life path of this person anew, looking for the motives of his actions.”
“For what reason does a person commit a crime? Out of jealousy, greed, hatred, envy, much less often because of need ... In short, one of the human passions pushes him to this.
Police Commissioner Maigret (he hates his name, and even his wife calls him only by his last name) took on his appearance in the first novel and practically did not change to the last one. Maigret appears at forty-five years old, already known in the professional circle. He has a slightly silvery gray whiskey, a heavy black coat, a bowler hat, a set of smoking pipes, a tie he never managed to tie properly. There was something plebeian in his figure. He was huge, broad-boned, with tight muscles protruding under his suit. In addition, he had his own special demeanor, as if to a person. Even colleagues did not always like it. There was more to it than confidence, and at the same time it could not be called arrogance..
Maigret is married, unlike many literary detectives, and Madame Maigret is his faithful friend, a caring housewife who shows a sincere interest in everything her husband does. This lyrical motive, passing through the novels, creates almost the only example of mutual understanding and warmth, an analogue of which it would be futile to look for in the world where Maigret works.
Professionally, he is a lone hero, despite all his declared affection for his younger colleagues, assistants to Luc, Janvier, Lapuente. In the first novels, Inspector Torrance was still active, Georges Simenon, getting excited, killed v Peter-Latysh , and then returned to life as if nothing had happened. Later, Torrance will become a private investigator and open his Agency "O" , but will continue to cooperate with Inspector Luke and Chief of the Criminal Police... Series of stories Cases of the agency "O" characterized by an ironic, partly even humorous attitude of the author to the described investigations, to the command of the heroes.
Maigret is one of those inspectors who are called walking... His style of work is detailed, detailed conversations with a wide range of people who, in his opinion, can provide information not only about displacements object, but, to a greater extent, about his demeanor, lifestyle. Maigret, like a gold digger, sifts waste rock, hoping to catch at least a grain of valuable information in each tray. His method does not require collective creativity, for he most of all resembles an exclusively developed intuition based on a penchant for psychoanalysis.
Simenon, as if anticipating reproaches for the undevelopedness of his own investigation process, often gives an external assessment of the activities of his hero at the climax: ... hardly anyone can imagine Maigret's jubilation at this moment. However, there is such a person - this is Luka, who looks at his boss and is ready to swear that he has tears in his eyes.
The commissioner unraveled the whole tangle himself, not having any data, except for those that no one paid attention to, unraveled thanks to his phenomenal intuition and terrifying ability to get used to his neighbors (Signature "Pickpus" ).
The traditions of the police novel, to which Maigret's series should be outwardly close, are taken into account by Simenon very little. Essentially just an exposition Peter-Latvian , made in a classic style, is designed for recognition detective lovers. Few of its components (external surveillance, use of forensics) look like props for the main theme. Having quickly discovered a small circle of persons associated with the leader of an international gang of fraudsters who paid a visit to Paris, Maigret receives very comprehensive information about the main subject of his worries. It remains for him catch the moment when a person is behind the player... It is on human weaknesses, or rather, on human in any of the criminals and builds his own line of investigation Maigret.
As a rule, he does not need fingerprints, laboratory tests and other forensic paraphernalia of an official police inquiry. All this, if carried out in novels, then on periphery actions and serves as confirmation guesswork inspector. One gets the impression that in the process of the investigation, Maigret simply absorbs into himself, like a sponge, the traditions and habits of people of the circle to which the suspect belongs, up to the point that he begins to feel himself in the skin object of pursuit. Duration immersion process depends on the specific environment, but in any case, sooner or later the moment comes when information reaches a certain critical mass, and Maigret gains firm confidence not only in who killed, but also in the idea of the whole background of the events that led to the crime.
So, in Newfoundland squash (original title On a date in Ter Nova ), one of Maigret's early novels, getting acquainted with a strange incident in a small fishing village, spends most of the novel's time in a local pub, where have a rest after the flight crews. Plebeian As the author deliberately emphasizes, Maigret feels quite comfortable in this brothel, and most importantly, he is able to arouse frankness on almost everyone in whom he is interested.
Living in the atmosphere of the place is so effective that it is not difficult for Maigret to even imagine the outline of events on board a fishing vessel - the very prehistory, which turned out to be the cause of the death of two people.
The fact that Simenon is true to himself is confirmed, for example, by such a small observation. In the novels, separated by more than thirty years, the final scene is repeated one to one: the inspector peacefully talks with the main culprit over a bottle of wine, in a dressing gown, with a mutual desire to recreate an objective picture of previous events ( Newfoundland squash and Maigret and the wine merchant ).
In general, the role of the punishing sword of the law is alien to Maigret. it wrong a policeman, then giving the offender the opportunity to commit suicide without bringing the case to court publicity ( Maigret's wrath ), or even completely letting him go in peace, since he is convinced that he has the moral right to do so ( The man who hanged himself in the church ).
And in the novel Town in the fog (Inspector Cadaver ) the situation is modeled in such a way that only an unofficial investigation allows the author to fully disclose the mystery of the murder young man and at the same time do not apply any sanctions against the murderer.
Immersion Maigret in the life of the provincial town of Saint-Aubin, performed by the writer in a traditionally detailed way, shows all the wretched and sanctimonious morality of its inhabitants. A local young man, a friend of the murdered man, renders all possible assistance to him. He is one of those, - says Louis about someone. Be one of those in his understanding, it meant being an accomplice in a conspiracy of silence, belonging to the number of people who want to live, as if everything in this world is arranged in the best way ...
Simenon's classic pair relationship investigator - suspect Maigret himself expressed in the same novel: It seems to me - I am almost convinced of this! - that although you are guilty of the death of Albert Retaio, you are at the same time a victim. I will even say more: you were the instrument of the crime, but you are not really to blame for his death..
Over the years, the figure of Maigret, his inner world, and his philosophical attitude to events take an increasing place in novels. Some of them are directly devoted to the biography of the hero ( The Saint-Fiacre affair , Maigret's Notes ). The detective is intensely close to difficult novels. Maigret and I have changed the order, - says Simenon in the sixties. - And in the novels where Maigret acts, I sometimes pose more complex problems than in my socio-psychological novels. Maigret's experience and wisdom helps me resolve them and make them accessible to readers of different countries and different cultural levels..
Despite the fact that Maigret almost does not appear in his office during the investigation, the novels with his participation cannot be classified as dynamic. Their main content is the dialogues that the police commissioner conducts with many people. These are precisely conversations, not interrogations ( Maigret realized with terrible evidence that you can instantly paralyze several people at once with a simple question: "What exactly did you do between six and seven in the evening?"), and their meaning is clearly visible from a fragment of Maigret's conversation with his old friend Dr. Pardon:
- You are one of those who are called upon to restore justice ... And yet we can say that, arresting the culprit, you do it as if with regret.
- It happens, right.
- At the same time, you take the investigation to heart, as if it concerns you personally.
Maigret chuckled mirthlessly.
- After all, every time I come into contact with someone's difficult fate and, as it were, I go through the life path of this person anew, looking for the motives of his actions ... When you go to a patient unknown to you, does his cure not become your personal matter and you are not fighting for him? life, as if this patient is the dearest creature for you?
Commissioner Maigret went down in the history of detective literature on an equal footing with Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Nero Wolfe. This is just the case when no matter how the writer tries, he cannot get rid of the hero, who begins to live his own, completely reliable life. And Maigret was such a realistic character that in 1966 he was even erected a monument in his "homeland" - in Delfzijl, where in 1929 Georges Simenon wrote the first novel about the commissioner "Peter Letish". Although, in fact, Maigret was mentioned in earlier works of Simenon. All in all, Simenon wrote more than 80 works about the commissar, including 76 novels.
Jules Joseph Anselm Maigret was born in 1915 in the village of Saint-Fiacre near Matignon in the family of the estate manager, Count Saint-Fiacre. (In the future, out of the entire long name, the commissioner will use only the surname, at least the first name. It is fully reproduced only once - in the novel "The Revolver Maigret").
Marital status: Maigret married very young, but he never had children. The only relatives of the Maigret couple are the commissioner's sister-in-law, Madame Maigret's sister. The family of Commissioner Maigret is a reliable rear, an example of decency and family comfort. By the way, Simenon was very sympathetic to Soviet critics by demonstrative oppositions of a decent commissioner who came from the middle of the petty bourgeoisie and his simple family to "unhealthy" relations in the criminal environment and high society. Maigret is always sure that his wife is waiting for him at home, who will definitely prepare a delicious lunch and dinner, give him grog to drink if he freezes and forbids smoking his favorite pipe if the commissioner has a cold.
Known for his love for women, Simenon has populated his romances with numerous beautiful and often approachable (not to say dissolute) women. However, Commissioner Maigret never experienced any romantic feelings towards any of the women undergoing this or that criminal case, regardless of their beauty. All of them for him were always only suspects, witnesses, or criminals, although human sympathy for the commissioner is not alien. But only sympathy - Maigret is extremely devoted to his wife, with whom he lived for many years in Paris on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. After retiring, Maigret bought a house in the village and moved there with his wife. However, even in retirement, the commissioner sometimes took part in investigations.
Megre method
Maigret method: To understand the logic of the criminal, Maigret must immerse himself in the environment where the crime was committed and try to understand what kind of persons the suspects are, including putting yourself in their place. Many call him "the human commissar" because Maigret has repeatedly felt more sympathy for the perpetrator than for the victim. Simenon repeatedly emphasizes that ordinary people with their firm ideas about good and evil are much closer to the commissioner than the high society with its double standards.
Maigret's habits
Chief among them is the commissar's unchanging pipe, with which he tries not to part and the theft of which (see the novel "Maigret's Pipe") he perceives as a personal insult and an intrusion into his life. In general, the commissioner's habits are extremely simple, and he often feels awkward for them in front of the more "refined" natures he encounters at work. However, nothing will force Maigret to give up what gives him pleasure. He likes to have a mug or two of beer, a couple of glasses of white wine or a glass of Calvados in Parisian zucchini, depending on the situation. If Maigret, during interrogation at the commissariat on the embankment of Orfevre, orders beer and sandwiches from the pub "At the Dauphin", located opposite, it means that there will be a long night of work. And journalists leading a crime chronicle are well aware of this - on the basis of these signs, they often make their assumptions about the course of the investigation. Maigret also loves Paris very much, especially in spring and on sunny days, it gives him great pleasure to sometimes go with his wife to the cinema, and then dine in some small restaurant.
Maigret's team
The Commissioner always works with the same inspectors who are ready for much, if not everything. Maigret pays them the same dedication. The Commissioner's team includes Inspectors Janvier, Luc, Torrance and the youngest of them Lapuente, whom the Commissioner often calls "the kid."
Maigret's popularity was so great that the commissioner became for Simenon about the same as Sherlock Holmes for Conan Doyle. In the bibliography of the writer there are enough works that not only have nothing to do with Maigret, but are also not detectives, but he is known primarily as the creator of the image of the "human commissar". Well, as usual, literary critics came to the conclusion that in the image of Maigret Simenon reflected many traits of his own character and even his habits. However, the biography of the writer showed that this is not entirely true, although, undoubtedly, many of his thoughts, understanding of life and the motives of human actions, Simenon expressed through his hero.
Monument to Maigret
In 1966, in the Dutch town of Delfzijl, where Commissioner Maigret was "born" in the first novel of the cycle, a monument to this literary hero, with the official presentation to Georges Simenon of the certificate of "birth" of the famous Maigret, which read the following: "Maigret Jules, was born in Delfzijl on February 20, 1929 .... at the age of 44 ... Father - Georges Simenon, mother unknown. .. ".
List of books
Peters-Latvian (Pietr-le-Letton)
Horseman from the barge "Providence" (Le charretier de la Providence)
The late Mr. Galle
The Hanging Man of Saint-Folien
Head Price (aka The Man from the Eiffel Tower)
Yellow Dog (Le chien jaune)
The Mystery of the Crossroads of the Three Widows (La nuit du carrefour)
Crime in Holland (Un crime en Hollande)
Newfoundland squash (Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas)
Dancer of the "Merry Mill"
Two-penny squash (La guinguette a deux sous)
Shade on the curtain (L'ombre chinoise)
The Saint-Fiacre affair
The Flemings
Port of Mists
Bergerac Maniac (Le fou de Bergerac)
Liberty Bar
Gateway No. 1
Megre (aka Megre Returns)
Barge with two hanged men (story, first book publication: 1944)
Drama on Boulevard Beaumarchais (story)
Open window (story)
Mr. Monday (story)
Jomon, stop 51 minutes (story)
Death penalty (story)
Drops of stearin (story, Les larmes de bougie)
Rue Pigalle (story)
Maigret's mistake (story)
Shelter for the drowned (story)
Stan - killer (story)
North Star (tale)
Storm over the English Channel (story)
Mrs Bertha and her lover (story)
Notary of Châteauneuf (story)
Unprecedented Mister Owen (story)
Players from the Grand Cafe (story)
Admirer of Madame Maigret (story)
Lady of Bayeux (tale)
In the basements of the hotel "Majestic"
House of the judge
Cecile died
Death Threats (Menaces de mort, tale)
Signature "Pickpus"
And Felicie is here!
Inspector Cadaver
Maigret's pipe (story)
Maigret is angry
Megre in New York
Poor people are not killed (story)
The testimony of a boy from the church choir (story)
The most stubborn customer in the world (story)
Maigret and the inspector of the idiot (story, Maigret et l’inspecteur malgracieux (malchanceux))
Megre vacation
Maigret et son mort
Maigret's first case
My friend Maigret
Megre at the coroner
Maigret and the old lady
Madame Maigret's friend
Seven crosses in Inspector Lecker's notebook (story, published in English November 16, 1950)
The man in the street (story)
Candlelight Bidding (story)
Maigret's Christmas (tale)
Maigret's Notes
Maigret at the Pickretts
Maigret in furnished rooms
Maigret and Lanky (Maigret et la grande perche)
Maigret, Lognon and the gangsters
Revolver Maigret
Maigret and the man on the bench
Maigret a peur
Maigret se trompe
Maigret at school
Maigret and the corpse of a young woman (Maigret et la jeune morte)
Maigret at the minister
Megre is looking for a head
Maigret sets a trap
Maigret's slip (Un echec de Maigret)
Maigret amuses himself
Maigret travels
Doubts of Maigret (Les scrupules de Maigret)
Maigret and obstinate witnesses
Confessions of Maigret
Maigret in jury
Maigret and the old
Maigret and the lazy thief
Maigret et les braves gens
Maigret and the Saturday client
Maigret and the tramp
Maigret's wrath
Old Holland's Mystery (Megre and the Ghost)
Maigret defends himself
Maigret's patience
Megre and the Naur case
The man who robbed Maigret (bibl.)
Commissioner Maigret's thief
Maigret in Vichy
Maigret hesitates
Maigret childhood friend
Megre and the killer
Maigret and the wine merchant
Maigret and the Madwoman (La folle de Maigret)
Maigret et l'homme tout seul
Maigret and the informant
Maigret and Monsieur Charles
Films
1949 The Man on the Eiffel Tower / L'Homme de la tour Eiffel - Charles Loughton
1956 "Maigret dirige l'enquête" - Maurice Manson
1958 Maigret tend un piège - Jean Gabin
1959 Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre - Jean Gabin
1959 "Maigret and the Lost Life" (TV) - Basil Sydney (Basil Sydney)
1963 "Maigret voit rouge" - Jean Gabin
1964 "Maigret: De kruideniers" (TV) - Kees Brusse (Kees Brusse)
1969 "Maigret at Bay" (TV series) - Rupert Davies
1981 Signé Furax - Jean Richard
1988 "Merge (TV)" - Richard Harris
2004 Maigret: La trappola (TV) - Sergio Castellitto
2004 "Maigret: L'ombra cinese" (TV) - Sergio Castellitto
TV serials
Maigret (1964-1968), Belgium / Netherlands, 18 episodes - Jan Teulings
"Investigations of Commissioner Maigret" (Le inchieste del commissario Maigret) (1964-1972), Italy, 16 episodes - Gino Cervi
Maigret (1991-2005), France, 54 episodes - Bruno Kremer
"Maigray" (1992-1993), Great Britain, 12 episodes - Michael Gambon
TV plays
"Death of Cecily" 1971, USSR Central Television - Boris Tenin
"Maigret and the man on the bench" 1973, USSR Central Television - Boris Tenin
"Maigret and the old lady" 1974, USSR Central Television - Boris Tenin
"Megre hesitates" 1982, USSR Central Television - Boris Tenin
"Megre at the Minister" 1987, USSR Central Television - Armen Dzhigarkhanyan
There have been numerous attempts to film the adventures of Maigret. He has himself been portrayed by French, British, Irish, Austrian, Dutch, German, Italian, and Japanese actors. One of the best Maigret is called J. Gabin, a French actor who played a policeman in 3 films. In France, the role of Maigret was played by B. Kremer and J. Richard, the latter, by the way, was noted by critics, but Simenon himself, as they say, did not like Maigret in his performance. Simenon was more impressed by the Italian actor.
Сommissaire Jules Maigret) - the hero of the popular series detective novels and stories Georges Simenon, wise police officer.On the personality of Commissioner Maigret
The first book, the protagonist of which is Commissioner Megre, is Peters the Lett. Georges Simenon printed this book in 4-5 days on a typewriter on board the sailboat Ostgot, docked in the port Delfzijl in the spring of 1929. This is how Commissar Maigret was "born", a broad-shouldered, overweight man, in a hat bowler hat and dense drape coat with velvet collared and unchanged tube in the teeth. In subsequent novels, he became the main character.
The Case of Saint-Fiacre describes the commissioner's childhood and adolescence, Megret's Notes - a meeting with the future Madame Maigret and marrying her, admission to the police and the stages of work on the Orfevre embankment.
Jules Joseph Anselm Maigret was born in 1884 in the village Saint-Fiacre under Mantignon in the family of the estate manager, Count Saint-Fiacre. There he spent his childhood and youth. Simenon repeatedly mentions the peasant roots of Maigret. The Commissioner's mother died in childbirth when he was 8 years old. He spent several months at the Lyceum, where it was very difficult for him, and, in the end, his father sent him to his sister, who was married to a baker in Nantes... Arriving in Paris, Maigret began to study to be a doctor, but for a number of reasons and circumstances left his studies and decided to go to serve in the police.
Maigret with his talent and perseverance rose from a private inspectors to the position of divisional commissioner, head of the brigade for the investigation of especially grave crimes.
Maigret cannot be imagined without a smoking pipe, he has a whole collection of them.
In the story "An Admirer of Madame Maigret," the commissioner's wife is called Henriette, and in Megret's Notes, Louise. She is a housewife and loves to cook. It was even later published cookbook R. Courtena "Recipes of Madame Maigret" ( Madame Maigret's Recipes Robert J. Courtine), which contains recipes for dishes mentioned in the novels of Georges Simenon.
Whether the Maigret spouses ever had children of their own is unclear. In the story "The Notary of Châteauneuf" and the story "Gateway No. 1" it is mentioned in passing that they had a daughter, who soon died. However, in the Notes of Maigret it is transparently hinted that Madame Maigret could not have children at all. In any case, the absence of a child was a real tragedy for her. The story "Christmas in the Maigret House" describes the events during which a girl who was left without parents fell into the Maigret family. The couple took care of her as if they were their daughter.
In retirement, the commissioner retired to his own house, acquired long before the appointed date in Meun-sur-Loire. However, several times he had to leave the house and rush to Paris to re-investigate another crime.
The wife of Maigret has a nephew who also decided to work in the Parisian police, but did not succeed. He gets stuck in an unpleasant story that the commissioner has to unravel.
It is usually indicated that the commissioner did not speak foreign languages, but in the story "Horseman from the Providence barge", he, albeit with difficulty, follows the conversation English... Due to his lack of knowledge of the language, he had a hard time in England and America where he visited several times. This infuriated the Commissioner, but did not prevent him from brilliantly investigating English and American secrets.
To his beloved hero, the commissioner Maigret Simenon, he dedicated 75 novels and 28 short stories.
Commissioner Maigret in cinema
The Adventures of Maigret was the subject of 14 films and 44 television programs. Inspector Maigret in the cinema was played by three dozen actors, including Jean Gabin, Harry Bauer, Albert Prejean, Charles Lawton , Gino Worms , Bruno Kremer and so on. In Russia, the role of Commissioner Maigret was played by Boris Tenin , Vladimir Samoilov and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan.
Films
- "Night at the Crossroads" ( fr. La nuit du carrefour) - Pierre Renoir
- "Yellow dog" ( fr. Le chien jaune) - Abel Tarrid (fr.)Russian
- "The Man on the Eiffel Tower" ( English The Man on the Eiffel Tower / fr. L'Homme de la tour Eiffel) - Charles Lawton
- "Maigret dirige l'enquête" - Maurice Munson (English)Russian
- "Megre sets nets" ( fr. Maigret tend un piège) - Jean Gabin
- "Maigret and the Saint-Fiacre affair" ( fr. Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre ) - Jean Gabin
- "Maigret and a lost life" ( English Maigret and the Lost Life) (TV) - Basil Sydney
- "Maigret and gangsters" ( fr. Maigret voit rouge) - Jean Gabin
- "Maigret: De kruideniers" (TV) - Kees Brusse (nid.)Russian
- "Maigret at Bay" (TV episode) - Rupert Davis (English)Russian
- Signé Furax - Jean Richard (fr.)Russian
- « Maigret"(TV movie) - Richard Harris
- « Head price » - Vladimir Samoilov
- "Hostages of Fear" - Studio "Ch" (Film Studio named after A. Dovzhenko) - Yuri Evsyukov
- "Maigret: The Trap" ( ital. Maigret: La trappola) (TV) - Sergio Castellitto (ital.)Russian
- "Megre: The Chinese Shadow" ( ital. Maigret: L'ombra cinese) (TV) - Sergio Castellitto (ital.)Russian
- "Maigret sets up nets" ( English Maigret sets a trap) (TV) -
- "Dead Man of Detective Maigret" ( English Maigret's Dead Man) (TV) - Rowan Atkinson
- "Night at the Crossroads" ( English Night at the crossroads) (TV) - Rowan Atkinson
- "Maigret in Montmartre" ( English Maigret in Montmartre) (TV) - Rowan Atkinson
TV serials
- "Maigret" (1964-1968, Belgium /Netherlands), 18 episodes - Ian Tulings (nid.)Russian
- fr. Le inchieste del commissario maigret ; 1964-1972, Italy), 16 episodes - Gino Worms
- "Investigations by Commissioner Maigret" ( fr. Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret ; 1967-1990, France), 88 episodes - Jean Richard (fr.)Russian
- "Megre" (1991-2005, France), 54 series - Bruno Kremer
- "Megre" (1992-1993, United Kingdom), 12 episodes - Michael Gambon
- "Megre" (with, United Kingdom), 4 series - Rowan Atkinson
TV plays USSR Central Television
Name | Year | Performer of the role |
Death of Cecily | Boris Tenin | |
Maigret and the man on the bench | Boris Tenin | |
Maigret and the old lady | Boris Tenin | |
Maigret and the man on the bench | Mikhail Danilov | |
Maigret hesitates | Boris Tenin | |
Maigret at the minister | Armen Dzhigarkhanyan |
Monument to Commissioner Maigret
In 1966 in Dutch small town Delfzijle, where in the first novel of the cycle Commissar Maigret was “born”, a monument to this literary hero was erected, with the official presentation of the certificate of “birth” of the famous Maigret to Georges Simenon, which read: “Maigret Jules, was born in Delfzijl on February 20, 1929 .... at the age of 44 ... Father - Georges Simenon, mother unknown ... ".
List of books
- Peters Latvian (Pietr-le-Letton) (1931) [Other names: Peter-Latvian, Peters-Latvian]
- Horseman from the barge "Providence" (Le Charretier de la Providence) (1931)
- The late M. Gallet décédé (1931) [Other title: The late M. Gallet]
- The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien) (1931) [Another name: Hanged at the gates of Saint-Pholien]
- The Price of a Head (La Tête d'un homme) (aka The Man from the Eiffel Tower (L'homme de la Tour Eiffel)) (1931)
- Yellow Dog (Le Chien jaune) (1931)
- The Mystery of the Crossroads of the Three Widows (La Nuit du carrefour) (1931) [Other title: Night at the Crossroads]
- Un crime en Hollande (1931)
- Newfoundland squash (Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas) (1931)
- Dancer of the Merry Mill (La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin) (1931)
- Twopenny Zucchini (La Guinguette à deux sous) (1932)
- The Shadow on the Curtain (L'ombre chinoise) (1932)
- Affaire Saint-Fiacre (1932)
- The Flemish (Chez les Flamands) (1932)
- Port of Mists (Le Port des brumes) (1932)
- Maniac of Bergerac (Le Fou de Bergerac) (1932) [Other name: Madman of Bergerac]
- Liberty Bar (1932)
- Gateway number 1 (L "Écluse numéro 1) (1933)
- Maigret (1934)
- New investigations of Maigret (Les Nouvelles Enquêtes de Maigret) (collection of short stories) (1944):
- Drama on Boulevard Beaumarchais (1936)
- Barge with Two Hanged Men (La Péniche aux deux pendus) (1936)
- Open Window (La Fenêtre ouverte) (1936)
- Death Penalty (Peine de mort) (1936)
- Stearin Drops (Les Larmes de bougie) (1936)
- Rue Pigalle (1936)
- Monsieur Lundi (1936)
- Une erreur de Maigret (1937)
- Jeumont, 51 minutes d'arrêt (1936) [Another name: The train stops at Jeumont for 51 minutes]
- Madame Berthe and her lover (Mademoiselle Berthe et son amant) (1938) [Other name: Mademoiselle Berthe and her lover]
- Storm over the English Channel (Tempête sur la Manche) (1938)
- Notary of Châteauneuf (Le Notaire de Châteauneuf) (1938)
- L'Improbable Monsieur Owen (1938)
- The Players from the Grand Café (1938)
- North Star (L "Étoile du Nord) (1938)
- L'Auberge aux noyés (1938)
- Stan le tueur (1938)
- The Lady of Bayeux (La Vieille Dame de Bayeux) (1939) [Another name: The Old Lady of Bayeux]
- Madame Maigret's Admirer (L'Amoureux de Madame Maigret) (1939)
- The Menaces de mort (short story) (1942; published 1992)
- Maigret returns (Maigret revient ...) (1942):
- In the basements of the hotel "Majestic" (Les Caves du Majestic) (1942)
- House of the Judge (La Maison du juge) (1942)
- Cécile est morte (1942)
- Signé Picpus (1944):
- Signé Picpus (1944) [Other name: Signed: Picpus]
- And Felicie is here! (Félicie est là) (1944) [Other title: Maigret and Felicia]
- Inspector Cadavre (1944)
- Pipe de Maigret (story) (1947)
- Maigret se fâche (1947)
- Maigret à New York (1947)
- Maigret et l'inspecteur malgracieux (short stories) (1947):
- Testimony of a boy from the church choir (Le Témoignage de l'enfant de chœur) (1947) [Other title: Testimony of a boy]
- The World's Most Stubborn Client (Le Client le plus obstiné du monde) (1947) [Another title: The Most Stubborn Client]
- Maigret et l'inspecteur malgracieux (1947)
- Poor people are not killed (On ne tue pas les pauvres types) (1947)
- Maigret et son mort (1948)
- Vacances de Maigret (1948)
- Maigret's First Deed (La Première Enquête de Maigret, 1913) (1949)
- My friend Maigret (Mon ami Maigret) (1949)
- Maigret chez le coroner (1949)
- Maigret et la Vieille Dame (1949)
- Madame Maigret's Friend (L'Amie de Mme Maigret) (1950)
- Maigret et les Petits Cochons sans queue (collection of stories, in two of which the main character is Maigret) (1950):
- The Man in the Street (L'Homme dans la rue) (1950)
- Candlelight Bidding (Vente à la Bougie) (1950)
- Les Mémoires de Maigret (1951)
- Maigret's Christmas (Un Noël de Maigret) (story) (1951) [Other title: Christmas at Maigret's house]
- Maigret au "Picratt's" (1951)
- Maigret en meublé (1951)
- Maigret et la Grande Perche (1951)
- Maigret, Lognon et les Gangsters (1952)
- Revolver Maigret (1952)
- Maigret et l'Homme du banc (1953)
- Maigret a peur (1953) [Other title: Maigret frightened]
- Maigret se trompe (1953)
- Maigret at school (Maigret à l "école) (1954)
- Maigret et la Jeune Morte (1954)
- Maigret chez le ministre (1954)
- Maigret looking for a head (Maigret et le Corps sans tête) (1955)
- Maigret sets nets (Maigret tend un piège) (1955) [Other names: Maigret sets a trap, Maigret sets a trap]
- Un échec de Maigret (1956)
- Maigret s'amuse (1957)
- Maigret voyage (1958)
- Doubts of Maigret (Les Scrupules de Maigret) (1958) [Another name: Mental torment of Maigret]
- Maigret et les Témoins récalcitrants (1959)
- Confessions of Maigret (1959)
- Maigret aux assises (1960)
- Maigret et les Vieillards (1960)
- Maigret and the lazy thief (Maigret et le Voleur paresseux) (1961) [Another name: Maigret and the quiet thief]
- Maigret et les Braves Gens (1962)
- Maigret and the Saturday client (Maigret et le Client du samedi) (1962) [Another name: Maigret and the Saturday visitor]
- Maigret et le Clochard (1963) [Another name: Maigret and clochard]
- Maigret's Wrath (La Colère de Maigret) (1963)
- Maigret et le Fantôme (1964) [Other names: Maigret and the ghost, The Secret of the Old Dutchman]
- Maigret se défend (1964)
- Patience de Maigret (1965)
- Maigret et l'Affaire Nahour (1966)
- Thief of the Commissioner Maigret (Le Voleur de Maigret) (1967) [Another name: The man who robbed Maigret]
- Maigret à Vichy (1968)
- Maigret Hésite (1968)
- Childhood friend Maigret (L'Ami d'enfance de Maigret) (1968)
- Maigret et le Tueur (1969)
- Maigret et le Marchand de vin (1970)
- Maigret and the Madwoman (La Folle de Maigret) (1970)
- Maigret et l'Homme tout seul (1971)
- Maigret et l'Indicateur (1971) [Other title: Maigret and informant]
- Maigret et Monsieur Charles (1972)
see also
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Notes (edit)
Literature
- E. Schreiber... Simenon Remembers and Tells // J. Simenon. Passenger of the Polar Lily. - L .: Children's literature., 1985 .-- 431 p.
Links
Excerpt from Commissioner Maigret
It was the earl's favorite dance, danced by him in his youth. (Danilo Kupor was actually one figure of the Angles.)“Look at dad,” Natasha shouted to the whole hall (completely forgetting that she was dancing with a big one), bending her curly head to her knees and bursting into her ringing laughter throughout the hall.
Indeed, everything that was in the hall with a smile of joy looked at the cheerful old man who, next to his dignified lady, Marya Dmitrievna, who was taller than him, rounded his arms, shaking them in time, straightened his shoulders, twisted his legs, tapping lightly, and more and more dissolving smile on his round face prepared the audience for what would happen. As soon as the cheerful, provocative sounds of Danila Kupor were heard, similar to a merry batter, all the doors of the hall suddenly became male, on the one hand, and female courtyard smiling faces, on the other, who came out to look at the merry master.
- Father is ours! Eagle! The nanny said loudly from one door.
The count danced well and knew it, but his lady did not know how and did not want to dance well. Her huge body stood straight with her powerful arms lowered down (she handed the reticule to the countess); only one stern but beautiful face danced. What was expressed in the whole round figure of the count, in Marya Dmitrievna was expressed only in a more and more smiling face and a twitching nose. But on the other hand, if the count, more and more diverging, captivated the audience with the unexpectedness of dexterous twists and light jumps of his soft legs, Marya Dmitrievna, with the slightest zeal when moving her shoulders or rounding her arms in turns and tapping, made no less impression of merit, which everyone appreciated when her obesity and everlasting severity. The dance became more and more animated. The vis-a-vis could not even for a minute draw attention to themselves and did not even try to do so. Everything was occupied by the count and Marya Dmitrievna. Natasha tugged at the sleeves and dresses of all those present, who already did not take their eyes off the dancers, and demanded that they look at papa. In the intervals of the dance, the count took a deep breath, waved and shouted to the musicians to play as soon as possible. Rather, sooner and sooner, deprived, deprived and deprived of the count, now on tiptoe, now on heels, rushing around Marya Dmitrievna and, finally, turning his lady to her place, made the last step, lifting his soft leg up from behind, bending his sweating head with a smiling face and waving his right hand roundly amid the roar of applause and laughter, especially Natasha. Both dancers stopped, gasping for breath and wiping themselves with cambric handkerchiefs.
“That's how they danced in our time, ma chere,” said the count.
- Oh yes Danila Kupor! - heavily and for a long time letting go of her breath and rolling up her sleeves, said Marya Dmitrievna.
While the Rostovs were dancing in the hall of the sixth angles to the sounds of fatigue of fake musicians, and tired waiters and cooks were preparing dinner, Count Bezukhim was struck sixth. The doctors announced that there was no hope of recovery; the patient was given a deaf confession and communion; they were making preparations for unction, and there was a bustle and anxiety of expectation in the house, which are common at such moments. Outside the house, outside the gates, undertakers crowded, hiding from approaching carriages, waiting for a rich order for the count's funeral. The commander-in-chief of Moscow, who incessantly sent adjutants to learn about the position of the count, came that evening to say goodbye to the famous Catherine grandee, Count Bezukhim.
The magnificent reception room was full. Everyone stood up respectfully when the commander-in-chief, after spending about half an hour alone with the patient, left there, slightly responding to bows and trying to pass by the gazes of doctors, clergy and relatives as soon as possible. Prince Vasily, who had grown thin and pale during these days, accompanied the commander-in-chief and repeated something quietly to him several times.
After seeing the commander-in-chief, Prince Vasily sat down in the hall alone on a chair, throwing his legs high over the legs, resting his elbow on his knee and closing his eyes with his hand. After sitting for a while, he got up and with unusually hasty steps, looking around with frightened eyes, went through a long corridor to the back half of the house, to the eldest princess.
Those who were in the dimly lit room in uneven whispers talked among themselves and fell silent every time and with eyes full of questioning and expectation looked back at the door that led to the dying man's chambers and made a faint sound when someone left it or entered it.
- The human limit, - said the old man, the clergyman, to the lady who sat down to him and naively listened to him, - the limit is set, you will not pass it.
- I think, is it too late to unleash? - adding the spiritual title, the lady asked, as if she had no opinion on this matter.
“A great sacrament, mother,” answered the clergyman, running his hand over his bald head, along which lay several strands of combed, half-gray hair.
- Who is this? was the commander in chief himself? - asked at the other end of the room. - What a youthful! ...
- And the seventh decade! What, they say, the count will not know? Did you want to unleash?
- I knew one thing: I had unction seven times.
The second princess had just left the patient's room with tear-stained eyes and sat down beside Dr. Lorrain, who was sitting in a graceful pose under the portrait of Catherine, leaning his elbows on the table.
“Tres beau,” said the doctor, answering a question about the weather, “tres beau, princesse, et puis, a Moscou on se croit a la campagne. [beautiful weather, princess, and then Moscow looks so much like a village.]
"N" est ce pas? [Isn't that so?] - said the princess, sighing. - So can he drink?
Lorrain considered.
- Did he take the medicine?
- Yes.
The doctor looked at the Breguet.
- Take a glass of boiled water and put une pincee (he showed with his thin fingers what une pincee means) de cremortartari ... [a pinch of cremortartar ...]
- Do not drink, listen, - the German doctor said to the adjutant, - that from the third blow the shiv remained.
- And what a fresh man he was! - said the adjutant. - And who will this wealth go to? He added in a whisper.
“There will be a performer,” the German answered, smiling.
All again looked at the door: it creaked, and the second princess, having made the drink shown by Lorrain, carried it to the patient. The German doctor went up to Lorrain.
- Still, maybe it will reach tomorrow morning? Asked the German, speaking badly in French.
Lorrain pursed his lips and waved his finger sternly and negatively in front of his nose.
“Tonight, not later,” he said quietly, with a decent smile of complacency in the fact that he clearly knows how to understand and express the patient's position, and walked away.
Meanwhile, Prince Vasily opened the door to the princess's room.
The room was half dark; only two lamps burned in front of the images, and they smelled good of incense and flowers. The whole room was set with small furniture, wardrobes, cupboards, tables. Behind the screens were the white bedspreads of the high down bed. The dog barked.
"Oh, is that you, mon cousin?"
She got up and straightened her hair, which always, even now, was so unusually smooth, as if it had been made from one piece with the head and varnished.
- What, something happened? She asked. “I’m already so scared.
- Nothing, everything is the same; I just came to talk to you, Katish, about the matter, ”said the prince, wearily sitting down on the chair from which she had risen. - How hot you are, however, - he said, - well, sit down here, causons. [let's talk.]
- I thought, did something happen? - said the princess, and with her unchanging, stone-stern expression on her face, she sat down opposite the prince, preparing to listen.
“I wanted to sleep, mon cousin, but I can't.
- Well, what, my dear? - said Prince Vasily, taking the princess's hand and bending it down, according to his habit.
It was evident that this "well, that" referred to many things that, without naming, they both understood.
The princess, with her incongruously long legs, dry and straight waist, looked straight and dispassionately at the prince with bulging gray eyes. She shook her head and looked at the images with a sigh. Her gesture could be explained both as an expression of sadness and devotion, and as an expression of fatigue and hope for a speedy rest. Prince Vasily explained this gesture as an expression of weariness.
- And then, - he said, - do you think it is easier? Je suis ereinte, comme un cheval de poste; [I am as tired as a mail horse;] but still I need to talk to you, Katish, and very seriously.
Prince Vasily fell silent, and his cheeks began to twitch nervously to one side or the other, giving his face an unpleasant expression that was never shown on the face of Prince Vasily when he was in the drawing rooms. His eyes, too, were not the same as always: they looked insolently jokingly, then they looked around in fright.
The princess, holding the dog on her knees with her dry, thin hands, looked attentively into the eyes of Prince Vasily; but it was evident that she would not break the silence with a question, even if she had to remain silent until morning.
“You see, my dear princess and cousin, Katerina Semyonovna,” continued Prince Vasily, apparently starting to continue his speech, not without an inner struggle, “at such moments as now, you need to think about everything. We need to think about the future, about you ... I love you all as my children, you know that.
The princess gazed at him with the same dullness and motionlessness.
“Finally, we need to think about my family,” Prince Vasily continued angrily pushing the table away from him and not looking at her, “you know, Katish, that you, the three Mamontov sisters, and my wife, are the direct heirs of the count. I know, I know how hard it is for you to talk and think about such things. And it’s not easier for me; but, my friend, I'm in my sixties, I have to be ready for anything. Do you know that I sent for Pierre, and that the count, pointing directly to his portrait, demanded him to come to him?
Prince Vasily looked inquiringly at the princess, but could not understand whether she was thinking what he had told her, or simply looking at him ...
- I never cease to pray to God for one thing, mon cousin, - she answered, - that he would have mercy on him and let his beautiful soul leave this ...
- Yes, that is so, - Prince Vasily continued impatiently, rubbing his bald head and again angrily pulling the table that was pulled back to him, - but finally ... finally the point is, you yourself know that last winter the count wrote a will, according to which he had the entire estate , in addition to direct heirs and us, he gave to Pierre.
- You never know he wrote wills! - said the princess calmly. - But he could not bequeathed to Pierre. Pierre is illegal.
“Ma chere,” Prince Vasily said suddenly, pressing the table to him, perking up and starting to speak quickly, “but what if the letter was written to the emperor, and the count asks to adopt Pierre? You see, according to the count's merits, his request will be respected ...
The princess smiled, as do people who think that they know the business more than those with whom they are talking.
“I’ll tell you more,” Prince Vasily continued, grabbing her hand, “the letter was written, although it was not sent, and the emperor knew about it. The only question is whether it was destroyed or not. If not, then how soon everything will end - Prince Vasily sighed, making it clear that he meant everything would end by words - and the count's papers will be opened, the will with the letter will be handed over to the emperor, and his request will probably be respected. Pierre, as a legitimate son, will receive everything.
- And our part? - asked the princess, smiling ironically as if everything, but not this, could happen.
- Mais, ma pauvre Catiche, c "est clair, comme le jour. [But, my dear Katish, this is as clear as daylight.] Then he is the only legitimate heir to everything, and you will not get any of this. You should know, my dear, were the will and the letter written, and were they destroyed. And if for some reason they are forgotten, then you must know where they are and find them, because ...
- It was just lacking! The princess interrupted him, smiling sardonically and without changing the expression of her eyes. - I am a woman; according to you we are all stupid; but I know so much that an illegitimate son cannot inherit ... Un batard, [Illegal,] - she added, believing with this translation to finally show the prince his groundlessness.
- How do you not understand, finally, Katish! You are so smart: how do you not understand - if the count wrote a letter to the emperor, in which he asks him to recognize his son as legitimate, therefore, Pierre will not be Pierre, but Count Bezukhoi, and then he will receive everything according to his will? And if the will and the letter are not destroyed, then you, except the consolation that you were virtuous et tout ce qui s "en suit, [and everything that follows from this] will have nothing left. This is true.
- I know that the will has been written; but I also know that it is not valid, and you seem to regard me as a complete fool, mon cousin, ”said the princess with the expression with which women speak, believing that they have said something witty and insulting.
“My dear Princess Katerina Semyonovna,” Prince Vasily began impatiently. - I came to you not to dive with you, but to talk about your interests as with a dear, good, kind, true dear. I tell you for the tenth time that if the letter to the sovereign and the will in favor of Pierre is in the count's papers, then you, my dear, and your sisters, are not the heiress. If you don't believe me, then believe people who know: I just spoke with Dmitry Onufriich (he was a lawyer at home), he said the same.
Apparently, something suddenly changed in the princess's thoughts; her thin lips turned pale (her eyes remained the same), and her voice, as she spoke, burst forth in such rumblings as she apparently did not expect herself.
“That would be nice,” she said. - I didn’t want anything and I don’t want anything.