Maigret's Memoirs
Inspector Maigret #35
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray
I can still see Simenon coming into my office the next day, pleased with himself, displaying even more self-confidence, if possible, than before, but nevertheless with a touch of anxiety in his eyes.'
Maigret sets the record straight and tells the story of his own life, giving a rare glimpse into the mind of the great inspector - and the writer who would immortalise him.
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian
'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First published in 1950, this make-believe autobiography harks back to the late 1920s. The account starts with Georges Sim's arrival at the Paris Police Judiciaire to soak up atmosphere for his crime novels by dogging the footsteps of Inspector Maigret. The detective is irritated by the audacious young writer who names "my character'' Maigret. The inspector argues with Sim also for oversimplifying, in his fiction, the intricate duties of the police investigating a case. Four-square, honorable, compassionate Maigret ``sets the record straight,'' telling how he's different from the invention, about his courtship and marriage to his beloved Louise. She is the person largely responsible for the firm friendship that grows between the novelist and her husband. The book moves through the years, while Sim works his way up to ``semi-literature'' and begins to sign his works with his full patronymic. The ``memoirs'' amount to a very short volume, but it is ingenously amusing and tender. Fans of the enormously popular author with appreciate it. U.K. rights: Hamish Hamilton. November 8