Who wrote Commissar Maigret. History of detective literature - Commissioner Maigret. Detectives with Commissioner Maigret

About the personality of Commissioner Maigret

The first book in which the main character is Commissioner Maigret is “Peters the Latvian”. Georges Simenon typed this book in 4-5 days on board the sailing ship Ostrogoth while moored in the port of Delfzijl in the spring of 1929. And so Commissar Maigret was “born,” a broad-shouldered, heavyset man, wearing a bowler hat and a thick drape coat with a velvet collar and an invariable pipe in his teeth. In subsequent novels he became the main character.

The “Saint-Fiacre Case” describes the commissioner’s childhood and youth, while “Maigret’s Notes” describes his meeting with the future Madame Maigret and his marriage to her, joining the police and the stages of work on the Quai Orfevre.

Jules Joseph Anselme Maigret was born in 1884 in the village of Saint-Fiacre near Mantignon in the family of the estate manager, Count Saint-Fiacre. He spent his childhood and youth there. Simenon repeatedly mentions Maigret's peasant roots. The commissioner's mother died in childbirth when he was 8 years old. He spent several months at the Lyceum, where he had a very hard time, and, in the end, his father sent him to his sister, who was married to a baker in Nantes. Arriving in Paris, Maigret began studying to become a doctor, but for a number of reasons and circumstances he left his studies and decided to join the police.

Maigret, with his talent and perseverance, rose from an ordinary inspector to the position of divisional commissar, head of a team for the investigation of especially serious crimes.

It is impossible to imagine Maigret without a smoking pipe; he has a whole collection of them.

In the story “The Admirer of Madame Maigret,” the commissioner’s wife’s name is Henriette, and in “The Notes of Maigret” it is Louise. She is a housewife and loves to cook. Later, a cookbook by R. Courten “Recipes of Madame Maigret” was even published ( Madame Maigret's Recipes Robert J. Courtine), which contains recipes for dishes mentioned in the novels of Georges Simenon.

It is unclear whether the Maigret couple ever had children of their own. In the story “The Notary from Chateauneuf” and the story “Gateway No. 1” it is casually mentioned 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 left without parents ended up in the Maigret family. The couple took care of her as if they were their daughter.

In retirement, the commissioner retired to his own house, purchased long before the appointed time in Meun-sur-Loire. However, several times he had to leave the house and rush to Paris to start investigating another crime again.

Maigret's wife has a nephew who also decided to work in the Parisian police, but did not succeed. He gets caught up in a very unpleasant story that the commissioner has to unravel.

It is usually stated that the commissioner did not speak foreign languages, but in the story “The Horse Guide from the Providence Barge,” he, albeit with difficulty, follows the conversation being conducted in 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 stop him from brilliantly investigating English and American secrets.

Simenon dedicated 75 novels and 28 short stories to his beloved hero, Commissioner Maigret.

Commissioner Maigret in cinema

Maigret's adventures became the subject of 14 films and 44 television programs. Inspector Maigret was played in the movies by three dozen actors, including Jean Gabin, Harry Bauer, Albert Prejean, Charles Lawton, Gino Cervi, Bruno Kremer, etc. In Russia, the role of Commissioner Maigret was played by Boris Tenin, Vladimir Samoilov and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan.

Movies

• "Night at the Crossroads" (fr. La nuit du carrefour) - Pierre Renoir
• "Yellow Dog" (fr. Le chien jaune) - Abel Tarrid (French)Russian
• "The Man on the Eiffel Tower" The Man on the Eiffel Tower/ fr. L'Homme de la tour Eiffel) - Charles Lawton
• "Maigret dirige l'enquête" - Maurice Munson (English)Russian
• “Maigret sets his nets” (fr. Maigret tends un piege) - Jean Gabin
• "Maigret and the case of Saint-Fiacre" (fr. Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre ) - Jean Gabin
• "Maigret and the Lost Life" Maigret and the Lost Life) (TV) - Basil Sidney
• "Maigret and the Gangsters" (fr. Maigret voit rouge) - Jean Gabin
• "Maigret: De kruideniers" (TV) - Kees Brusse (n.d.)Russian
• "Maigret at Bay" (TV episode) - Rupert Davies (English)Russian
• "Signé Furax" - Jean Richard (French)Russian
• "Maigret" (TV movie) - Richard Harris
• “The Price of a Head” - Vladimir Samoilov
• “Hostages of Fear” - Studio “Ch” (A. Dovzhenko Film Studio) - Yuri Evsyukov
• "Maigret: The Trap" (Italian: Maigret: La trappola) (TV) - Sergio Castellitto (Italian)Russian
• “Maigret: Chinese Shadow” (Italian Maigret: L’ombra cinese) (TV) - Sergio Castellitto (Italian)Russian
• "Maigret lays out his nets" Maigret Sets a Trap) (TV) -
• "Dead Man of Detective Maigret" Maigret's Dead Man) (TV) - Rowan Atkinson
• "Night at the Crossroads" Night At The Crossroads) (TV) - Rowan Atkinson
• "Maigret on Montmartre" Maigret in Montmartre) (TV) - Rowan Atkinson

TV serials

• “Maigret” (1964-1968, Belgium/Netherlands), 18 episodes - Jan Teulings (n.d.)Russian
• fr. Le inchieste del commissario Maigret ; 1964-1972, Italy), 16 episodes - Gino Cervi
• "Investigations of Commissioner Maigret" (fr. Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret ; 1967-1990, France), 88 episodes - Jean Richard (French)Russian
• “Maigret” (1991-2005, France), 54 episodes - Bruno Kremer
• “Maigret” (1992-1993, UK), 12 episodes - Michael Gambon
• “Maigret” (with, UK), 4 episodes - Rowan Atkinson

Teleplays of the USSR Central Television

Monument to Commissioner Maigret

In 1966, in the Dutch town of Delfzijl, where Commissioner Maigret was “born” in the first novel of the series, a monument was erected to this literary hero, with the official presentation of a certificate of the “birth” of the famous Maigret to Georges Simenon, which read as follows: “Maigret Jules, born in Delfzijl February 20, 1929... at the age of 44... Father - Georges Simenon, mother unknown...".

List of books

• Peters the Lett (Pietr-le-Letton) (1931) [Other titles: Peter the Lett, Peters the Lett]
• Horse guide from the barge "Providence" (Le Charretier de la Providence) (1931)
• The Late Mr. Gallet (1931) [Alternate title: The Late M. Gallet]
• The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien) (1931) [Alternate title: The Hanged Man 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)
• The Yellow Dog (Le Chien jaune) (1931)
• The Mystery of the Crossroads "The Three Widows" (La Nuit du carrefour) (1931) [Alternate title: Night at the Crossroads]
• A crime in Holland (Un crime en Hollande) (1931)
• Newfoundlander Squash (Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas) (1931)
• Dancer of the Jolly Mill (La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin) (1931)
• The Twopenny Squash (La Guinguette à deux sous) (1932)
• The Shadow on the Curtain (L'ombre chinoise) (1932)
• The Case of Saint-Fiacre (L’Affaire Saint-Fiacre) (1932)
• Among the Flemings (Chez les Flamands) (1932)
• Port of Mists (Le Port des brumes) (1932)
• The Maniac of Bergerac (Le Fou de Bergerac) (1932) [Alternate title: The Madman of Bergerac]
• Liberty Bar (1932)
• Gateway No. 1 (L"Écluse numéro 1) (1933)
• Maigret (1934)
• New Investigations of Maigret (Les Nouvelles Enquêtes de Maigret) (collection of stories) (1944):
  • Drama on the Boulevard Beaumarchais (L’Affaire du Boulevard Beaumarchais) (1936)
  • Barge with Two Hanged Men (La Péniche aux deux pendus) (1936)
  • The Open Window (La Fenêtre ouverte) (1936)
  • Death penalty (Peine de mort) (1936)
  • Drops of Stearin (Les Larmes de bougie) (1936)
  • Rue Pigalle (1936)
  • Mister Monday (Monsieur Lundi) (1936)
  • Une erreur de Maigret (1937)
  • Jeumont, stop 51 minutes (Jeumont, 51 minutes d’arrêt) (1936) [Alternate title: The train stops at Jeumont for 51 minutes]
  • Madame Berthe and her lover (Mademoiselle Berthe et son amant) (1938) [Alternate title: Mademoiselle Berthe and her lover]
  • Storm over the English Channel (Tempête sur la Manche) (1938)
  • The Notary of Châteauneuf (Le Notaire de Châteauneuf) (1938)
  • The Improbable Monsieur Owen (1938)
  • The Players of the Grand-Café (1938)
  • North Star (L"Étoile du Nord) (1938)
  • Asylum for the Drowned (L’Auberge aux noyés) (1938)
  • Stan the Killer (Stan le tueur) (1938)
  • The Lady of Bayeux (La Vieille Dame de Bayeux) (1939) [Alternate title: The Old Lady of Bayeux]
  • The Admirer of Madame Maigret (L'Amoureux de Madame Maigret) (1939)
• Mortal Threat (Menaces de mort) (short story) (1942, published 1992)
• Maigret returns (Maigret revient...) (1942):
  • In the cellars of the Majestic Hotel (Les Caves du Majestic) (1942)
  • The Judge's House (La Maison du juge) (1942)
  • Cecile has died (Cécile est morte) (1942)
• Signé Picpus (1944):
  • Signé Picpus (1944) [Alternate title: Signed: "Picpus"]
  • And Felicie is here! (Félicie est là) (1944) [Alternate title: Maigret and Felicia]
  • Inspecteur Cadavre (1944)
• The Maigret Pipe (La Pipe de Maigret) (short story) (1947)
• Maigret is angry (Maigret se fâche) (1947)
• Maigret in New York (1947)
• Maigret and the Inspecteur Malgracieux (stories) (1947):
  • Testimony of a Boy from a Church Choir (Le Témoignage de l'enfant de chœur) (1947) [Alternate title: Testimony of a Boy]
  • The Most Stubborn Client in the World (Le Client le plus obstiné du monde) (1947) [Alternate title: The Most Stubborn Client]
  • Maigret and the Inspector Malgracieux (1947)
  • The poor are not killed (On ne tue pas les pauvres types) (1947)
• Maigret and the Dead Man (Maigret et son mort) (1948)
• Maigret's Vacation (Les Vacances de Maigret) (1948)
• The First Maigret Case (La Première Enquête de Maigret, 1913) (1949)
• My Friend Maigret (Mon ami Maigret) (1949)
• Maigret at the Coroner (Maigret chez le coroner) (1949)
• Maigret and the Old Lady (Maigret et la Vieille Dame) (1949)
• Madame Maigret's Friend (L'Amie de Mme Maigret) (1950)
• Maigret and the Tailless Piglets (Maigret et les Petits Cochons sans queue) (collection of stories, two of which have Maigret as the main character) (1950):
  • The Man on the Street (L'Homme dans la rue) (1950)
  • Bidding by Candlelight (Vente à la Bougie) (1950)
• Notes from Maigret (Les Mémoires de Maigret) (1951)
• Maigret's Christmas (Un Noël de Maigret) (short story) (1951) [Alternate title: Christmas at Maigret's House]
• Maigret in "Picratt's" (1951)
• Maigret in Furnished Rooms (Maigret en meublé) (1951)
• Maigret et la Grande Perche (1951)
• Maigret, Lognon et les Gangsters (1952)
• Revolver de Maigret (1952)
• Maigret and the Man on the Bench (Maigret et l’Homme du banc) (1953)
• Maigret a peur (1953) [Alternate title: Maigret is scared]
• Maigret is wrong (Maigret se trompe) (1953)
• Maigret at school (Maigret à l"école) (1954)
• Maigret and the Corpse of a Young Woman (Maigret et la Jeune Morte) (1954)
• Maigret at the Minister (Maigret chez le ministre) (1954)
• Maigret is looking for a head (Maigret et le Corps sans tête) (1955)
• Maigret sets a net (Maigret tend un piège) (1955) [Other titles: Maigret sets a trap, Maigret sets a trap]
• Maigret's blunder (Un échec de Maigret) (1956)
• Maigret amuses herself (Maigret s’amuse) (1957)
• Maigret travels (Maigret voyage) (1958)
• Maigret's Doubts (Les Scrupules de Maigret) (1958) [Alternate title: The Mental Torment of Maigret]
• Maigret et les Témoins récalcitrants (1959)
• Confessions of Maigret (Une confidence de Maigret) (1959)
• Maigret in the jury trial (Maigret aux assises) (1960)
• Maigret and the Old Men (Maigret et les Vieillards) (1960)
• Maigret and the Lazy Thief (Maigret et le Voleur paresseux) (1961) [Alternate title: Maigret and the Silent Thief]
• Maigret et les Braves Gens (1962)
• Maigret and the Saturday Client (Maigret et le Client du samedi) (1962) [Alternate title: Maigret and the Saturday Visitor]
• Maigret and the Tramp (Maigret et le Clochard) (1963) [Alternate title: Maigret and the Clochard]
• The Wrath of Maigret (La Colère de Maigret) (1963)
• Maigret and the Ghost (Maigret et le Fantôme) (1964) [Other titles: Maigret and the Ghost, The Mystery of the Old Dutchman]
• Maigret defends himself (Maigret se défend) (1964)
• Patience de Maigret (1965)
• Maigret and the Nahour affair (Maigret et l’Affaire Nahour) (1966)
• The Thief of Commissioner Maigret (Le Voleur de Maigret) (1967) [Alternate title: The Man Who Robbed Maigret]
• Maigret in Vichy (Maigret à Vichy) (1968)
• Maigret hesitates (Maigret hésite) (1968)
• Maigret's Childhood Friend (L'Ami d'enfance de Maigret) (1968)
• Maigret et le Tueur (1969)
• Maigret and the Vintner (Maigret et le Marchand de vin) (1970)
• Maigret and the Madwoman (La Folle de Maigret) (1970)
• Maigret and the Lonely Man (Maigret et l'Homme tout seul) (1971)
• Maigret and the Informant (Maigret et l’Indicateur) (1971) [Alternate title: Maigret and the Informant]
• Maigret et Monsieur Charles (1972)

see also

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Notes

Literature

• E. Schreiber. Simenon remembers and tells // J. Simenon. Passenger of the Polar Lily. - L.: Children's literature., 1985. - 431 p.

Links

Excerpt characterizing Commissioner Maigret

While the Rostovs were dancing the sixth anglaise in the hall to the sounds of tired musicians out of tune, and tired waiters and cooks were preparing dinner, the sixth blow struck Count Bezukhy. The doctors declared that there was no hope of recovery; the patient was given silent confession and communion; They were making preparations for the unction, and in the house there was the bustle and anxiety of expectation, common at such moments. Outside the house, behind the gates, undertakers crowded, hiding from the approaching carriages, awaiting a rich order for the count's funeral. The Commander-in-Chief of Moscow, who constantly sent adjutants to inquire about the Count’s position, that evening himself came to say goodbye to the famous Catherine’s nobleman, Count Bezukhim.
The magnificent reception room was full. Everyone stood up respectfully when the commander-in-chief, having been alone with the patient for about half an hour, came out of there, slightly returning the bows and trying as quickly as possible to pass by the gazes of doctors, clergy and relatives fixed on him. Prince Vasily, who had lost weight and turned pale during these days, saw off the commander-in-chief and quietly repeated something to him several times.
Having seen off the commander-in-chief, Prince Vasily sat down alone on a chair in the hall, crossing his legs high, resting his elbow on his knee and closing his eyes with his hand. After sitting like this for some time, he stood up and with unusually hasty steps, looking around with frightened eyes, walked through the long corridor to the back half of the house, to the eldest princess.
Those in the dimly lit room spoke in an uneven whisper to each other and fell silent each time and, with eyes full of question and expectation, looked back at the door that led to the dying man’s chambers and made a faint sound when someone came out of it or entered it.
“The human limit,” said the old man, a clergyman, to the lady who sat down next to him and naively listened to him, “the limit has been set, but you cannot pass it.”
“I’m wondering if it’s too late to perform unction?” - adding the spiritual title, the lady asked, as if she had no opinion of her own on this matter.
“It’s a great sacrament, mother,” answered the clergyman, running his hand over his bald spot, along which ran several strands of combed, half-gray hair.
-Who is this? was the commander in chief himself? - they asked at the other end of the room. - How youthful!...
- And the seventh decade! What, they say, the count won’t find out? Did you want to perform unction?
“I knew one thing: I had taken unction seven times.”
The second princess just left the patient’s room with tear-stained eyes and sat down next to Doctor 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 right?],” said the princess, sighing. “So can he drink?”
Lorren thought about it.
– Did he take the medicine?
- Yes.
The doctor looked at the breget.
– Take a glass of boiled water and put in une pincee (with his thin fingers he showed what une pincee means) de cremortartari... [a pinch of cremortartar...]
“Listen, I didn’t drink,” the German doctor said to the adjutant, “so that after the third blow there was nothing left.”
– 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 okotnik,” the German answered, smiling.
Everyone looked back at the door: it creaked, and the second princess, having made the drink shown by Lorren, took it to the sick man. The German doctor approached Lorren.
- Maybe it will last until tomorrow morning? - asked the German, speaking bad French.
Lorren, pursing his lips, sternly and negatively waved his finger in front of his nose.
“Tonight, not later,” he said quietly, with a decent smile of self-satisfaction in the fact that he clearly knew how to understand and express the patient’s situation, and walked away.

Meanwhile, Prince Vasily opened the door to the princess’s room.
The room was dim; only two lamps were burning in front of the images, and there was a good smell of incense and flowers. The entire room was furnished with small furniture: wardrobes, cupboards, and tables. The white covers of a high down bed could be seen from behind the screens. The dog barked.
- Oh, is it you, mon cousin?
She stood up and straightened her hair, which had always, even now, been so unusually smooth, as if it had been made from one piece with her head and covered with varnish.
- What, did something happen? – she asked. “I’m already so scared.”
- Nothing, everything is the same; “I just came to talk to you, Katish, about business,” said the prince, wearily sitting down on the chair from which she had risen. “How did you warm it up, however,” he said, “well, sit here, causons.” [let's talk.]
– I was wondering if something had happened? - said the princess and with her unchanged, 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 downwards according to his habit.
It was clear that this “well, what” referred to many things that, without naming them, they both understood.
The princess, with her incongruously long legs, lean and straight waist, looked directly and dispassionately at the prince with her bulging gray eyes. She shook her head and sighed as she looked at the images. Her gesture could be explained both as an expression of sadness and devotion, and as an expression of fatigue and hope for a quick rest. Prince Vasily explained this gesture as an expression of fatigue.
“But for me,” he said, “do you think it’s easier?” Je suis ereinte, comme un cheval de poste; [I'm as tired as a post horse;] but still I need to talk to you, Katish, and very seriously.
Prince Vasily fell silent, and his cheeks began to twitch nervously, first on one side, then on the other, giving his face an unpleasant expression that had never appeared on Prince Vasily’s face when he was in the living rooms. His eyes were also not the same as always: sometimes they looked brazenly joking, sometimes they looked around in fear.
The princess, holding the dog on her knees with her dry, thin hands, looked carefully into the eyes of Prince Vasily; but it was clear that she would not break the silence with a question, even if she had to remain silent until the morning.
“You see, my dear princess and cousin, Katerina Semyonovna,” continued Prince Vasily, apparently not without an internal struggle as he began to continue his speech, “in moments like now, you need to think about everything.” We need to think about the future, about you... I love you all like my children, you know that.
The princess looked at him just as dimly and motionlessly.
“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, Katisha, that you, the three Mamontov sisters, and also my wife, we are the only 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 need to be prepared for anything. Do you know that I sent for Pierre, and that the count, directly pointing to his portrait, demanded him to come to him?
Prince Vasily looked questioningly at the princess, but could not understand whether she was understanding what he told her or was just 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 allow his beautiful soul to leave this world in peace...
“Yes, that’s so,” Prince Vasily continued impatiently, rubbing his bald head and again angrily pulling the table pushed aside towards him, “but finally... finally the thing is, you yourself know that last winter the count wrote a will, according to which he has the entire estate , in addition to the direct heirs and us, he gave it to Pierre.
“You never know how many wills he wrote!” – the princess said calmly. “But he couldn’t bequeath to Pierre.” Pierre is illegal.
“Ma chere,” said Prince Vasily suddenly, pressing the table to himself, perking up and starting to speak quickly, “but what if the letter was written to the sovereign, and the count asks to adopt Pierre?” You see, according to the Count’s merits, his request will be respected...
The princess smiled, the way people smile who think they know the matter more than those they are talking to.
“I’ll tell you more,” continued Prince Vasily, grabbing her hand, “the letter was written, although not sent, and the sovereign knew about it.” The only question is whether it is destroyed or not. If not, then how soon will it all be over,” Prince Vasily sighed, making it clear that he meant by the words everything will end, “and the count’s papers will be opened, the will with the letter will be handed over to the sovereign, and his request will probably be respected. Pierre, as a legitimate son, will receive everything.
– What about our unit? - asked the princess, smiling ironically, as if anything but this could happen.
- Mais, ma pauvre Catiche, c "est clair, comme le jour. [But, my dear Catiche, it is clear as day.] He alone is then the rightful heir of 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 were forgotten, then you should know where they are and find them, because...
- This was all that was missing! – 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 well that an illegitimate son cannot inherit... Un batard, [Illegitimate,] - she added, hoping with this translation to finally show the prince his groundlessness.
- Don’t you understand, finally, Katish! You are so smart: how do you not understand - if the count wrote a letter to the sovereign in which he asks him to recognize his son as legitimate, it means that Pierre will no longer be Pierre, but Count Bezukhoy, and then he will receive everything in his will? And if the will and the letter are not destroyed, then nothing will remain for you except the consolation that you were virtuous et tout ce qui s"en suit, [and everything that follows from here]. This is true.
– I know that the will has been written; but I also know that it is invalid, and you seem to consider me a complete fool, mon cousin,” said the princess with the expression with which women speak when they believe that they have said something witty and insulting.
“You are my dear Princess Katerina Semyonovna,” Prince Vasily spoke impatiently. “I came to you not to pick a fight with you, but to talk about your own interests as with my dear, good, kind, true relative.” I’m telling you for the tenth time that if a letter to the sovereign and a will in favor of Pierre are in the count’s papers, then you, my dear, and your sisters, are not the heir. If you don’t believe me, then trust people who know: I just spoke with Dmitry Onufriich (he was the house’s lawyer), he said the same thing.
Apparently something suddenly changed in the princess’s thoughts; her thin lips turned pale (her eyes remained the same), and her voice, while she spoke, broke through with such peals that she, apparently, herself did not expect.
“That would be good,” she said. “I didn’t want anything and I don’t want anything.”

Commissioner Maigret went down in the history of detective literature on an equal footing with Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Nero Wolfe. This is exactly 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 they even erected a monument to him in his “homeland” - in Delfzijl, where in 1929 Georges Simenon wrote the first novel about the commissar “Peter Latvian”. Although in fact Maigret was mentioned in earlier works of Simenon. In total, Simenon wrote more than 80 works about the commissar, including 76 novels.

Jules Joseph Anselme 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, or, in extreme cases, the first name. It is reproduced in full only once - in the novel "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, the sister of Madame Maigret. The family of Commissioner Maigret is a reliable rear, an example of integrity and family comfort. By the way, Simenon was very sympathetic to Soviet critics with his demonstrative contrasts of a decent commissar who came from the petty bourgeoisie and his simple family with “unhealthy” relationships 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 is cold and forbid him to smoke his favorite pipe if the commissioner has a cold.
Known for his love of women, Simenon populated his novels with numerous beautiful and often accessible (not to say dissolute) women. However, Commissioner Maigret never experienced any romantic feelings for any of the women involved in one or another criminal case, regardless of their beauty. For him, all of them were always only suspects, witnesses, or criminals, although human sympathy is not alien to the commissioner. 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 participated in investigations.

Maigret method

Maigret Method: To understand the logic of the criminal, Maigret needs to immerse himself in the environment where the crime was committed and try to understand what kind of individuals the suspects are, including putting himself in their place. Many call him the “humane commissar” because Maigret repeatedly felt more sympathy for the criminal than for the victim. Simenon repeatedly emphasizes that the commissar is much closer to ordinary people with their firm ideas about good and evil than to high society with its double morality.

Habits of Maigret

The main one is the commissar’s constant pipe, which he tries not to part with and the theft of which (see the novel “Maigret’s Pipe”) perceives as a personal insult and an invasion of his life. In general, the commissar’s habits are extremely simple, and he often feels embarrassed for them in front of the more “refined” people he encounters at work. However, nothing will force Maigret to give up what gives him pleasure. He likes to drink a glass or two of beer, a couple of glasses of white wine or a glass of Calvados in Parisian taverns, depending on the situation. If Maigret, during an interrogation at the commissariat on the Orfevre embankment, orders beer and sandwiches from the Dauphine brasserie located opposite, it means a long night of work awaits. And journalists who chronicle crime are well aware of this - based on 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 to the cinema with his wife, and then have dinner at some small restaurant.

Team Maigret

The Commissioner always works with the same inspectors, who are ready to do a lot, if not everything, for him. Maigret pays them with the same devotion. The Commissioner's team includes Inspectors Janvier, Luca, Torrance and the youngest of them, Lapointe, whom the Commissioner often calls "baby".

Maigret's popularity was so great that the commissioner became for Simenon about the same as Sherlock Holmes for Conan Doyle. The writer’s bibliography contains quite a few works that not only have nothing to do with Maigret, but are also not detective stories, but he is known primarily as the creator of the image of the “humane commissar.” Well, as usual, literary critics came to the conclusion that in the image of Maigret, Simenon reflected many of his own character traits and even his habits. However, the writer’s biography showed that this is not entirely true, although, undoubtedly, Simenon expressed many of his thoughts, understanding of life and the motives of human actions 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 series, a monument to this literary hero was erected, with the official presentation of Georges Simenon a certificate of the “birth” of the famous Maigret, which read as follows: “Maigret Jules, born in Delfzijl 20 February 1929.... at the age of 44 years... Father - Georges Simenon, mother unknown...".

List of books

Pietr-le-Letton

Horse guide from the barge "Providence" (Le charretier de la Providence)
The late Mr. Galle
The Hanged Man of Saint-Folien
The Price of a Head (aka The Man from the Eiffel Tower)
The 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)
Newfoundlander squash (Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas)
Dancer of the Merry Mill

Twopenny squash (La guinguette a deux sous)
Shadow on the curtain (L’ombre chinoise)
The Saint-Fiacre case
Among the Flemings
Port of Mists
The Maniac of Bergerac (Le fou de Bergerac)
Liberty Bar

Gateway No. 1

Maigret (aka Maigret returns)

Barge with Two Hanged Men (story, first book publication: 1944)
Drama on the Boulevard Beaumarchais (story)
Open window (story)
Mister Monday (story)
Zhomon, stop 51 minutes (story)
Death penalty (story)
Drops of stearin (story, Les larmes de bougie)
Rue Pigalle (story)

Maigret's mistake (story)

Shelter of the Drowned (story)
Stan the killer (story)
North Star (story)
Storm over the English Channel (story)
Madame Bertha and her lover (story)
Notary from Chateauneuf (story)
The Unprecedented Mister Owen (story)
Players from the Gran Cafe (story)

Admirer of Madame Maigret (story)
The Lady of Bayeux (story)

In the cellars of the Majestic Hotel
Judge's House
Cecile died
Death Threats (Menaces de mort, story)

Signature "Pikpus"
And Felicie is here!
Inspector Cadaver

Maigret's Pipe (story)
Maigret is angry
Maigret in New York
Poor people are not killed (story)
Testimony of a boy from the church choir (story)
The most stubborn client in the world (story)
Maigret and the Inspector Klutz (story, Maigret et l’inspecteur malgracieux (malchanceux))

Vacation Maigret
Maigret and the Dead Man (Maigret et son mort)

Maigret's first case
My friend Maigret
Maigret at the coroner
Maigret and the old lady

Friend of Madame Maigret
Seven crosses in Inspector Lecker's notebook (story, published in English on November 16, 1950)
Man on the street (story)
Candlelight trading (story)

Maigret's Christmas (story)
Notes from Maigret
Maigret at Pickretts
Maigret in furnished rooms
Maigret et la grande perche

Maigret, Lognon and the gangsters
Revolver Maigret

Maigret and the man on the bench
Maigret in anxiety (Maigret a peur)
Maigret is wrong (Maigret se trompe)

Maigret at school
Maigret and the corpse of a young woman (Maigret et la jeune morte)
Maigret at the minister's

Maigret is looking for his head
Maigret sets a trap

Maigret's blunder (Un echec de Maigret)

Maigret is amused

Maigret travels
Maigret's Doubts (Les scrupules de Maigret)

Maigret and the obstinate witnesses
Confessions of Maigret

Maigret in jury trial
Maigret and the old people

Maigret and the lazy thief

Maigret et les braves gens
Maigret and the Saturday Client

Maigret and the Tramp
Maigret's Wrath

The Mystery of Old Hollander (Maigret and the Ghost)
Maigret defends himself

Patience Maigret

Maigret and the Naur affair
The man who robbed Maigret (biblical)

Commissioner Maigret's thief

Maigret in Vichy
Maigret hesitates
Maigret's childhood friend

Maigret and the killer

Maigret and the Wine Merchant
Maigret and the Madwoman (La folle de Maigret)

Maigret and the Lonely Man (Maigret et l'homme tout seul)
Maigret and the informant

Maigret and Mister Charles

Movies

1949 “The Man on the Eiffel Tower / L’Homme de la tour Eiffel” - Charles Lufton
1956 "Maigret dirige l'enquête" - Maurice Manson
1958 “Maigret tends un piège” - Jean Gabin
1959 “Maigret and the Saint-Fiacre Affair” (Maigret et l’affaire Saint-Fiacre) - Jean Gabin
1959 Maigret and the Lost Life (TV) - Basil Sydney
1963 “Maigret voit rouge” - Jean Gabin
1964 “Maigret: De kruideniers” (TV) - Kees Brusse
1969 "Maigret at Bay" (TV episode) - 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 Commissar Maigret” (Le inchieste del commissario Maigret) (1964-1972), Italy, 16 episodes - Gino Cervi
“Maigret” (1991-2005), France, 54 episodes - Bruno Kremer
“Maigret” (1992-1993), UK, 12 episodes - Michael Gambon

Teleplays

“The Death of Cecily” 1971, USSR Central Television - Boris Tenin
“Maigret and the Man on the Bench” 1973, Central Television of the USSR - Boris Tenin
“Maigret and the Old Lady” 1974, USSR Central Television - Boris Tenin
“Maigret hesitates” 1982, Central Television of the USSR - Boris Tenin
“Maigret at the Minister” 1987, USSR Central Television - Armen Dzhigarkhanyan

There have been numerous attempts to film Maigret's adventures. He himself has 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 performed 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.

What I liked about this detective is that he is perceived as a living person. He has a family, worries, worries, he is depressed because of failures. I think Maigret has one of the deepest characters in literary detective stories. Commissioner Jules Joseph Anselme Maigret (French Commissaire Jules Maigret) is the hero of the popular series of detective novels and stories by Georges Simenon, a wise policeman. In the first book where Maigret is mentioned (“Peters the Latvian”), he is shown as a minor person. Georges Simenon typed this book in 4-5 days on board the Ostrogoth. And so Commissar Maigret was “born,” a broad-shouldered, heavyset man, wearing a bowler hat and a thick drape coat with a velvet collar and an invariable pipe in his teeth. In subsequent novels he became the main character. Maigret's biography is described: in "The Saint-Fiacre Case" - about his childhood and youth, in "Maigret's Notes" - about meeting the future Madame Maigret and marrying her, about joining the police and the stages of his work on the Quai d'Orfevre. Jules Joseph Anselme Maigret was born in 1915 in the village of Saint-Fiacre near Matignon in the family of the estate manager, Count Saint-Fiacre. He spent his childhood and youth there. Simenon repeatedly mentions Maigret's peasant roots. Maigret, with his talent and perseverance in Paris, rose from an ordinary inspector to the position of divisional commissioner, head of a team for the investigation of especially serious crimes. It’s impossible to imagine Maigret without a pipe; he has a whole collection of them. His wife is a housewife and loves to cook. Later, J. Curtin even wrote a cookbook, “Recipes of Madame Maigret,” which contains recipes for dishes mentioned in the novels of Georges Simenon. The couple had a child, who soon died, which became a real drama for Madame Maigret. This is briefly mentioned in the story “Christmas at Maigret’s House.” They had no more children, and this fact was forever reflected in the Commissioner’s attitude towards children and young people. Madame Maigret should not have been upset on Christmas morning, because the sight of children playing with gifts always made her think of failed motherhood. Therefore, the commissioner was especially attentive that day. As a result of the events that occurred during the investigation, a girl left without parents ended up in the Maigret family. Maigret took care of her as if she were their daughter. Source - "Christmas at Maigret's House."
In retirement, the commissioner retired to his own house, purchased long before the appointed time in Meun-sur-Loire. However, several times he had to leave the house and rush to Paris to start investigating another crime again. Maigret's wife has a nephew who also decided to work in the Parisian police, but did not succeed. He gets caught up in a very unpleasant story that the commissioner has to unravel. The Commissioner did not speak foreign languages. Therefore, he had a hard time in England and America, where he visited several times. This infuriated the commissioner, which, however, did not stop him from brilliantly investigating English and American secrets. Simenon dedicated 76 novels and 26 short stories to his beloved hero, Commissioner Maigret. Maigret's adventures became the subject of 14 films and 44 television programs, and 55 novels were filmed during his lifetime. Inspector Maigret was played in the movies by three dozen actors, including Jean Gabin, Harry Bauer, Albert Prejean, Charles Laughton, Gino Cervi, Bruno Kremer, etc. In Russia, the role of Commissioner Maigret was played by Boris Tenin, Vladimir Samoilov and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan.
In 1966, in the Dutch town of Delfzijl, where Commissioner Maigret was “born” in the first novel of the series, a monument to this literary hero was erected, with the official presentation of a certificate of the “birth” of the famous Maigret to Georges Simenon, which read as follows: “Maigret Jules, born in Delfzijl February 20, 1929... at the age of 44... Father - Georges Simenon, mother unknown...".

Police Commissioner Maigret (he hates his name, and even his wife calls him only by his last name) acquired his appearance in the first novel and practically did not change in the last. Maigret appears at the age of forty-five, already famous in professional circles. He has slightly silvery gray temples, a heavy black coat, a bowler hat, a set of smoking pipes, a tie he could never tie properly. There was something plebeian in his figure. He was huge, big-boned, with tight muscles showing through his suit. In addition, he had his own special manner of demeaning himself, as if he were a special person. Even my colleagues didn’t always like it. There was something more than confidence here, 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 that her husband is doing. This lyrical motif, running through the novels, creates perhaps the only example of mutual understanding and warmth, an analogue of which it would be vain 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, and Lapointe. In the first novels, Inspector Torrance was still active, whom Georges Simenon, getting excited, killed V St. Petersburg-Latvian , and then returned to life as if nothing had happened. Torrance would later become a private investigator and open his own Agency "O" , but will still cooperate with Inspector Luke and Chief of the Criminal Police. Series of stories Agency "O" affairs characterized by the author's ironic, partly even humorous attitude towards the investigations being described and the command of the heroes.

Maigret is one of those inspectors who are called walking. His style of work is detailed, in-depth conversations with a wide range of people, which, in his opinion, can provide information not only about movements object, but, to a greater extent, about his behavior and 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, because it most closely resembles exclusively developed intuition, based on a penchant for psychoanalysis.

Simenon, as if preempting reproaches for the lack of development of his own investigative process, often gives an external assessment of the activities of his hero at the climax: ...hardly anyone can imagine Maigret’s jubilation at that moment. However, there is such a person - this is Luke, who looks at his boss and is ready to swear that he has tears in his eyes.

The Commissioner unraveled the whole tangle himself, without having any data, except for those that no one paid attention to, he unraveled it thanks to his phenomenal intuition and terrifying ability to get used to his neighbors (Signature "Pikpus" ).

The traditions of the police novel, to which the Maigret series should be close in appearance, are taken into account by Simenon very weakly. Essentially just exposition Peter-Lettish , made in a classic style, designed for recognition detective lovers. Few of its components (external surveillance, the use of forensics) seem to support the main theme. Having quickly discovered a small circle of people 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 concerns. 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 line of investigation into Maigret.

As a rule, he does not require fingerprints, laboratory tests and other forensic paraphernalia of an official police investigation. All this, if carried out in novels, is periphery actions and serves as confirmation guesses inspector. It seems that during the investigation Maigret simply absorbs into himself, like a sponge, the traditions and habits of the people of the circle to which the suspect belongs - to the point that he begins to feel himself in the skin object of persecution. Duration immersion process depends on the specific environment, but in any case, sooner or later there comes a moment when the information reaches a certain critical mass, and Maigret gains firm confidence not only in who killed, but also in understanding the entire background of the events that led to the crime.

So, in Newfoundland tavern (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 tavern, where resting after the flight crews. Plebeian, as the author deliberately emphasizes, Maigret feels quite comfortable in this den, and most importantly, he is able to provoke frankness in almost everyone in whom he is interested.

Getting used to the atmosphere of a place occurs so effectively that for Maigret it is not difficult to even imagine the outline of events on board a fishing vessel - the same background, which turned out to cause the death of two people.

The fact that Simenon is true to himself is confirmed, for example, by such a small observation. In novels separated by more than thirty years, the final scene is repeated one to one: the inspector talks peacefully with main criminal over a bottle of wine, in a dressing gown, with a mutual desire to recreate an objective picture of previous events ( Newfoundlander squash And Maigret and the Wine Merchant ).

In general, the role of the punishing sword of the law is alien to Maigret. This wrong police officer, then giving the opportunity to the criminal to commit suicide without bringing the case to judicial publicity ( Maigret's Wrath ), or even letting him go in peace, because he is convinced that he has the moral right to do so ( Man who hanged himself in a 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 reveal the mystery of the murder of a young man and at the same time not apply any sanctions against the killer.

Dive Maigret's depiction of the life of the provincial town of Saint-Aubin, performed by the writer in traditional detail, shows all the wretched and sanctimonious morality of its inhabitants. A local youth, a friend of the murdered man, provides him with all possible assistance. He's one of those, Louis says about someone. Be one of those in his understanding it meant to be an accomplice in a conspiracy of silence, to belong to the number of people who want to live as if everything in this world was arranged in the best possible way...

Classic Simenon couple relationship investigator - suspect Maigret himself expressed it in the same novel: It seems to me - I’m even almost convinced of this! - that, although you are guilty of the death of Albert Retayo, you are at the same time a victim yourself. I will even say more: you were an instrument of crime, but you are not really to blame for his death.

Over the years, the figure of Maigret, his inner world, and philosophical attitude to events occupy an increasing place in novels. Some of them are directly devoted to the biography of the hero ( Saint-Fiacre case , Notes from Maigret ). The detective gets intensely close to difficult novels. Maigret and I have changed a lot,” 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 help me resolve them and make them accessible to readers of different countries and different cultural levels.

Despite the fact that Maigret almost never appears 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 conversations, not interrogations ( Maigret realized with terrifying clarity that it was possible to instantly paralyze several people at once with a simple question: “What exactly were you doing between six and seven in the evening?”), and their meaning is clearly visible from a fragment of a conversation between Maigret and his longtime friend Doctor Pardon:

- You are one of those who are called upon to restore justice... And yet we can say that when you arrest 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 concerned you personally.

Maigret smiled sadly.

- 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 again, looking for the motives of his actions... When you go to a patient unknown to you, doesn’t his cure become your personal matter and you don’t fight for him? life, as if this patient were the most dear creature to you?

“Commissioner Maigret” is a whole series of novels and stories by the French writer Georges Simenon about a policeman who devoted his entire life to fighting crime. These are as many as 75 novels and 28 short stories about Jules Maigret - ha man who rose up the career ladder of the French criminal police from an ordinary inspector who spent his working days on the streets, train stationslah, metro and large stores in search of criminals, to the divisional commissioner, the head of the team for the investigation of especially serious crimes.

It is impossible to say for sure who Georges Simenon took as the basis for the main character as the police commissioner. Someone claims that the writer revealed his father in the image of Maigret. On the other hand, it is no secret that the author of “Commissioner Maigret” literally sometimes visited the Quai d'Orfèvre - a unit of the French police engaged in the most difficult and responsible work of solving crimes - where he once met, with the help of the director of the so-called. French Judicial Police by Javier Guichard, with police commissioners who gave the writer not only “food for thought”, but also pointed out a number of inaccuracies in the first novels about Commissioner Maigret. By the way, Georges Simenon will later write a novel in which, on behalf of Commissioner Maigret, he will meet at the police station with... himself, i.e. with Georges Simenon!

If we can boldly say that the most famous detective in England is, then with the same boldness we can directly say that Commissioner Maigret is the most famous police commissioner of the criminal police of France.

Let me partly compare the two above-mentioned characters, paying more attention to the hero of this article itself. So, Commissioner Julien Maigret is a man about 50 years old, perhaps a little older (the story of the commissioner’s age will be touched upon later). This is an overweight and heavy policeman, who cannot be imagined without a bowler hat and a pipe in his mouth. To make it easier to imagine, the same Sherlock Holmes was not so well-fed, he moved faster, more agile, and he held a pipe in his mouth less than his French colleague - this indispensable element of every detective. Maigret's method is characterized by wisdom, perseverance, determination, and expectation, while Holmes used impeccable and impeccable logic, deduction, some adventurism and extreme speed of thinking in his work. Commissioner Maigret, in turn, is calmer, more self-possessed, and less talkative than his British counterpart. The heroes of the novels more than once ask Maigret: “Commissioner, what do you think about this?..”, while the answer is always the same: “I don’t think about anything at all.” This is how police officer Maigret preferred to reason with his colleagues of various types while investigating another crime.

I would also like to note that both Sherlock Holmes and Jules Maigret are characterized by both impeccable and impeccable service to the law, and compassion for the “little man” who finds himself in an extremely unpleasant situation. The essence of the thoughts of both comes down to approximately the following phrase: I hate to do this, because in conscience and justice you are right, but, however, you broke the law. And, following the letter of the latter, they must be punished. I am powerless to somehow help you in your situation, alas. There are situations of a fundamentally different kind: innocent people who are suspected of committing a crime turn to Maigret for help only because they belong to the lower class of the population and at a certain moment found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time , while the real villains - usually the “rich at the top” - remain above suspicion. It was not for nothing that Commissioner Maigret began his career as an ordinary inspector; moreover, the experience gained in this path played a positive role in Maigret’s life. He himself was, as they say, a direct witness to what was happening, he saw the life of ordinary French citizens, he breathed and fed on it, he understood the psychology and behavior of the people around him. More than once Maigret will mention in an indignant tone about high-ranking officials in the police structure who occupy their positions immediately after graduating from universities. There is nothing in their heads except theory, and, sitting in their seats, they are ready to decide the fate of citizens, often innocent of anything. And it’s fortunate that between one and the other there is a “censor” in the person of Commissioner Maigret.

That is why Maigret almost never sits in his office (except, perhaps, in situations that directly require it), independently traveling to each crime scene at any time of the day or night. More than once the commissioner will hear reproach from senior colleagues for sometimes doing the work of an inspector, but he will remain adamant in his method. He is close to the people, he knows how they live, what they feel. It is through the eyes of Commissioner Maigret that France, so romantically imagined in our minds, is presented to us as a country in which there are a huge number of problems - from political to social and moral. France 30s - 60s XX century is literally filled with thieves, robbers, murderers and swindlers on the one hand, and people suffering from poverty, disease and deprivation on the other. Simenon literally paints for us through the eyes of Maigret the life and reality of France from the reverse side, from the inside out.

Initially, the author of numerous novels did not intend such a long epic of works about the honorary commissioner. However, by the will of fans of the French writer’s work, Simenon first sends his hero into retirement, and then returns him to the forefront as if nothing had happened. Hence some chronological twists and turns, as well as, in particular, confusion with Maigret’s age. Thus, in one of his novels, Simenon mentions that Jules Maigret was born in 1887. Whereas in one of the latest novels it is indicated that the year is 1967, and the commissioner is 58 years old. It turns out to be an inconsistency. This suggests the conclusion that Commissioner Maigret is a man of no certain age. For a long time, he is approximately 45-60 years old, which speaks less of the author’s imagination or his oversight, but of the fact that the commissioner is at the very age when a person’s professional qualities reach their peak. Hence Maigret’s high professionalism. Moreover, it is indicated that the hero himself does not change, unlike the world around him, which over the years only becomes angrier, tougher and dirtier.

The detective story “Commissioner Maigret” is not the kind of literature that you forget after reading. Here a huge role is given to appearance, process and life, and not to the result. Roughly speaking, the author does not set himself the ultimate goal of solving a crime simply in order to find out who the killer is. Simenon's works about Commissar Maigret are more profound, moral and realistic.

And now I would like to briefly retell the main moments of the life of Julien Maigret. He was born in 1887 in the county of Saint-Fiacre. His father served as steward of the castle of the Comte de Saint-Fiacre and died of illness at the age of 44. His mother died giving birth to her second child when Jules was only 8 years old. Having moved to live in Paris with his aunt, Maigret initially chose the specialty of a doctor and studied medicine for two years. At the age of 22, on the advice of a fellow police inspector, he quit medicine and went to seek his fortune in the police. At the age of 25, he marries a native of Alsace - Louise - who is later destined to become a support, faithful companion and loving wife of the brave commissioner. In the same year, Maigret got a job as a secretary at the commissariat of the Saint-Georges quarter in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. At the age of 30, he enlists in the special brigade of Javier Guichard - an old friend of Maigret's father - on the Quai d'Orfevre. Here Jules will have to spend a huge number of successful years of his career, becoming first a commissioner, then a divisional commissioner, and the head of a brigade for the investigation of especially serious crimes. Three years before his resignation, Maigret will be offered the post of Chief of the Judicial Police, which he will refuse.

After retiring, he spends time in his garden in Maine-sur-Loire.

Maigret's wife is the ideal of a woman who can withstand life with the police commissioner. She waits for her husband to return from service at any time of the night, sometimes with her leading questions and interest she helps Maigret move forward in the next case, but she does not have any special curiosity. She is completely immersed in caring for the house and household, and knows how to cook deliciously. She is the very person for Maigret, on whom he can unconditionally rely, trust, and tell any secret. Over the years, Madame Maigret herself has become so accustomed to the role of the commissioner’s wife that sometimes (although this does not happen very often) she helps Maigret in investigating crimes. One day, without fear or doubt, in the absence of her husband, she received as a guest a man who had come to repent Maigret of committing several brutal murders.

To the great regret and suffering of the spouses, they have no children. In one of the novels it is mentioned that the young Maigret couple’s little daughter died. In another novel, it is later stated that Madame Maigret could not have children at all. It is for these reasons that Maigret sometimes treats young thieves and pickpockets caught in action as his own children, and tries to educate them and put them on the true path.

Madame Maigret has a sister living in the province of Colmar with her husband. There is also a nephew who serves in the police, like Maigret himself. However, the young man’s career as a policeman will not work out almost from the very beginning - one day he will find himself in an extremely unpleasant situation, from which the commissioner will have to help out a relative.

Maigret lives at 132 Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. Another time he lived at 21 Place des Vosges. It is interesting that Georges Simenon himself lived at the last address and knew his neighbor by name... Maigret!

Great friends of the Maigret family are the Pardon family. About once or twice a month they meet and spend evenings together over a wonderful dinner (a kind of culinary duel is arranged between Madame Maigret and Madame Pardon), drinks and conversations.

Maigret is a big “lover” of bad habits. Due to his duty, he is not always able to dine at home, so he often eats in various cafes and eateries, his favorite of which is the Dauphine brasserie, located not far from the police building on the Quai d'Orfevre. It is there that Maigret orders a large tray of sandwiches and several glasses of beer for any interrogation in his office. In addition, the commissioner likes to, as they say, “pour the collar.” Not to say that he gets drunk to the point of losing consciousness - no, far from it, but he likes to drink. Cognac, Calvados, grog, aperitifs, beer, slivyanka (which Madame Maigret's sister so often sent as a gift) - anything, as long as the investigation did not go dry. By the way, due to the abuse of bad habits, towards the end of his professional career Maigret will complain to his friend Pardon (a doctor, by the way) about not feeling well. He will recommend Maigret to give up most bad habits, limiting their use to a minimum.

Next up are smoking pipes. Maigret has simply countless of them! He carefully monitors them, values ​​their availability, quality and appearance. It is far from indifferent to him what material the new tube is made of. Loves receiving a pipe as a Christmas present from Madame Maigret.
Once a week, the Maigret spouses prefer to visit the cinema, and when Maigret has a vacation or a couple of days of rest, they travel outside of Paris (which does not prevent the commissioner from sometimes finding adventures there too).
Sometimes, as part of the investigation of crimes, Maigret has to visit foreign countries, which is given to the commissioner with some difficulty due to his lack of knowledge of foreign languages. He understands English to a very average degree, and can use a couple of phrases in German and Flemish.
He has a bronze medal of the Judicial Police with number 004, when the first three are among the highest ranks: the prefect of the criminal police, the chief of the criminal police and the chief of one of the departments.
Subordinate to Maigret are inspectors Janvier, Luca, Lapointe, Lurti and Torrance, whom the commissioner affectionately calls “my guys”, “my children”. They are all happy to work and gain experience side by side with Maigret, while showing hidden displeasure when in some cases the commissioner prefers to do without their help.

"Commissioner Maigret" is one of the best (if not the best) classic detective stories in French literature. I sincerely advise everyone to get acquainted with the hero of Georges Simenon and get great pleasure from reading works about the immortal police commissioner Jules Maigret!