Maigret et le marchand de vin

Inspector Maigret #71

by Georges Simenon

«Spero che questa lettera non si perda nei vostri uffici e che lei la leggerà di persona ... Mi stupisce che i giornali non rivelino quale fosse la vera personalità di Oscar Chabut. Possibile che nessuno, fra quelli che hanno contattato, abbia detto loro la verità?«Invece si parla di lui come di un uomo di grande valore, audace e caparbio, che con le sue sole forze ha creato una delle più importanti aziende vinicole.«È davvero sconfortante! Quell’uomo era un farabutto, gliel’ho detto e lo ripeto, pronto a sacrificare chiunque alla sua ambizione e alla sua mania di grandezza. Tanto che mi chiedo se in fondo non fosse pazzo.«È difficile credere che un uomo sano di mente possa comportarsi come faceva lui. Nei rapporti con le donne, prevaleva il bisogno di infangarle. Voleva possederle tutte, ma per svilirle e sentirsi superiore. Del resto si vantava delle sue conquiste senza preoccuparsi della loro reputazione».

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, France, Detective, French Literature, Belgian

Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (1903 – 1989) was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.

Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.

He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.

During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).

Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).

In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.

In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, let me say I didn't listen to an Audio CD, I listened to an Audiobook (still read by Gareth Armstrong) , however there is no Audiobook option to pick.

Anyway, mentioning Gareth Armstrong, I have to say that I thought his narration was excellent, very in keeping with the Simenon style of Maigret, and his use of different voices was consistent and yet believable. Just excellent.

Over the last few years I have read the first 20 something books of the 80+ written and subsequently translated, however upon joining "Audible" various Maigret's appear on sale occasionally, so I just buy whatever comes up cheap, hence why I have just listened to episode 71. Luckily most of them are stand alone stories.

This story focusses on the murder of a major wine merchant Oscar Chabut. Not a very popular as a result of his uncanny ability to talk all of his friends wives and secretaries into bed. He was murdered walking out of the "brothel come hotel" where every Wednesday he rented a room to spend time with his personal private secretary , "The Grasshopper".

Maigret, suffering from a heavy cold , is at a loss where to start his investigation as Chabut's wife gives him so many names of husbands that may be aware of their wife's infidelity and therefore have a motive.

And with the help of his fabulous four "Lucas, Janvier, Lapointe, and Torrence" he delves deep into the list of husbands and then stakes out the local haunts after being contacted by someone who calls accusing Chabut of being a scoundrel.

An excellent story as ever, wonderfully narrated. (And an enjoyable lunchtime listen).

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

One wealthy wine merchant is shot to death in Paris and there is no clue about the reason of the killing. So Maigret has to work hard, just in order to find who was the victim.
The plot is not the brightest possible one, but, as usual, the characters are exceptionally described.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing; the 71st Inspector Maigret novel read, all in their order of publication. Penguin Classics have commissioned for them to be re-issued in order with modern translations.
Maigret and the Wine Merchant was one I had previously read and returning to it again I was struck by the similarities with recent books in the series.
The investigation comes immediately upon completing a senseless murder and there will be some similarities when an important businessman is shot outside a house of ill repute.
The death of the Wine Merchant follows Maigret’s usual approach / getting inside the victim’s mindset and understanding the world in which he moved.
Page 29; “ When he reached Quai des Orfèvres, the wine merchant was still in his thoughts, an indistinct presence he was trying to bring to life. He was certain the once he knew him better, he would have no trouble identifying his killer. “
There is always seems to be great emphasis in Maigret novels regarding the weather. Here we have a good deal of fog which at times reflects the muddled thinking in the investigation.
I remember reading a quote that Henning Mankell was a modern crime writer of a new breed as he introduced medical ailments to his detective Wallender, I think diabetes, well think again. Simenon often has Maigret under the weather and his faculties are inhibited here as he fights off a raging temperature, throat infection (yuk, give me a Soother, rather than my throat being painted), or perhaps early man flu.
Great police procedural with realistic motives and a victim it is hard to feel he didn’t deserve his fate. Perhaps when someone is killed who engenders such antipathy and ill-feeling the motive is clear but the number of suspects too many to interview.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maigret and the Shy Suspect
Review of the Penguin Classics paperback (September 2019) of a new translation* by Ros Schwartz of the French language original Maigret et Le Marchand De Vin (1970)

Maigret and the Wine Merchant shows the more compassionate side of the Chief Inspector as he unravels the mystery behind the shooting of a cheap blended wine merchant. The victim is revealed to have been unscrupulous in his business and personal practices and to have alienated even his own family. His wife and current mistress react very calmly and coldly to the news of his death but have no specific ideas about possible enemies. Gradually an informant makes his presence clear by stalking Maigret and dropping hints about the character of the victim via phone messages and letters. Maigret realizes that the informant wishes to be caught and he proceeds to close the case with as much dignity and sympathy as he can offer to the now prime suspect.


The cover of the original French language edition of "Maigret and the Wine Merchant" as published by Press de la Cité, France 1970. Image sourced from Maigret of the Month.

I read the first dozen Maigret novellas earlier this year and then intended to proceed with several of Simenon's romans durs (French: hard novels) which he considered his more serious work, as opposed to the lighter fare involving the Chief Inspector. The non-Maigrets are more difficult to source however and there seem to be less than a dozen in current editions from Penguin Classics. Anyway, to keep the Simenon pipeline flowing, I thought I'd add several of the late Maigrets to my ongoing Simenon reading survey.

In a rarity for completists, this is Maigret #71 in both the recent Penguin Classics series of new translations (2013-2019) of the Inspector Maigret novels and in the previous standard Maigret Series Listopia as listed on Goodreads.

Trivia and Links
* The earlier English translations also gave the title as Maigret and the Wine Merchant.

There is extensive background and a detailed plot description (spoilers obviously) about Maigret and the Wine Merchant at Maigret of the Month.

Maigret and the Wine Merchant has been adapted for television twice: The first adaptation was in a 1978 French language television episode of the long running series Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret (The Investigations of Inspector Maigret) (1967-1990) starring Jean Richard as Inspector Maigret.
The second adaptation was in a 2002 French language television episode of the revival series Maigret (1991-2005) starring Bruno Cremer as Inspector Maigret.

There is an article about the Penguin Classics re-translations of the Inspector Maigret novels at Maigret, the Enduring Appeal of the Parisian Sleuth by Paddy Kehoe, RTE, August 17, 2019.

[paper0r0ss0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

La morte violenta di un ricco commerciante svela un retroscena di meschinita', sopraffazione e decadenza. L'apparente normalita' borghese, si rivela agli occhi di un febbricitante Maigret come un vero e proprio teatro dell'impossibile, con personaggi in apparenza per bene dalla doppia vita e ancor piu' curiosamente, mai minimamente disturbati dalla propria condotta equivoca e immorale. Chi non e' in grado di stare a questo gioco o non vuole farlo e' inevitabilemente destinato a rompere violentemente l'ingranaggio.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good mystery by the French master, Georges Simenon. Briefly, a wine merchant is murdered. Maigret must find out who did it. That, of course, is the premise of every murder mystery.

Where Simenon makes the mystery genre his own is how he develops his story, his characters and the psychology of a murderer.

The wine merchant is a case study by himself. As Simenon interviews the people who knew him, he finds a man who felt that since he could not make people love him, he could at least make them hate him. This he went about doing with great effectiveness. He made men hate him by sleeping with their wives. He made the women hate him by treating them like dirt. He made his employees hate him by doing both of the above and acting as loathsome as possible.

Then there are the others. The wine merchant's wife who decides that her husband is who he is and she will live her life to the fullest in spite of him. Taking her own lovers, she quite happily lives her life with him and without him, too, when he is dead.

There is one young woman who loves the murdered man, even though he treated her as callously as everyone else. Why? It was all she got and she accepted that.

So who murdered him? Is there one person who has more motive than the others? Or less stable a temperament? Maybe other pressures that finally push him (or her) over the edge?

It turns out there is, but you must read the book to discover who.

This books was a good entertaining read, but also thought provocative as I thought of the reasons people might allow themselves to be used, abused, and then someone who decided otherwise.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Ciascuno di noi, chi più chi meno, è da compiangere. Cerco di capire. Non ho la pretesa di inchiodare tutti alle loro responsabilità”



Chi legge Maigret ha da tenere a mente questo pensiero del commissario, che è il filo conduttore di ogni storia. Lo è in modo particolare della storia raccontata in questo libro, perché mai tanti personaggi sgradevoli, meschini ed amorali sono stati concentrati in un romanzo di Maigret. A partire dalla vittima, Chabut, figlio di un oste, che ha creato con le sue forze un impero del vino, grazie alla spregiudicatezza negli affari e alla sete di potere, alla mancanza di scrupoli e alla crudeltà e il disprezzo verso le donne che incontra, nel lavoro e tra le mogli degli amici altolocati, che si porta a letto per affermare il proprio potere. Proprio mentre usciva da una casa di appuntamenti, Chabut viene ucciso da quattro colpi di pistola, la tenutaria intravvede l’omicida, è un uomo, ma quanti uomini potrebbero averlo fatto, quanti nemici può avere quest’individuo? In pratica Chabut aveva solo nemici.
Il romanzo è incentrato più sull’indagine psicologica che su quella poliziesca, non ci aspetti colpi di scena o svolte inaspettate, ma solo lo scavo nel carattere dei protagonisti posto in essere da un commissario febbricitante, in un dicembre parigino freddo che si sta avviando verso il Natale, seduto in poltrona con un bicchiere di grog a portata di mano e la pipa in bocca.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of Georges Simenon's later mysteries -- it was published in 1970 -- but it is every bit as good as his masterpieces of the 1930s. Maigret and the Wine Merchant is the story of the murder of someone who needed murdering. Occasionally, as in several of his earlier books, we see the Chief Superintendent sympathizing more with the murderer than the victim.

The interest thing to me if that Simenon himself was something of an ogre, somewhat like his murder victim Oscar Chabut. Both Simenon and his murder victim were Casanovas and borderline rapists. My late friend Norman knew personally a woman who had been raped by the mystery writer. So, I think that, in a sense, Simenon was writing about himself and allowing himself, toward the end of his life, to be judged harshly by his police hero, Jules Maigret.

About halfway through the book, we have a good idea who the murderer is: The problem is finding him. That is all the more curious since the murderer is tracking Maigret -- not to do him harm, but to have someone to talk to. Eventually, the two meet and ... and ... read the book, and you will see what happens. In all, it is a very satisfactory ending.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly relevant today, in the Me Too era given the victim's attitude towards women. Yet another minor gem from Simenon.

[Ief Stuyvaert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot en Arsène Lupin maakten eerder al een succesvolle comeback.

Wanneer is het de beurt aan Maigret, vroeg ik me af en trok één van de tientallen Simenon-paperbacks uit de achterste kast. Eentje met een titel die bij de winkel past.

Ik weet nu: er zal toch een en ander moeten gebeuren voor er een Maigret-revival komt.

De gepijpte commissaris is immers een kind van zijn tijd - een tijd waarin vrouwen nog braaf aan de haard wachtten tot echtgenoot-lief zijn opwachting maakt, de krant openslaat en de voeten onder tafel steekt. Waarin een cognacje of twee als aperitief en drie wijntjes bij de lunch het verdere verloop van de werkdag niet in de weg staan. Waarin de commissaris om vijf uur de werkzaamheden stopt en zich naar huis laat rijden door zijn chauffeur.

En dat allemaal niet eens zo geweldig goed geschreven.

Cancelen die handel, dus maar!

In het geval van De Kampioenen had dat al veel eerder moeten gebeuren - zo ongeveer drie dagen vóór de eerste aflevering voor het eerst werd uitgezonden, bijvoorbeeld.

Of Maigret het zelfde lot verdient, laat ik in het midden.

Hem wacht eerder het lot van de algehele vergetelheid.

[Emil · Rating 4 out of 5]

En vinhandlare skjuts ner på öppen gata i Paris. Kommissarie Maigret sätts genast på fallet, trots att han är snuvig och har lätt feber, något som dock inte påverkar hans aptit; han dricker öl och rom och äter bastant mat (Rocka i brynt smör!). Ett intressant persongalleri rullas upp, varav i stort sett alla på något sätt behandlats illa av den mördade. Han lägrade varenda kvinna han träffade och plågade sina anställda. Lösningen trillar ner i knät på Maigret och läsaren, på ett inte speciellt spännande sätt. Men bokens finstämda moral och de finsnickrade parisiska miljöerna får mig att sätta ett högt betyg.

[Larry Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to end the year 2023, reading the master George Simenon, book 71 in the series, Maigret and the Wine Merchant (aka the case of Maigret catching the flu). I joke but the intertwined story of murder investigation by Maigret, with his onset of the flu and debilitating physical condition, becomes a brilliant device by Simenon in the physical struggle between the banality and vulnerability of both the murder investigation and a cold.

Having received the confession of a boy in the petty theft, and subsequent violent murder of the boy’s grandmother, Maigret is called to the scene of yet another murder. “Maigret looked at the very light-blue, almost grey, staring eyes, the craggy face with a solid jaw that was beginning to sag.” … “Maigret recognized the private mansion in front of which the body still lay. It was a 1900s-style house, with ornate carved stonework around the windows. He thought he saw the cover of the spyhole in the studded oak door move. ‘Come with me, Lapointe …’ Madame Blanche looked around fifty but she must have been sixty. ‘As active and as discreet as ever?’ He’d first met her thirty years earlier, when she was still a streetwalker on Boulevard de la Madeleine. She was pretty and sweet, and always had a friendly smile that gave her two dimples. She had come up in the world. Now she was the owner of this private residence offering lovers an elegant, luxurious hideaway and the best brands of champagne and whisky. ‘Who was Oscar Chabut with?’ ‘Who is Oscar Chabut?’ ‘You had better cooperate, otherwise I’ll have to take you to Quai des Orfèvres.’ ‘I only know my clients by their first names. They are nearly all important people.’ ‘Is he a regular? Did he come here often?’ ‘From time to time.’ ‘More like weekly.’ ‘Always with the same person?’ ‘No, not always.’ ‘Was his companion today a new one?’ She hesitated and eventually shrugged. ‘I don’t see why I should get myself into hot water. She’s been here around thirty times over the past year.’ … ‘Only her first name, I swear. Anne-Marie. They call her the Grasshopper.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because she’s tall and skinny, with long legs and long arms.’ ‘Where is she?’ ‘I told you, she left first.’ ‘And I don’t believe you.’ … The search of rooms …
“in the third a young woman was sitting bolt upright on a garnet-coloured padded velvet chair. She sprang up. She was tall and slim, with almost no bust or hips. ‘Who are you, mademoiselle?’ ‘Anne-Marie Boutin. I’m his private secretary.’ ‘Let’s go downstairs,’ grunted Maigret. He was a little nauseated by all the pastel tones and soft lighting that made people’s faces look a little blurred.Madame Blanche had her hands folded over her podgy stomach and looked at him calmly, with the air of someone who has a clear conscience. ‘Are you sure you didn’t recognize the shooter?’
‘I swear.’

The Wife. “The time was only half past ten. Maigret rang the bell. The door opened promptly and a young maid in an apron and cotton lawn cap looked at them with curiosity. … A woman in an emerald bathrobe came towards them, looking surprised. Not yet forty, she was beautiful, extremely graceful, and she walked with an elegance that struck Maigret. … ‘Don’t be afraid to tell me. I knew about everything. We haven’t been lovers for a long time, or husband and wife so to speak, but two friends. He was a kind, cuddly teddy bear. People had the wrong idea about him because he’d thrust out his chest and bang his fist on the table.’ … Who was he with?’ ‘A young woman, his private secretary.’ ‘The Grasshopper! He gave her that nickname and that’s what everyone calls her.’ Lapointe looked at her intently, astounded by her poise… ‘perhaps you have an idea who the killer might be?’ ‘Any one of them,’ she murmured with a disarming smile. ‘Any husband or lover. There are still people in the world who are jealous.’ ‘Make no mistake, inspector. My husband wasn’t a heartbreaker. Nor was he a brute, despite his appearance. ‘You’d doubtless be surprised if I told you that he was shy, and that it was because of his shyness that he needed reassurance.’ … “Once in the car, Maigret turned to Lapointe and asked: ‘Well?’ ‘She’s a strange woman, isn’t she? Do you believe what she says?’ ‘Definitely.’

The father. [Once a year visit on New Year’s Day] Estranged, but conceding “prospered in everything he did” … ‘You see, to be that successful, you have to be tough. Unfortunately, because of that, smaller merchants ended up going bankrupt. It wasn’t his fault, naturally. But they still resented him, it’s only human.’ ‘You mean the murder could have been committed by an aggrieved competitor?’ ‘Do you know people who bear him a grudge?’ ‘I don’t know them, but there are some. You’ll probably find those who can tell you more at the Bercy warehouses. There, my son was seen as someone who had no hesitation on treading on others’ toes.’

Home. “Madame Maigret came in and touched his shoulder, a cup of coffee in her hand, he was tempted to say he didn’t feel well and needed to stay warmly tucked up in bed, as he used to do when he was a child”

Solving the Crime. “When he reached Quai des Orfèvres, the wine merchant was still in his thoughts, an indistinct presence he was trying to bring to life. He was certain that once he knew him better, he would have no trouble identifying his killer. … Jeanne Chabut intrigued him too. Where had she acquired her elegance, the ease she exuded with her every movement, her every word? Chabut had met her during his lean days, when she was a simple typist.” … Interviews. Secretary-Hired - ‘fresh out of secretarial college.’ ‘The very next day, he called me in, on the pretext of showing me some documents, and he caressed me. ‘“I have to appraise,” he whispered.’ ‘What next?’ ‘A week later, he took me to Rue Fortuny.’ … “He observed her closely, surprised at the common sense of this young woman who was not fazed by any question. There was something direct about her that made her very likeable and, watching her long, slim body gesticulate, it was hard not to smile.” 2ND Command. “He didn’t move a muscle but remained impassive. ‘Might some members of staff have complaints about their boss?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘I assume you would like to see the murderer arrested?’ ‘Obviously.’ ‘So far, you haven’t been very helpful.’ ‘I’m sorry.’

Comparing Notes. ‘What do you think of his wife?’ ‘Nothing yet. Last night, I found her charming and very self-controlled, despite what had happened. Possibly a little too self-controlled. It seems as if she was protective” … ‘Maybe she’ll make me change my mind. I’m always wary of people who are too perfect.’ …

Case continues. “The fog, which had mostly dispersed by midday, was gradually descending again and blotting out everything. As for Maigret, he blew his nose again, muttering disgruntledly. Maigret had never been comfortable in certain circles, among the wealthy bourgeoisie, where he felt clumsy and awkward… for example, nearly all belonged to the same social set, which had its rules, customs and taboos, and its own language. They met up at the theatre, in restaurants or nightclubs. On Sundays, they gathered at country houses that were all alike and, in the summer, in Cannes or Saint-Tropez“… “Oscar Chabut had hauled himself up into this little world through sheer hard work and, to convince himself that he was accepted”.

The Madame. ‘We are in a position of trust, like a doctor or lawyer, and I don’t see why we aren’t granted professional confidentiality too.’ He listened patiently, then murmured, without raising his voice: ‘Answer.’ And she knew very well that with him she wouldn’t have the last word. ‘There are two or three.’…

Back Home. “He was no longer sweating. He was tired, but he didn’t feel unwell. ‘Will you bring me my coffee?’ He had the impression that he hadn’t drunk such good coffee for a long time. He took little sips, savouring each one. It was dispiriting. The investigation was stalling. He was all the more irritated since he felt that it was his fault, that the truth was within his grasp and he just needed to think of it. ‘I hope you’ll be able to come home for lunch. What good would it do you to fall seriously ill?’ She was right, but he couldn’t help it.”

Grasshopper. “Some mornings, he was barely aware of my presence. Other times, he’d say: ‘“Come here.” ‘And he’d lift up my skirt. It didn’t bother him that the door wasn’t locked and we’d make love on a corner of the desk.’‘You were never caught?’ ‘A couple of times by one of the typists and once by Monsieur Leprêtre. The typists weren’t surprised, because the same thing happened to them.’

The Call. “Maigret asked: ‘Did you know him well?’ But the man on the other end of the line had already hung up. Maigret did likewise and stared pensively at the telephone. This was perhaps what he’d been expecting since Chabut’s death: a starting point.He had known several similar cases and, in one of them at least, the criminal had not rested until he was caught.” … ‘ About a man I saw earlier. Our eyes met and now I think he wanted to communicate some sort of message.’ ‘In a look?’ ‘Why not? I don’t know if he’s the person who called me a little later to tell me that Chabut was a filthy scoundrel. Those were his words. He hung up before I could ask any questions.’

At Home. “he went and sat in his armchair by the window. He closed his eyes and for a long while he remained as if suspended between sleep and wakening. He realized that he was slipping imperceptibly and it was a pleasant sensation that he didn’t want to dispel.”

The Killer. “That someone must have had even stronger reasons than the others to hate him because, in killing him, he had jeopardized his own freedom if not his life.” … “ But now, his enemy was dead. Was it not a little as if the murderer had suddenly lost his sense of purpose? People spoke of the victim as a brilliant man, an outstanding businessman. No one mentioned the man who had killed him or his reasons for doing so.” Briefing the Boss. ‘No news on the Rue Fortuny case?’ ‘Nothing specific. All the same, I’m beginning to feel hopeful.’ don’t have any names in mind yet,’ he said, evasively. ‘All the same, you were right not to say too much to the press.’

Love Letters to the Ogre/Wiine Merchant. One. “Now I know for certain that you said out loud, in front of at least five people: ‘It’s a pity she has sagging breasts.’ I already knew you were a boor. This proves it. But I don’t have the willpower not to see you any more. The ball’s in your court.’

The Home Front. “He had a temperature again, not high, thirty-seven point six, but it still made him feel weak and lethargic. Madame Maigret took advantage of it to pamper him, and each time she did something for him, he pretended to complain. Just like when he was a child. The Sunday roast. In those days, he wanted the meat well done. As the day went on, he had several whiffs of his childhood. The apartment was filled with wonderful aromas, barely dulled by his cold, and he skimmed the papers that he hadn’t had time to read during the week. He had a nap in his armchair. When he opened his eyes, his wife was busy sewing because she couldn’t bear doing nothing with her hands. ‘I slept longer than I intended.’ ‘It’s good for you.’ ‘If only this flu would make up its mind …’ There was a western showing and he was quite content to watch it. There was a villain, of course, and he had some things in common with Chabut. The bad guy also wanted to prove to others and to himself that he was strong and, in order to do so, he humiliated people. … The thought suddenly dawned on him. What was it the Grasshopper had said about the book-keeper? That he was a newcomer. That he’d only been there for a few months. Had his predecessor left of his own accord or had he…”

We’re just over 1/2 way through… I seem to be testing the limits of Goodreads Book Review app… I encourage you to read the great book, how the killer is apprehended and Maigret makes out with his cold. [ I do have an additional 2 more pages of highlights made visible if you would like to investigate further.]

I’ll leave you with the following summary passages:

“What was the point of asking him if he regretted his action in Rue Fortuny? Did Stiernet regret having struck his grandmother? He would most likely be asked the question at his trial and, if he answered truthfully, there would be various reactions, even a disapproving murmur from the courtroom.”

“ Maigret turned to —. ‘It’s not because they distrust you,’ he murmured. ‘They’ll remove them when you get to Quai des Orfèvres. It’s the rule.’ On the landing, — turned around. He had tears in his eyes. He looked at Maigret one more time, as if to draw strength”

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy a Maigret mystery and Maigret and the Wine Merchant by Georges Simenon was no exception. This was the 71st book in the series and by now, as you'd expect, Simenon is quite comfortable getting into Maigret's mind and skin. The story flows nicely and smoothly, draws you in and ultimately comes to a satisfying conclusion. (Maybe I should just stop there, eh?) Oh well, let's talk about the story a bit.

Inspector Maigret is cleaning up a case involving the murder of a grandmother by her grandson when he's called away to investigate another murder. Oscar Charbut, a wealthy wine merchant, has just been murdered, shot 4 times, as he left a house of ill repute. Maigret and his capable assistant, Lapointe head to the site.

The house is operated by Mme Blanche, who has had dealings with Maigret previously. It seems that Charbut frequents the place quite regularly. On Wednesdays he tends to bring his secretary, nicknamed the Grasshopper, for their regular dalliance. But as Maigret discovers, Charbut has affairs with many women and his wife knows about it and accepts it. Charbut is an aggressive businessman, rubbing many people the wrong way, and also an aggressive womanizer, having affairs with the wives of many of his social acquaintances. So there appear to be a number of suspects.

Poor old Maigret is suffering from a very bad cold / flu and his ever-patient wife, Mrs. Maigret takes excellent care of him. Maigret's temperature keeps spiking but he continues to work the case, taking many breaks to sleep at home. The investigations takes in family, friends and his office staff. Everybody seems so reasonable and accepting of Charbut's attitudes and actions. Mrs. Charbut is a common sense woman and plans to take over the wine business. The Grasshopper is outgoing and also very common sensical and provides much info to Maigret.

Even through his sickness, Maigret makes progress. He begins to get phone calls at his office from someone who seems to know a lot about the investigation (a witness or maybe the murderer himself?) and sees a man watching him at various locations.

It's an entertaining story and moves along at a nice pace and keeps your attention. Maigret, as always, is a grumpy investigator, made more so with his flulike illness. But he's also a likable character and surrounded by good people. Especially his lovely wife. Entertaining, an excellent story. (3.5 stars)

[David Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short mystery novel of 150 pages. Maigret has a nasty cold with a fever and self-medicates throughout with brandy, pipe tobacco and the occasional aspirin. The wine merchant of the title has been shot dead after a liaison with one of his too-numerous-to-count mistresses and it would almost be easier to list the citizens of Paris who would not have wanted to pull the trigger. Maigret is not going to try and interview the entire population so has to get inside the mind of the killer and hope he reveals himself. I know this is 1970 but the Swinging Sixties are still going strong and the sordid details of the lifestyles of the well to do are revealed in matter of fact interviews with the merchant’s wife, employees and acquaintances. Really I was shocked! Literally everyone was having sex with everyone else. Maigret takes it all in his stride as he waits for the perpetrator to become bored with not being taken seriously.

[Toby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book #71. Written in 1969. Probably the worst Maigret i’ve read to date. It feels lazy and repetitive and Maigret’s attitude towards women seems jarring with his usual humanist tendencies towards criminals.

[Tony Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simenon was appalling to women - he treated sex as a an appetite to be quickly and greedily sated, and claimed to have slept with over 10,000 women in his life.  The murder victim in this 71th tale of Inspector Maigret rather resembles him. Oscar Chabut was a successful wine merchant who had built his business from nothing, and needed to dominate people. He slept with all of the women on his staff, and with the wives of his friends and associates, all of whom seemed to be disgustingly tolerant at his behaviour, noting with resignation the financial hold he had over them. Chabut was shot leaving a Parisian brothel with his secretary. Maigret investigates the case with anger at the morals and attitudes of the people involved. As he says to his junior Inspector Lapointe "I’ve rarely seen so many unsavoury characters in the course of a single investigation". In the end it turns out to have been a disgruntled former employee, but there is a game of "cat and mouse" before the murderer visits Maigret at home to confess. Maybe Simenon was expressing guilt through this story, maybe not. Well paced novel though. Only a few Maigret's left to read - I will miss the old chap.

[Sparrow .]

This is a book about having a cold—the way your world becomes smeary with phlegm as you blink & sneeze. When you’re sick, all of Paris is sick –if you are Maigret, trudging down the Rue Fortuny into the “biting north wind,” seeking the killer of Oscar Chabut, a wholesale wine merchant whose business was ironically named “Le Vin des Moines” (the wine of monks). Oscar died walking out of a whorehouse. His mistress—whom everyone called “the Grasshopper”—is the only person who wept for him. We learn all this by the 68th page. Is this mystery novel an attack on capitalism? I say yes.

The biggest suspense of the book: “Will Maigret overcome his cold?” [Sorry, I can’t reveal the ending.]

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A much later Maigret with mentions of record players, televisions and computers the only concessions to its 1969 composition date. Some good atmosphere, but a mystery that solves itself in a rather pat manner. One wonders what, if anything, the analysis of the victim's obsession with sexual conquests says about Simenon.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little case involving the murder of a very unpleasant man, great atmosphere and the usual fun cast of characters. Light and enjoyable.

Entering the final run of Maigret just 4 left.

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tightly focused, compassionate study of a criminal.

[Laurence Giliotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maigret and the Wine Merchant Maigret and the Wine Merchant by Georges Simenon.
The Victim: Narcissistic, domineering, abusive and unnecessarily cruel. His business and personal relationships have but one message: 'I am great and powerful and you are nothing.'
The Suspect: Weak, lost and adrift, submissive.
The Investigator: Suffering the flu, uninspired, relying of standard procedure to grind the investigation slowly forward.
These elements, as is often the case with Simenon, are merely the table upon which he serves delicate tidbits, morsels, never enough to gorge oneself, but to stimulate the senses. What is obtained depends on the breadth and depth of experience the reader brings to the table.
Quite satisfying.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An engaging crime fiction, concisely written character based novel about detective Maigret investigating the murder of Oscar Chabut, a wealthy wine merchant with a number of enemies. We learn about the two main characters, Oscar Chabut, an unpleasant, ruthless, womanising, very successful businessman, and the murderer’s life.

Maigret fans should enjoy this book.

This book was first published in 1970 and is the 71st novel in the Maigret series.

[Diabolika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caro Maigret, dove sono finite le tue straordinarie capacità investigative? Il raffreddore ti ha occluso i sensi? Per fortuna che la soluzione ti viene offerta su un piatto d'argento... ;-)

[Aravena · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the last novels in the Inspector Jules Maigret series (#71 of 75), and also my introduction to this French police detective!

In this case, we dealt with the murder of a wine merchant, an overall unpleasant man who's too fond of swinging his dick around (in literal and figurative sense). The book feels brisk as Simenon had a direct and compact style of narration, rarely spending a lot of words on building atmosphere or describing the characters' thoughts. Maigret's investigation was still compelling though, as we're plunged into the world of upper Parisian society; where successful men openly flaunt the affair and weekly love nest trip with their secretaries and other people's wives.

Instead of a locked room mystery or a complicated puzzle to solve, the plot was more like a relatively straightforward crime drama, with a touch of social commentary on the bleak cynicism of modern relationship. There's no big revelation or brilliant deduction, and you can even argue that the case kinda solved itself as the murderer just couldn't help himself and continued to contact/stalk Maigret. Hence, the appeal mainly lie on observing the characters' psychology through Maigret's interaction with them.

As for Maigret himself, there's nothing extraordinary with him. Ironically, that's also what made him special. It's refreshing that instead of someone with a genius brain, personality quirk, or tragic past, we just have a reliable and compassionate professional who simply works through the clues, has lunch with his lovely wife, and struggles with a cold throughout the case. The cold in particular has no actual bearing to the main plot/case, but I really liked it for making Maigret appeared to be such a realistic and down-to-earth protagonist.

So yeah, it's a fairly simple mystery, but it painted an intriguing psychological pictures of the people involved, particularly the victim and the murderer (zeroing in on self-destructive male pride in particular). It also concluded strongly, with the kind of final confrontation scene that I rarely saw in other detective stories. I doubt I can collect/read all of the Maigret's titles, as it's relatively hard to acquire affordable English copies, but this was such a good first impression that I'd really like to read more~

[Jan Zijlstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Georges Simenon - Maigret and the Wine Merchant

In my teens, i was told that the ubiquitous orange-backed Penguin paperbacks were 'ALL good'. A quick online search of Maigret novels largely echoes the same sentiment - they're 'ALL good' - an astonishing feat of the author of these 79(!) books. So you won't need to read them all to enjoy these wonderful books - in fact, you can cherry-pick based on the title or location of the novel.
So you've hit upon this review, perhaps, to see if this late (1970) installment is worth your while, or whether you should go back in time, starting maybe with the first novel, 'Pietr the Latvian', published in 1932 ...
Inevitably, both Simenon and his creation Maigret have matured over the intervening 38 years,and the setting is a bit more contemporary ('a warehouse with computers that largely automated things' feels oddly of these times).
The story is more of a Whydunnit than a Whodunnit, although there is a nice element of detection that drives the novel forward.
The victim - the eponymous Wine Merchant - is presented as an irredeemable son-of-a-bitch, mirroring some of the mature autor's own vices - he is a compulsive womanizer who drops his 'conquests' at a whim and has little time for losers. Even so, Maigret manages an understanding of both the shooter and the murdered man.
Simenon and Maigret's maturation only go so far, though - Madame Maigret, still nameless, remains firmly in a supporting role serving borderline gourmet lunches at home and supplying what seems an endless array of grogs when the Great Man falls ill.
The Parisian couleur locale is wonderful and it's tempting to follow the story with a map app in hand - but you don't have to be familiar with Paris to thoroughly enjoy this very good novel.

All of which makes you wonder why this book wasn't published in the US until 15 years after publication and, when it finally was, in a dodgy translation that has people 'looking at television' ...
Fortunately, the 'all good' publishers of Penguin Books have seen fit to order all-new updated translations of these, indeed, 'all good' novels.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Jan Zijlstra, Murfreesboro TN

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first and quite likely only Maigret novel. It was, well, m'eh. I keep wondering if this is because the title I chose (randomly, from the ebooks available through my library) was close to the end of the (ridiculously) long series. I believe this is something like #71 in the series.

I found that I did not care about any of the characters, even Maigret, and that I cannot even now remember how Maigret solved the crime, especially since the last quarter of the book seems to be the criminal explaining the entire thing.

Too many other books I still want to read to spend more time on this series.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it quite a bit. This was my first Maigret and I went in knowing only that he was a French detective. It took a few pages for me to get that the novel was contemporary to the time it was written, the early 70’s. So in a way it feels like a slightly more modern Poirot, had Poirot settled down and stayed on the force. (Of course it would have been set in Brussels!)

What I most liked was the sympathy he seemed to have for the criminals. He remembers that they are human as well and treats them accordingly while remembering who they are and what they are capable of. I will read more.

[Jean Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible. I sometimes think Maigret must be psychic as he seems to know what folk are going to do before they do it and this ability is demonstrated greatly in this book. I also think he would be totally lost without Madame Maigret who mollycoddles him like a child - maybe because they lost a child and cannot have more - Anyway, though like the Mounties, Maigret always gets his man, he couldn't do it so well without the woman behind his throne.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Maigret mystery, this published 16 years after the previous book I just read "Maigret and the Man on the Bench."

I also enjoyed this, especially the respect he shows the murderer once he is able to interview the person.

However, what are the chances of in the course of these two books published years apart: (a) the place where the money was hidden was the same in both books, and (b) in"Man on the Bench" the main character has lost his job but does not tell his wife, and in "Wine Merchant" another main character has lost his job and does not tell his wife. Makes me both want to read the entire series to find other examples like this, as well as not want to read any more.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid read - and I love a novel that takes me to Paris, even if it is for a murder.