The 13 Culprits

by Georges Simenon

SIMENON BEFORE MAIGRET! Georges Simenon (1903-1989) not only created the finest series of French detective novels in the cases of Inspector Jules Maigret, but he was also, according to André Gide, "perhaps the greatest and most truly novelistic' novelist in France today." But before he wrote about Maigret, he contributed series of short tales to the magazine Détective in 1929 and 1930, collected in 3 books. The first of those volumes, The 13 Culprits, has never previously been published in English, despite extravagant praise from Alexander Woolcott, Ellery Queen, and other experts. The detections of Monsieur Froget, the "Examining Magistrate," are set among the people of a city the young Simenon knew well. As the translator, Peter Schulman, says in the introduction, "it is a marginal Paris, populated by society's losers who, for one reason or another, are brought down by a petty vice, or a greedy aspiration, that invariably leads to a bitter sense of failure in their lives and, of course, a crime they hubristically think they can get away with. It is the lonely city within all levels of the Parisian mosaic; a Paris made up of eccentric individuals who all, in some manner or another, feel as though they have been hung out to dry on the fringes of society." It is a Paris of prostitutes, adventurers, circus artistes, and the flotsam thrown up by the First World War. It is a world captured by a great writer.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, France, Crime, Belgium

176 pages, Paperback

Published August 7, 2002

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

[Adam McPhee]

Precursor to Maigret. More like puzzles than short stories. Fine but nothing great. The best part of the book is this anecdote about Simenon from the intro:

An interesting adventure, worthy of a thriller, took place on the Ostrogoth during the writing of the “13” series. Stopping in Wilhelmshaven, a German port in Lower Saxony (which readers of The 13 Culprits will recognize as being the birthplace of Otto Müller), Simenon’s ship, which was brandishing a French flag, instantly drew the suspicions of the local authorities as Wilhelmshaven was also a repository for rusting, dry-docked World War I submarines. As Pierre Assouline has described it, Simenon, who was oblivious to politics at that time, found himself in a tense political situation without knowing it: “The economic crisis had just broken out, and the country was governed by a coalition led by a Social Democratic chancellor. The leader of the National People’s Party had recently formed an alliance with Adolf Hitler. Within a few months the fall of the Müller government would seal the fate of the parliamentary republic.”4 Within moments of his mooring, the police helped him get supplies which they even carried on board his ship as though they were porters. Later, a plainclothes counterespionage agent came aboard and questioned him for two hours. After searching the ship thoroughly, the agent “discovered a typewriter and an easel, tried to decipher one of Simenon’s novels as though cracking a secret code,”5 before bringing him to Police Headquarters. As Simenon has recounted in his Intimate Memoirs, the German police officers were particularly alarmed by his correspondence with his editors at Détective :
“Why did you come in to Wilhelmshaven? Since the end of the war not a single French boat has put in here.”I kept trying to make sense out of the questions he threw at me, often unexpectedly, since he kept craftily switching the subject.
“And how does it happen that you receive telegrams that are signed ‘Detective’?”
This one spoke French well, in spite of his accent. He had probably been part of the occupation forces.
“Are you a detective?”
“No. That’s a weekly that publishes crime stories.”
“Then, are you a policeman?”
“No, but I write stories about detectives.”
“Why?”
“Because I get orders for them.”
“In other words, you are carrying out orders?”
Although Simenon was nervous, and sweating profusely in fear of being arrested, he was summarily ordered by the Polizeipräsidium to sign a deposition and leave the country at once.

[Andy Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d recommend this to Simenon fans, particularly of Maigret, as it gives an idea of how he matured into the great writer he was, though the cases themselves are not described in enough detail to properly demonstrate the author’s talents.

Simenon was commissioned to write these by Detective magazine in 1929. This collection was actually the third series of 13 stories; the first, published without solutions, brought in a phenomenal amount of correspondence, with more than 40 staff hired to check the various answers. He was therefore asked to write a series that was more difficult to solve. They were published without the last few paragraphs, the solutions, which followed a week later. They were collected in book form in 1932.

There is a very informative introduction by the translator, Peter Schumann. At this time, Simenon himself was 29 years old, and had published the staggering amount of 277 books.

The stories serve as pleasant diversions, and are very brief, 10 pages or so, so ideal for a short sitting. What they lack of course is any depth to the characters involved, at which Simenon excels, and give the reader the atmosphere of place, the tension created by the plot, and the dark and mysterious characters.

[D'face · Rating 3 out of 5]

13 short stories wherein the prosecutor is able to identify the culprit through his conversation with them. This is early stuff from Simenon and certainly not his best.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

A certain type of reader could rate this higher and not be wrong, but this isn't why I read Simenon. I read him for the overall mood, and for the tiny little moments. Reading his books (especially the non-Maigret roman durs) is like going to a very specific place that you immediately know is him, even though you (or at least I) wouldn't be able to exactly say why. There's some unknowable algorithm in the way the words and scenes flow together that just is a very fine kind of escape. Anyway, 13 Culprits is a collection of 13 pieces originally submitted to magazines in two parts, the first a 5 to 10 page description of some non-Maigret investigator talking through a case with the culprit, and then a separate piece (with days/time in between, I guess, for readers to pour over the text to find the discrepancy that the investigator is going to point out, and then the moment of glory for the non-Maigret. Each piece is a finely constructed little engine, but it's not connected to an interesting enough chassis for me to really get thrilled about watching it go. It just sits there as this thing to admire for its mechanics. So if you're into that, or a Simenon completist, than read it. Otherwise, next.

[LaCiociara · Rating 3 out of 5]

«Ad affrontarsi erano due pesi massimi, tanto che negli uffici della Procura molti pensavano che stavolta il giudice istruttore Froget avrebbe finito per prendere una batosta, cosa di cui non tutti erano dispiaciuti. Il magistrato sedeva alla scrivania, in una posizione che sembrava scomoda, con una spalla più alta dell’altra e la testa inclinata. Come sempre era in bianco e nero: il bianco della carnagione, dei capelli tagliati a spazzola, della camicia inamidata, e il nero del vestito di taglio severo.»

Georges Simenon non è stato solo il grande narratore e romanziere che conosciamo, autore di grandi romanzi polizieschi e non. Non è stato solo il creatore di figure quali Maigret o di personaggi emblematici quali Marie la strabica. È stato anche giornalista, scrittore di racconti e aneddoti di vario genere e tanto altro ancora.
Ed è da questo breve incipit che ha inizio “I tredici colpevoli” (Les 13 coupables, traduzione a cura di Marina di Leo). L’opera contiene una raccolta di racconti di vario genere che vedono l’autore cimentarsi con narrazioni di vario tipo. Il giudice Froget, capelli e camicia candidi e rigorosamente in abito nero, con taccuino alla mano, è uno degli investigatori che tra gli anni Venti e Trenta, viene da lui creato per dar vita a un primo personaggio seriale. Personaggio eclettico e capace di mettere a nudo la colpevolezza degli indagati, verrà ben presto archiviato a seguito dell’arrivo di Jules Maigret.
Sono quindici i racconti che sono presenti in questa raccolta: Ziliuk, Il signor Rodrigues, La signora Smith, I «Fiamminghi», Nouchi, Arnold Schuttringer, Waldemar Strvzeski, Philippe, Nicolas, I Timmermans, Il Pascià, Otto Müller, Bus, La notte del pont Marie, Lo yacht e la pantera.
Ogni racconto ha una sua peculiarità. Simenon riesce a trattare di temi di grande attualità per il tempo, per lo spazio e per le generazioni anche a venire. L’autore, infatti, non manca di toccare temi quali la giustizia ma anche il razzismo, l’ebraismo, l’evoluzione di una società in costante e continuo cambiamento in un mondo che nulla perdona e nulla risparmia.
Non siamo davanti al miglior Simenon di sempre. Alcuni racconti sono troppo schematici e/o intuitivi e prevedibili, altri sono un poco ripetitivi ma già si intuisce quella che sarà poi la produzione di uno degli autori più iconici di sempre.
“I tredici colpevoli” è un testo che si presta a una lettura rapida, è consigliato a chi cerca un libro con cui staccare la spina ma non indimenticabile, un testo con cui passare qualche ora distesa. Per chi non ha mai letto Simenon, non è il volume adatto per farsi un’idea perché ancora troppo acerbo e precursore di quello che poi sarà la sua narrativa. Opportuno potrebbe essere cominciare, se non lo si è mai letto, da altri Simenon, non necessariamente Maigret, anzi, più non Maigret. Simenon ha tanto da dire e da dare, il rischio è quello di trovarsi davanti a un testo che per sua struttura e ancora status acerbo, potrebbe disincentivare altre letture del romanziere. Consigliato invece a chi già conosce il belga e ne vuole approfondire la conoscenza.

[fra69 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inutile
Minicasi in cui si fronteggiano, da subito, il colpevole e il magistrato Froget, che dovrebbe essere un antesignano del futuro commissario Maigret.
Personaggi non interessanti e vicende abbozzate a malapena, non c'è pathos o emotività ma solo uno scarno confronto nel quale il giudice ha già capito, non si sa bene come, dall'inizio i dettagli cruciali per inchiodare il sospettato.

[Yannick Roch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Questo libro, raccolta di tredici racconti brevi, ma intensi, che seguono tutti lo stesso schema. Sono storie dure, con personaggi strani e il tutto è molto diverso da una normale inchiesta di Maigret. Non ha saputo convincermi, sarà forse che non sono un vero intenditore dell'opera di Simenon.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

• Lui invece lasciava all’interlocutore il tempo di riflettere, persino di riflettere troppo. I silenzi duravano parecchi minuti, le domande appena pochi secondi”.
•Raccolta di racconti pubblicati fra il 1930 ed il 1932, rappresentano la penna di un giovanissimo Simenon, ritraggono la bozza del personaggio che successivamente si evolverà in Maigret.

•Froget è un giudice dalla mente brillante, distaccato, implacabile, glaciale con chi interroga, ma altrettanto rapido nell’unire i pezzi del puzzle e decifrare l’enigma. Tutto è chiaro, nella mente di Froget e, grazie ai suoi appunti alla fine di ogni racconto, anche per il lettore. È emblematica l’essenzialità dei dialoghi, volutamente poco coinvolgente dal punto di vista emotivo, nell’intento di lasciar spazio solo al districarsi dei modi del mistero. La soluzione arriva in modo implacabile. Silenzi troppo lunghi e domande troppo brevi fanno inevitabilmente crollare l’interlocutore. Ho provato un senso quasi ansiogeno, come se anch’io fossi “interrogata” da Froget.

•Ho trovato questa raccolta davvero gradevole e stimolante, perfetta per chi, come me, si approccia per la prima volta all’autore. Ne sono rimasta entusiasta: mi ha invogliata ad approfondire la penna di Simenon e sicuramente leggerò altro di suo.

[Danny · Rating 2 out of 5]

pour enrichir mon vocabulaire pauvre (;

[Hyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2

[Francesco Secondo · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.lucialibri.it/2025/12/17/...

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main interest of this book is historical - finding the seeds of Simenon's later works in these early works under the pseudonym Georges Sim. 13 dossiers/character sketches, really, and interesting as such, but not fleshed out as stories. It's bare bones Simenon. The title is a bit off, since some of the culprits turn out to be innocent as charged (though guilty of naiveté, stupidity, cupidity, etc.)
Maigret's passion for justice to be done, no matter the social class/repulsiveness/attractiveness of the accused, is foreshadowed in the character of Magistrate Froget. The plots are intricate and their resolution is frequently surprising. The last story, Bus, is my favorite - Froget's quiet good deed is also Maigret-like.
There are a lot of typos in this edition - I find this strange since it is supposedly a carefully produced limited edition. Irritating!

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0***
The forward to this was quite valuable to me in understanding both the historic context (Paris in 1929) and the serial nature in which these short vignettes of a magistrate questioning thirteen different defendants and sharing with us his Holmes-like observations that lead to his brief rulings. The forward also explains that there were many of these fringe existence ne'er do well characters in Paris at that time. I also enjoyed the references to Belgium, specifically Antwerp and Ghent and the forward explaining that George Simenon was Belgian born...

[Mikee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This collection of 13 vignettes is more like a series of exercises, originally published serially in Detective magazine. Thirteen suspects are interrogated by the same imperturbable Examining Magistrate, who ferrets out the truth following detailed questioning. This is the third of his "thirteen" books, but the only one published in English. Only for the hardcore Simenonophile.

[Proustitute (on hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first collection of Simenon's detection fiction, and it shows. Very interesting character sketches and a nice use of the vignetter form; but this is interesting solely to see where Simenon begins and for what would come later in his more mature work.

[EU · Rating 2 out of 5]

Il s’agit d’un recueil de courtes nouvelles que le jeune Simenon parues entre mars et juin 1930 pour l’hebdomadaire Détective. S’il est intéressant de voir les débuts de l’écrivain, on ne peut pas dire que ces textes retiennent particulièrement l’attention.

[Andrea Hickman Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing out of the ordinary, but very enjoyable. Some were obvious, others less so. I'd like to read the others in the series.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Simenon contributed a series of short tales to the magazine Detective in 1929 and 1930. Here is the first of three volumes.