Maigret et la Vieille Dame

Inspector Maigret #33

by Georges Simenon

Le très célèbre roman de Simenon, enfin adapté. Pour tous les amateurs de roman policier et du Commissaire Maigret. Qui pouvait vouloir tuer la vieille Valentine Besson, dont la servante, Rose, est morte d'avoir bu un verre d'eau destiné à sa patronne, et contenant des somnifères ? Maigret, appelé à faire la lumière sur ce meurtre, soupçonne un moment Arlette, la fille de Valentine, qui semble avoir une vie privée assez trouble avec son mari, Théo. Mais la cupidité ne peut être le mobile : la vieille dame ne possédait plus que des copies de bijoux, répliques de la fabuleuse collection jadis constituée par son mari. Sur ces entrefaites, Valentine abat d'un coup de revolver un " rôdeur " qui n'est autre que le frère de Rose. Pour Maigret, qui vient de découvrir une émeraude authentique, les pièces du puzzle commencent à s'assembler... Dans une atmosphère de vacances balnéaires, ce sont de bien sombres mystères qui vont peu à peu être dévoilés par le sagace enquêteur.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, France, Noir, Mystery Thriller, French Literature

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

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

[Jim Fonseca]

Here’s our mystery: an older woman takes a sip of her sleeping medication and tells her maid: toss it – it tastes bitter. The maid, who is a sound sleeper and snores within five minutes of lying down, instead drinks it and dies from arsenic poisoning.



If the poison was intended for the older lady, why? She’s barely comfortable financially, so it’s not like she has a lot of money that her two stepsons or her daughter might want to inherit.

Maigret does what he does best – he wanders the bars of this charming coastal village in Brittany, eating, drinking and getting the dirt from locals. Just about every night, he goes back to the lady’s house to drink cognac and finds himself falling under her charming spell. What would Mrs. Maigret think?

I found the story different from the dozen-or-so other Maigrets I have read in that Maigret has the most candid conversation about sexuality. The elderly woman’s daughter is a modern free-spirited woman and Maigret presses her with questions about her sex life and she responds. He doesn’t quite ask her ‘How many men have you slept with’ – but almost!

A good story and a break from more serious reading.



I enjoy reading a Maigret as a break from more serious topics. I’ve read a dozen or so but I won’t list all of my reviews below, just the few I’ve read that have ratings higher than 3.8 on GR:

Maigret’s Pickpocket

Maigret and the Loner

Maigret and the Madwoman

Maigret Has Scruples

Maigret Sets a Trap

Maigret and the Headless Corpse

Dinan, a French coastal town, from brittanytourism.fr
The author from thenewyorker.com

[Adrian]

February 2024 Lunchtime Listen

Unlike a lot of the Maigret lunchtime listens, I hadn't read this prior to listening to it. We started yesterday and with the weather still cold/damp/raining/grey/overcast it was , given this is after all a Maigret, really easy to listen on into the afternoons.

Maigret is visited in his office in Paris by an elderly but glamorous lady, who want him come to her home in a Normandy coastal village where her maid has been poisoned. At almost the same time Maigret's chief calls him an there is a request from a minister for him to investigate the same crime.

Making his way to the small village he gets the latest information from the local Inspector Gaston, and then goes to revisit the old lady whom he had met in Paris.

As ever Maigret wanders around, talking to all the people involved in the crime, trying to gauge their character and also their involvement as he pieces all the aspects of the crime together.
As ever this story is just so Maigret-y, so French and so wonderful. Read brilliantly as ever by Gareth Armstrong.

[Ivonne Rovira]

For much of Maigret and the Old Lady, I was as befuddled as poor Inspector Castaing, a LeHavre policeman assigned to assist Chief Inspector Maigret. What is this famous inspector from the Police Judiciaire at Quai des Orfèvres doing? He seems to be bumbling about! But, as always with Maigret, there is so much more going on than our layman’s eye can see.

The charming still beautiful widow Valentine Besson, the eponymous old lady, calls on Maigret to ask him to investigate the poisoning of her maid, Rose Trochu. Madame Besson insists that poison was actually meant for her. So Maigret leaves Paris for Étretat in Normandy to discover. What it turns out there is plenty to discover about the Besson family, about which almost nothing is as it seems. The ending took me completely by surprise, and I highly, highly recommend this novel, the 33rd book in this reliably excellent series.

[Razvan Banciu]

As usual, a pleasure to read. Strong characters, much philosophy and an unexpected end. The case doesn't tell you too much, as a servant is poisoned, but, as usual, there are a lot of hidden surprises.

Ps: We have also a drink-loving Inspector. calvados, beer, wine...

[Three]

Maigret lontano da Parigi si muove da un paesino normanno all'altro, da un bistrot ad una villetta signorile ad una casa di pescatori, senza mai perdere - nonostante i moltissimi calvados - né la capacità di leggere fra le righe di quanto gli viene raccontato, né l'empatia con le persone che incontra.

[Sara]

Un nuovo caso da risolvere porta Maigret a Étretat, in Normandia, e questa volta la vittima è la giovane domestica di Valentine Besson, la vecchia signora del titolo, che chiede aiuto al celebre commissario. Rose Trochu è morta per avvelenamento da cianuro dopo aver assunto la medicina che era destinata alla sua padrona e, come i gialli di Agatha Christie insegnano, quando c'è di mezzo il veleno di solito ci sono di mezzo anche le donne ;) I sospetti sin dall'inizio si concentrano sui componenti della famiglia Besson che Maigret conoscerà uno per uno, ma Rose non sarà l'unica vittima di questo caso...
Ammetto di non essere riuscita ad indovinare l'assassino neanche questa volta, ma la soluzione dell'omicidio mi ha piacevolmente intrattenuta anche se non reputo questo Maigret tra i migliori. Rimane comunque un buon giallo di intrattenimento.

[Richard]

Although the solving of the case is interesting the process where we follow the investigation is a little repeatative and fails to really capture the imagination.
Maigret seems to be an observer rather than a detective. He has asked around and spoken to the various people involved but as no real evidence to close the case. Unfortunately his inability to act leads to further tragedy after which the motive, means and circumstances of the crimes can be fully explained.
Simenon could easily turn out a Maigret novel at this time; this one has a familiar setting in a coastal town away from Paris. In trying to kill the Old Lady someone was unlucky enough to be thwarted by her maid drinking the medicine the poison was in, thus showing their hand.
A clever plot with a limited number of suspects. No-one comes out of it particularly well each of the characters has flaws and Maigret shows his frustration at times by the whole circumstances and the lack of honesty and truthfulness.
I loved the line: "The upstanding citizens who protest against the numberof bars are unaware that they are a godsend for the police." - Spoken about their ability to keep watch in the warm. However, like many a Maigret story the consumption of alcohol is a series passtime for the Chief Inspector in talking and setting people at their ease. Strangely he nearly dozes off and the Inspector assisting him questions his mentor's reputation as the great Maigret as the case appears to be stalling.
A good read but not the most interesting of stories in this series.

[John]

What a duplicitous old lady. Once again Maigret is in Normandy at Etretat investigating the murder of Rose an elderly woman’s maid. Valentine Besson appears to be an eccentric chirpy old lady with blue eyes. She plies Maigret with Calvados (an apple or pear brandy). Maigret visits her several times and builds a picture of her and the family.

Inspector Castsing is bemused by Maigret’s methods. However, he follows orders and with the second killing everything becomes clear.

The family of Valentine are greedy, cowardly and promiscuous. The motive is hidden in the story but makes sense once the emerald ring is found and turns out to be real.

I liked this story in the atmosphere of the seaside town, the fog and the fact the murderer is a geriatric.

[Jim]

There is a surprise ending in this Inspector Maigret outing by the redoubtable Georges Simenon when the guilty party to two murders turns out to be a person the reader had not expected. Maigret and the Old Lady is not the best of the Maigrets, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

[The Frahorus]

Stavolta il commissario Maigret si trasferisce in Normandia dove deve indagare sulla morte della domestica di un'anziana, che ha proprio chiesto il suo aiuto. Ben presto si scoprirà che la ragazza è stata avvelenata, ma il bicchiere conteneva la medicina per la signora. Un errore fatale che vi ha bevuto la sua domestica?

Ritroviamo l'ambientazione che piace di più a Simenon, tra barche e pub spruzzati dallo iodio marino, tra pescatori e paesani che chiacchierano e nessuno sembra aver visto nulla.

[George]

An interesting, engaging crime fiction novel where detective Maigret uncovers a lost fortune and poisonous family relationships. Valentine Besson, an old retired lady who had been married twice. Her second husband was a rich beauty products businessman who eventually lost most of his fortune. The story begins with Valentine’s maid, Rosie, being poisoned, accidentally taking poison meant for the old lady.

This book was first published in France in 1950. The 35th book in the Maigret series.

[Andy]

Okay, I’ll admit it, this one annoyed me. Maigret seemed to be sleepwalking through the whole thing, half cut and manipulated. I know he got there in the end, but it was tedious by Simenon’s high standards.

[Rhys]

There are 75 'Maigret' novels and I have now read 73 of them. This was the 73rd and it is an excellent one. The small seaside town where the action takes place is rendered very atmospherically. The characters involved in the drama are well-drawn. The climax is genuinely surprising. Simenon was a wonderful writer; there is really little more to be said than that.

[Antje]

In Bestform befand sich Simenon bei diesem seiner Maigrets offenbar nicht. Wir haben eine Tote und eine Reihe Verdächtige. Die Auflösung des Tatgeschehens kroch gähnend langweilig vor sich hin. Maigret schien nicht wirklich Lust an dem Fall zu haben und verlor sich stattdessen immer wieder in Kindheitserinnerungen, Müdigkeit und im Alkohol.
Damit der Leser auch wirklich daran glaubet, sich in der Normandie zu befinden, flocht Simenon brav wie klischeehaft jede Menge Calvados, Cidre und derlei bekannte Ortschaften in die Handlung ein. Für mich wenig überzeugend. Ein Buch, das zum Vergessen einlädt.

[Nikki]

This is my first Inspector Maigret book, having loved the TV adaptations I thought it was time I tried reading Georges Simenon and his famous creation. These new Penguin editions are short novels, this one was 177 pages, so a nice easy read.

Inspector Maigret is asked to go to Etretat, a seaside town in Normandy to investigate the murder of a housemaid called Rose. He is asked by her employer the ‘Old Lady’ from the title of the book, to solve the murder. He then spends most of his time slightly inebriated, as all the people he speaks to offer him alcohol! But as ever, the famous Maigret comes to his conclusions and sees all. A great little book.

[John Frankham]

A re-read/listen. Still good.

Maigret investigates the death of the maid of a once-wealthy widow in a seaside village in the Le Havre area. The widow's sleeping draught tasted bitter, and she only took a sip. Why, then, did the maid drink it later?

Dysfunctional families, of the widow and of the maid, provide a complex investigation and a host of suspects. Maigret talks, drinks, thinks, but can he solve the case before there is more bloodshed ......?

[Sandro]

Amo i libri di Simenon con protagonista l'ispettore Maigret e quindi per me meritano tutti 5 stelle! :-)

[Ladyce West]

Frequentemente me perguntam como consigo ler mais de quarenta livros por ano quando ainda tenho outras vidas para cuidar, como minhas aulas, escrever, participar da vida em geral, fazer compras, cozinhar, ter amigos, ver séries, ir ao cinema. É fácil. Leio em qualquer lugar. Nesses últimos dias fiquei presa ao telefone ouvindo música de espera por muitos minutos. Tempos suficiente para ler, A velha senhora de Simenon, com tradução de Raul de Sá Barbosa. Este livro, que na edição de bolso que tenho, compreende cento e oitenta e oito páginas, foi inteiramente consumido à espera de que alguém do outro lado da linha me atendesse.

Gosto de Simenon. Gosto principalmente de seus romances “duros”. Mas isso não quer dizer que não goste de sua escrita policial. Aliás gosto muito dela. Nesta história temos o Inspetor Maigret resolvendo um assassinato fora de Paris. O que me atrai nas obras em que Maigret investiga um crime, é que sempre no final acreditamos ter tido todos os elementos necessários para fazer as mesmas deduções que ele faz. Porque é assim a narrativa. Tudo importa. mas vem em ordem caótica.

Simenon é um dos escritores com maior número de obras publicadas e um dos mais traduzidos no mudo. Na introdução a este livro, soube que das mais de quatrocentas e cinquenta obras do autor, setenta e cinco tem o Inspetor Maigret como principal personagem. Não é só um jogo de palavras que intriga o leitor, aqui e ali há encanto nas descrições de lugares, na atmosfera local, das pequenas cidades ou dos bairros em que a história se desenvolve, assim como nas memórias que alguns detalhes trazem ao melancólico policial. Aqui está, por exemplo sua primeira impressão da casa que visita pela primeira vez.

“O portão não estava fechado, e ele o empurrou; depois, não achando a campainha, entrou no jardim. Jamais vira tal profusão de plantas numa área tão pequena, Os arbustos em flor eram tão espessos que pareciam uma pequena selva, e no menor espaço livre havia dálias, lobélias, crisântemos e outras flores que Maigret só vira reproduzidas em cores vivas nos pacotes de sementes nas vitrines. Parecia que a velha senhora se dispusera a usar todos eles.” [31]

Uma das características de Simenon é que seus personagens são tridimensionais e sempre caracterizados com alguma ternura, mesmo os mais infames. Há uma compreensão do ser humano, quase empatia, mesmo pelos elementos mais desprezíveis, como se Maigret , Simenon, compreendesse as razões dos maus comportamentos mesmo que ele não concorde com eles.

Pode parar para ler esse inteligente romance policial. Vale um fim de semana em casa, neste inverno gélido, numa poltrona, manta no colo, alguma bebida quente ao lado. Só não recomendo o cachimbo que Maigret e Simenon têm em comum.

[Jaime Barcelo Garcia]

«No opinaba nada. La miraba, con los ojos un poco enturbiados y el sol jugando entre los dos. Una sonrisa vaga flotaba en sus labios — la señora Maigret habría dicho que estaba alelado — mientras se preguntaba, sin tomarse nada a lo trágico, como en un juego, si era posible desmontar a una mujer como aquélla.»

Mi primera experiencia leyendo a Simenon ha sido grata. Tengo la sensación de que apenas he arañado la superficie, y sin embargo he disfrutado mucho de su narrativa contemplativa, del delicado equilibrio con que superpone los diálogos, que avanzan la trama mientras dibujan personajes ricos en matices y las concisas descripciones que provee de Étretat, que lejos de limitarse a mostrar lo material del pueblecito, sirven de excusa para adentrarse en los anhelos y nostalgias de Maigret.

[Eric]

Maigret visits a Normandy seaside resort to investigate the death by poison of a maid, Rose Trochu.
Rose worked for the "old lady" of the title, Valentine Besson, a widow whose family paid her a birthday visit on the day of the poisoning. Madame Besson is convinced she was the intended victim.

Maigret finds out a lot about Valentine and her family, their lost fortune and complex relationships. Another killing takes place and the reason for both deaths is found to be in the old adage -"The love of money is the root of evil".

I had mixed feelings about this novel especially over the depiction of Valentine's daughter Arlette.

3.5 stars.

[Georgiana 1792]

Il migliore giallo di Simenon che ho letto finora, ambientato in una cittadina balneare della Normandia alla fine della stagione, in Settembre, quindi con un'aria di malinconia che non guasta. Fin dal principio non è chiaro se la vittima dovesse essere colei che effettivamente viene uccisa - Rose, la cameriera della Bicoque di Valentine Besson - o la stessa vecchia signora, Valentine Besson, a cui era destinata la medicina. Qualche dubbio sul colpevole, effettivamente, viene fin da subito, ma è bello veder raccogliere gli indizi e le piste che portano a entrambe le possibilità, e soprattutto, i moventi.

[tortoise dreams]

The Maigret novels oscillate between good and very good. This one is very good. Occasionally Simenon tries for something inventive and completely different. This one is not that. Per usual Maigret wanders around a small town talking to everybody and drinking heavily, not doing much of anything. For a change he was not eating too much. While reading I thought there was only one possible solution but felt I must be wrong, and there would be some Christiesque sorcery at the end that would both amaze and delight me. Instead the twist ending was brutal and a bit disturbing.

[Tábata Kotowiski]

Minha primeira leitura de Simonon e já curti o Maigret! Me lembrou um pouco de Poirot e Sherlock em relação ao método investigativo... parecem que estão perdidos durante a investigação mas no final tudo se encaixa perfeitamente, pegando o culpado e deixando todo mundo boquiaberto.
Embora eu já imaginasse o desfecho, a leitura foi leve e divertida. :-)

[Effie]

B.R.A.CE. 2018 4 βιβλία που διαδραματίζονται σε διαφορετική χώρα το καθένα

[Nanosynergy]

Classic Maigret. Maigret investigates the attemped murder (poisoning) of wealthy widow Valentine Besson that results in the maid's death.

[Harry Weaver]

Enjoyed this one. Once again in one of the seaside towns of the northern coast. Lots of stalking between bars etc., typical maigret.

[Kathy]

Typical Maigret cocktail

As soon as you smell money, you know there will be sordid doings in this seaside town. And a new drink: picon-grenadine, to add to the drinks cupboard. Add a touch of fog, an old woman and her nouveaux riche children, and the confused local police chief, and you have all the ingredients for a typical Maigret. Have we read it all before? Yes. Is it still fun. You bet.

[Melanie Williams]

Some well-written descriptive writing, but it wasn't always clear to me which character was speaking and I thought the plot was a bit corny. I found Maigret's unpredictability a bit intriguing, though far from endearing, and was more interested in the character of Arlette Sudre, who seemed to be a very damaged young woman....

[Erin]

In French. Yesss...

[James]

A fantastic read, Simenon fitted so much in and kept the pace and revelations just right. On the back is a quote from a reviewer which I have to agree with: "A genuinely baffling puzzle"