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The Man from London

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Expected 15 Dec 26
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A train signalman, who literally watches the world through glass, is jolted from passivity in this riveting tragedy of male alienation.

From his elevated glass cabin at the ferry terminal, train signalman Louis Maloin can survey the whole of Dieppe. For thirty years of working the night shift, he hasn’t varied his routine. He smokes his pipe, drinks his coffee and brandy, and watches people. Then, one fateful winter’s night, he witnesses a senseless murder. At a stroke, Maloin’s status as an apathetic bystander is upended, and he knows nothing can ever be the same. But will his future be happier or bleaker, and can he tilt the scales either way? A provocative classic of philosophical fiction, The Man from London poses that most troubling of If free will is an illusion, who or what is pulling our strings?

Kindle Edition

Expected publication December 15, 2026

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About the author

Georges Simenon

2,658 books2,444 followers
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.

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Profile Image for Marcus Vinicius.
267 reviews11 followers
July 21, 2026
Resenha feita a partir da publicação do romance na obra intitulada “Romances e Outros Escritos”, volume 01, Editora UNESP, tradução de Túlio Kawata

O Que é um Crime?
Uma cidade no litoral norte da França: Dieppe. Um ferroviário que presencia um crime: Marloin. Um homem vindo de Londres. A descrição que Simenon faz dos acontecimentos, dos personagens e da vida na cidade é fascinante. A forma como os habitantes de Dieppe reagem, conforme os fatos veem a público, é sintomática e revela traços característicos da psique humana. Uma história que prende o leitor e o conduz a imaginar os diversos desfechos possíveis. A tragédia humana em movimento.
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