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Inspector Maigret #3
M.Gallet, décédé
Une double escroquerie... - Dans un hôtel de Sancerre où il était connu sous le nom de M. Clément, Emile Gallet, domicilié à Saint-Fargeau, a été tué d'une balle dans la tête et achevé d'un coup de poignard dans le cœur.
Une double escroquerie...
Dans un hôtel de Sancerre où il était connu sous le nom de M. Clément, Emile Gallet, domicilié à Saint-Fargeau, a été tué d'une balle dans la tête et achevé d'un coup de poignard dans le cœur. Maigret apprend que le jour du crime, Gallet a eu une altercation avec son fils ainsi qu'avec le châtelain voisin de l'hôtel. Et le commissaire découvre que Gallet, que sa femme croyait représentant de commerce, ne l'était plus depuis dix-huit ans...
Ce premier " Maigret ", ainsi que Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien, seront lancés au cours d'un mémorable bal anthropométrique, dans la nuit de 20 au 21 février 1931, à Montparnasse, où se pressa le Tout-Paris.
Adapté pour la télévision en 1987, dans une réalisation de Georges Ferraro, avec Jean Richard (Commissaire Maigret), Annick Tanguy (Mme Maigret), Michel Robin (Moers).
Simenon chez Omnibus : les enquêtes du célèbre commissaire Maigret, et les très "noirs' Romans durs
Georges Simenon (1903-1989) est le quatrième auteur francophone le plus traduit dans le monde. Né à Liège, il débute très jeune dans le journalisme et, sous divers pseudonymes, fait ses armes en publiant un nombre incroyable de romans " populaires ". Dès 1931, il écrit sous son nom et devient rapidement célèbre. Le cinéma s'intéresse dès le début à son œuvre : Le Chien jaune, paru en 1931, est porté à l'écran l'année suivante. Il écrivit sous son propre nom 192 romans, 158 nouvelles, plusieurs œuvres autobiographiques et de nombreux articles et reportages. Il fut élu membre de l'Académie royale de Belgique.
137 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 1931
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About the author
Georges Simenon
2,732 books2,273 followersGeorges 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 435 reviews
May 31, 2023
April 2023 Lunchtime Listen
Brilliantly read as ever by Gareth Armstrong, this book focuses on the supposed murder of a man in an out of the way hotel room, that he used to frequent several times a year. Upon investigation it transpires he always checked in under the same name but not his real one. He appears never to have worked just relaxed around the town and local countryside.
Maigret discovers who he really is, namely M. Gallet, a salesman for a company that specialises in silver sugar bowls and such. He has recently bought a new house for his family although he is despised by the relatives of his high class wife.
What was he doing in this out of the way hotel under another name and how did he make so much money when he doesn't appear to sell much.
Maigret investigates his past and finds some surprising answers.
Maigret Series Read Commencing 2018
It’s interesting that in some lists it says this is Maigret #2 and here #3. Well regardless of it’s actual number, this is a fantastic read. I said the first Maigret book I read earlier this year, which was #1 was the best fiction book I had read this year, well this ran it a close second.
The writing is again excellent, the characterisations, especially Maigret himself are wonderful and the setting is again so evocative of France. In my humble and biased opinion a wonderful 5 ⭐️ detective novel.
Brilliantly read as ever by Gareth Armstrong, this book focuses on the supposed murder of a man in an out of the way hotel room, that he used to frequent several times a year. Upon investigation it transpires he always checked in under the same name but not his real one. He appears never to have worked just relaxed around the town and local countryside.
Maigret discovers who he really is, namely M. Gallet, a salesman for a company that specialises in silver sugar bowls and such. He has recently bought a new house for his family although he is despised by the relatives of his high class wife.
What was he doing in this out of the way hotel under another name and how did he make so much money when he doesn't appear to sell much.
Maigret investigates his past and finds some surprising answers.
Maigret Series Read Commencing 2018
It’s interesting that in some lists it says this is Maigret #2 and here #3. Well regardless of it’s actual number, this is a fantastic read. I said the first Maigret book I read earlier this year, which was #1 was the best fiction book I had read this year, well this ran it a close second.
The writing is again excellent, the characterisations, especially Maigret himself are wonderful and the setting is again so evocative of France. In my humble and biased opinion a wonderful 5 ⭐️ detective novel.
December 17, 2020
A travelling salesman married with an adult son, M Gallet is known by many but in truth as we discover, unknown by all.
His death is a shock to his family and those in Tracy-Sancerre where his body has been found. It is holiday season and France is living under an oppressive and humid summer heat. Detective Chief Inspector Maigret embarks on the investigation, meeting first Madame Gallet, who projecting a stern high-Victorian image, shows him a postcard posted after the reported date of her husband's death; and then by train to the hotel and its ground-floor room in Tracy-Sancerre where the dead man lies.
The first Maigret story to be published in book form, this is a case that brings the story-telling talents of Georges Simenon and the detective skills of his creation Jules Maigret to the fore.
Maigret speaks with those at the hotel and in the village. He comes to quickly realise that this rather plain murder is indeed one that will be mentally frustrating and challenging. Maigret must unpick and reassemble a man who is not as he presented himself; alongside a life insurance policy, family shame and dislike, and a life and career suggestive of an absence of ambition, he must learn who the late M Gallet was to solve the murder.
Published first in 1931, my copy is a Penguin English translation by Andrea Bell and printed with new cover art work released in 2013.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/series/insm...
His death is a shock to his family and those in Tracy-Sancerre where his body has been found. It is holiday season and France is living under an oppressive and humid summer heat. Detective Chief Inspector Maigret embarks on the investigation, meeting first Madame Gallet, who projecting a stern high-Victorian image, shows him a postcard posted after the reported date of her husband's death; and then by train to the hotel and its ground-floor room in Tracy-Sancerre where the dead man lies.
The first Maigret story to be published in book form, this is a case that brings the story-telling talents of Georges Simenon and the detective skills of his creation Jules Maigret to the fore.
Maigret speaks with those at the hotel and in the village. He comes to quickly realise that this rather plain murder is indeed one that will be mentally frustrating and challenging. Maigret must unpick and reassemble a man who is not as he presented himself; alongside a life insurance policy, family shame and dislike, and a life and career suggestive of an absence of ambition, he must learn who the late M Gallet was to solve the murder.
Published first in 1931, my copy is a Penguin English translation by Andrea Bell and printed with new cover art work released in 2013.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/series/insm...
September 13, 2017
After giving it some thought, I'm raising my rating of this novel to 5 stars because this is one of those books in which I'm blown away not only by Simenon's own observations of humanity, but also by his ability to put them on paper via crime fiction and have them resonate so deeply. Even after only reading four of these books, I can already tell that it's what sets his work apart from other more run-of-the-mill police procedurals. So far this one is my favorite Maigret novel, completely different from its two predecessors, and I liked it more than the fourth, The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien which was quite good. I am beginning to believe that this man must have been one of the keenest observers of human nature ever, something that becomes quite obvious here as the story unfolds, layer by layer by layer.
More about this book at my reading journal here where I take on a Maigret triple play, but when all is said and done, this book turns out to be a bit of a gut-wrenching sort of experience as Simenon basically lays bare some of the ugliness of which humans are capable; it also, in my opinion, begins to bring out the very human (as opposed to strictly investigator) side of Maigret not yet seen in the two books prior to this one.
Topping this one will be difficult.
More about this book at my reading journal here where I take on a Maigret triple play, but when all is said and done, this book turns out to be a bit of a gut-wrenching sort of experience as Simenon basically lays bare some of the ugliness of which humans are capable; it also, in my opinion, begins to bring out the very human (as opposed to strictly investigator) side of Maigret not yet seen in the two books prior to this one.
Topping this one will be difficult.
May 1, 2014
Maigret Stonewalled was the first Maigret to get translated in to English, not as the Penguin edition claims, the first ever Maigret, even so it was the third official Maigret, published ten years after the first Poirot and over forty years from the first Holmes. Here we find a rather faceless Inspector sent traipsing around a town he'd never heard of and the holiday destination Sancerre on Loire 205km away from where Maigret is stationed with the Paris police. In many ways this is a pretty conventional whodunnit, much more so than other Maigret's.
What's interesting about this early incarnation of the character is that he isn't really a character, and yet he's still eminently readable as he bumbles around scratching his head in exasperation at the sheer lack of obvious links between clues. Simenon plots it in great depth, as others have said before me, much more depth and intricacy than the series would be known for, here there is hardly any of that great Simenon psychological insight AND most unlikely of all Maigret barely eats or drinks at all, two of his absolute favourite pastimes. There are red herrings galore, several suspicious characters, lie upon lie upon lie AND a death via a most unlikely contraption, the staple of the generic locked room mystery.
Maigret's (and Simenon's) affection for sad little men with sad little lives and sad little deaths is present however, in the investigation in to the death of M. Gallet it becomes apparent quite quickly that he thinks that understanding the man is much more important than chasing clues and hunting cold blooded murderers. And understanding that about this detective and author is key to enjoying the series.
What's interesting about this early incarnation of the character is that he isn't really a character, and yet he's still eminently readable as he bumbles around scratching his head in exasperation at the sheer lack of obvious links between clues. Simenon plots it in great depth, as others have said before me, much more depth and intricacy than the series would be known for, here there is hardly any of that great Simenon psychological insight AND most unlikely of all Maigret barely eats or drinks at all, two of his absolute favourite pastimes. There are red herrings galore, several suspicious characters, lie upon lie upon lie AND a death via a most unlikely contraption, the staple of the generic locked room mystery.
Maigret's (and Simenon's) affection for sad little men with sad little lives and sad little deaths is present however, in the investigation in to the death of M. Gallet it becomes apparent quite quickly that he thinks that understanding the man is much more important than chasing clues and hunting cold blooded murderers. And understanding that about this detective and author is key to enjoying the series.
August 7, 2022
Detective Chief Inspector Maigret describes the circumstances of this complicated case as "mundane, difficult and unforgettable all at the same time." He describes his approach to the police officers in his charge by stating, "I won't wear kid gloves."
When a potential suspect gets under his skin Maigret responds "in a voice that was becoming rather too dry," meaning it was verging on sarcasm.
Another description I appreciated was of a rather upright woman: "Her face was hard, distrustful, and nothing about her moved except her podgy fingers." I'm not sure if we use the word 'podgy' here in the US. For me, it is a throwback from my youth in the UK and means chubby or plump.
Another thing that reminded me of bygone times was when the cardboard folder Maigret is carrying threatens to spill its contents and Madame Gallet asks, "Would you like some newspaper to wrap that in?" Nowadays, we would offer someone a plastic or paper bag. It reminded me of the parcels I used to receive from my grandmother that were wrapped in brown paper and tied with string.
I truly enjoyed being transported to another time and place for the gradual unravelling of this puzzle.
When a potential suspect gets under his skin Maigret responds "in a voice that was becoming rather too dry," meaning it was verging on sarcasm.
Another description I appreciated was of a rather upright woman: "Her face was hard, distrustful, and nothing about her moved except her podgy fingers." I'm not sure if we use the word 'podgy' here in the US. For me, it is a throwback from my youth in the UK and means chubby or plump.
Another thing that reminded me of bygone times was when the cardboard folder Maigret is carrying threatens to spill its contents and Madame Gallet asks, "Would you like some newspaper to wrap that in?" Nowadays, we would offer someone a plastic or paper bag. It reminded me of the parcels I used to receive from my grandmother that were wrapped in brown paper and tied with string.
I truly enjoyed being transported to another time and place for the gradual unravelling of this puzzle.
April 15, 2018
Georges Simenon continues to amaze with The Late Monsieur Gallet.
In a very quick read (my copy is 155 pages), Simenon weaves a splendid tale. Once again, Inspector Maigret works mostly alone. He has a lot of resources at his disposal yet he singularly is up to the task.
There are two things I especially appreciate about Simenon. One is that he gives Maigret professional, dogged determination. With a lot of unknowns, the inspector digs and wills the facts through old-fashioned searching and sifting of clues, talking to witnesses, and lateral thinking.
The other is that Simenon has Maigret lay out the possible repercussions once he's solved the crime. Who will be hurt by the results? Who will suffer the consequences. It's very touching moral and ethical stuff.
As I said, Maigret works by himself and, even though this is written in third person, one feels him working, interacting, and speaking as if in first person.
This is a suspenseful and clever work!
In a very quick read (my copy is 155 pages), Simenon weaves a splendid tale. Once again, Inspector Maigret works mostly alone. He has a lot of resources at his disposal yet he singularly is up to the task.
There are two things I especially appreciate about Simenon. One is that he gives Maigret professional, dogged determination. With a lot of unknowns, the inspector digs and wills the facts through old-fashioned searching and sifting of clues, talking to witnesses, and lateral thinking.
The other is that Simenon has Maigret lay out the possible repercussions once he's solved the crime. Who will be hurt by the results? Who will suffer the consequences. It's very touching moral and ethical stuff.
As I said, Maigret works by himself and, even though this is written in third person, one feels him working, interacting, and speaking as if in first person.
This is a suspenseful and clever work!
August 12, 2016
I very much enjoyed Georges Simenon’s Pietr the Latvian, the very first novel in the series featuring the persistent and clever Detective Chief Inspector Jules Maigret. The second novel — published variously as Lock 14, The Carter of La Providence and Maigret Meets a Milord — not as much.
Monsieur Émile Gallet appears the epitome of bourgeois respectability: a traveling salesman of silver-plated flatware and christening cups through all of Normandy, with a patrician wife in his 2,000-franc-a-month home in Saint-Fargeau in Burgundy where he spent one week a month. But, as Maigret soon discovers, everything about M. Gallet was a lie: This shadowy man was even living in a hotel in Sancerre under a false name: Monsieur Clément. So why did M. Gallet falsify his life? And was it himself or his alter ego that led someone to first shoot and then stab him to death in the Hôtel de la Loire in Sancerre?
Maigret’s as puzzled as any of us would be: So many of the pieces of this puzzle simply don’t fit. In The Late Monsieur Gallet, the clever chief inspector emerges as human and perplexed as the rest of us; however, in the end, Maigret discovers the truth of M. Gallet’s life and death. I definitely recommend this novel. Those new to the marvelous Maigret need not fear beginning with this one.
Monsieur Émile Gallet appears the epitome of bourgeois respectability: a traveling salesman of silver-plated flatware and christening cups through all of Normandy, with a patrician wife in his 2,000-franc-a-month home in Saint-Fargeau in Burgundy where he spent one week a month. But, as Maigret soon discovers, everything about M. Gallet was a lie: This shadowy man was even living in a hotel in Sancerre under a false name: Monsieur Clément. So why did M. Gallet falsify his life? And was it himself or his alter ego that led someone to first shoot and then stab him to death in the Hôtel de la Loire in Sancerre?
Maigret’s as puzzled as any of us would be: So many of the pieces of this puzzle simply don’t fit. In The Late Monsieur Gallet, the clever chief inspector emerges as human and perplexed as the rest of us; however, in the end, Maigret discovers the truth of M. Gallet’s life and death. I definitely recommend this novel. Those new to the marvelous Maigret need not fear beginning with this one.
March 24, 2019
A twisted tale of death and money.
Spoiler alert. There are no shoot outs, car chases, or Hollywood stunts here, just a damn good yarn.
Inspector Maigret must investigate a strange death, or is it a murder, in a small French town.
Clues seem to be everywhere, but which ones are real?
Using methodical leg-work to follow up each clue we see the Inspector eliminate all the possibilities until he uncovers the truth.
As a bonus the author Georges Simenon describes the country town with glowing realism which makes for a delightful read.
Enjoy!
Spoiler alert. There are no shoot outs, car chases, or Hollywood stunts here, just a damn good yarn.
Inspector Maigret must investigate a strange death, or is it a murder, in a small French town.
Clues seem to be everywhere, but which ones are real?
Using methodical leg-work to follow up each clue we see the Inspector eliminate all the possibilities until he uncovers the truth.
As a bonus the author Georges Simenon describes the country town with glowing realism which makes for a delightful read.
Enjoy!
February 4, 2020
"é o criador de ficção mais extraordinário — não se ria — do nosso tempo. Os Maigrets não demoram entre cinco a dez páginas a começar, como em Balzac, ou vinte, como em Dickens: Simenon trata disso em dois ou três parágrafos."
— George Steiner, Entrevistas da Paris Review
Esta frase levou-me à estante procurar um Maigret, de que apenas tinha lido uns contos — um comissário da polícia tão despachado que me perdi um pouco na catadupa de acontecimentos.
Gostei, mas prefiro o Simenon dos "romances duros".
— George Steiner, Entrevistas da Paris Review
Esta frase levou-me à estante procurar um Maigret, de que apenas tinha lido uns contos — um comissário da polícia tão despachado que me perdi um pouco na catadupa de acontecimentos.
Gostei, mas prefiro o Simenon dos "romances duros".
April 29, 2015
One of the earliest Maigret mysteries that Simenon wrote, first published in 1931, Maigret finds himself investigating the death of a man found in a hotel room with the side of his face blown off and a stab wound. Another fast paced case with twists and turns where key things and persons aren't what they seem to be.
October 5, 2021
My second Maigret novel. I enjoyed the plot of this one more than Pietr the Latvian. All the characters Maigret meets are all so unlikeable. Even the victim and is Walter Mitty life. I thought the ending was clever and refreshing in what Maigret does.
A second reading and more enjoyable. Emile Gallet a commercial traveler is murdered or is he? Maigret in the heat of summer slowly unravels a complicated case where he finds the victim was a swindler. He also was slowly dying and his widow is set to collect 300000 francs. Maigret discovers the Tiburce de Saint Hilare a wealthy man was because he swindled out Emile of his real name by buying it and inheriting a fortune.
In the end Maigret discovers the truth of how Emile committed suicide so his wife would have the insurance. Maigret decides to do nothing and the widow although a horrible person gets her money.
A second reading and more enjoyable. Emile Gallet a commercial traveler is murdered or is he? Maigret in the heat of summer slowly unravels a complicated case where he finds the victim was a swindler. He also was slowly dying and his widow is set to collect 300000 francs. Maigret discovers the Tiburce de Saint Hilare a wealthy man was because he swindled out Emile of his real name by buying it and inheriting a fortune.
In the end Maigret discovers the truth of how Emile committed suicide so his wife would have the insurance. Maigret decides to do nothing and the widow although a horrible person gets her money.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2011
This is the first of the early Maigrets in which I feel that Simenon outsmarted himself. Maigret Stonewalled is altogether too rich in incident, too rich in characters, and excessively rich in strange clues that seem to point nowhere. This is one of those cases where the complexities of the crime are such that no one could be prosecuted without an excessive social cost to many of the innocent parties. I am grateful that Simenon did not continue this strain of complexity in the other works of his I have read: He seems to be best in more stripped-down situations, partly because we can get a better idea of Maigret's mind and instincts at work.
November 11, 2023
The Maigret novels are little masterpieces, as crimes are more a pretext than the main fact in his stories.
And yet his one lacks the usual spark, the characters are less pleasant comparing to other works, not to mention the "crime" itself, too weird for my taste.
And yet his one lacks the usual spark, the characters are less pleasant comparing to other works, not to mention the "crime" itself, too weird for my taste.
March 12, 2020
This was the first Maigret to be published in book form. It was published in 1931 and shows that Simenon, while clearly developed and refined his story telling technique through the years, nevertheless, came out of the shoot a genius.
In this story a man is found murdered in a hotel room. You guessed it, Monsieur Gallet. He is shot in the face, but also stabbed in the heart. The gun shot came from the window, but no trace of the gun can be found. Who shot Gallet? And why was he also stabbed?
In fact, who is Gallet? Why would anyone want to kill him? This is what Maigret proceeds to discover.
I know I am always vague with these reviews, but I just don't want to give the story away. Just know that this is standard Simenon fair with his curmudgeonly, stoical pipe-smoking detective who gives nothing away until the very end. And one never suspects the outcome.
In this story a man is found murdered in a hotel room. You guessed it, Monsieur Gallet. He is shot in the face, but also stabbed in the heart. The gun shot came from the window, but no trace of the gun can be found. Who shot Gallet? And why was he also stabbed?
In fact, who is Gallet? Why would anyone want to kill him? This is what Maigret proceeds to discover.
I know I am always vague with these reviews, but I just don't want to give the story away. Just know that this is standard Simenon fair with his curmudgeonly, stoical pipe-smoking detective who gives nothing away until the very end. And one never suspects the outcome.
May 11, 2021
★★☆☆☆ 2.5 stars
November 4, 2020
DAME AGATHA CHRISTIE AND HER PEERS
1931
Apparently this was the first Simenon/Maigret to be published in book form. In an "About the Author" short that appears before the start of the novel, we learn that this publication "was launched ... with a lavish themed party, the "Anthropometric Ball"... complete with fake policemen stationed at the entrance." Given the author was only 28 y/o at the time, that's impressive. But the publisher's knew what they had.
CAST - 4 stars: I really liked how Maigret travels to a place he has never been, doesn't really want to go, doesn't know how the trains run, must "fling himself into the last carriage" of a train. He's a big man and must spend the trip wiping sweat and getting his breath back. Then, he's the only one who gets off at a particular station, and he can find no one. In a page, Maigret has left certain comforts at home and learned of trains and sweat and investigating a case alone. You might say he grows into a new level of existence, and this juxtaposed against a quick discovery that much of Monsieur Gallet's life was a lie - he's a man with two existences - is done to perfection. Madame Gallet is much too sure of herself, then not so much when death becomes real. Her son doesn't much care about anything other than perhaps his 'fiance' as Maigret becomes lost in a messy crime. written. We've not just entered a 'who done it' but a psychological study of pretense and lies and greed.
ATMOSPHERE - 3 stars: This novel is 90 years old and yet hardly feels dated. Early on at a train station, Maigret reads a sign: "Sales Office. Plots of Land for Development". We could go today into any transportation center and see the same sign. And although we don't actually and openly discuss social status, we do know it's there, and every day as the gap widens between the rich and poor, it feels like we're heading back to feudal times. The color mauve was huge at the time as Simenon uses the shade as much as Joyce and Proust. (That 80's/90's resurrection was thankfully swift to disappear. But it's due for another round starting in, oh, about 9 years.) Maybe we will all be wearing sunglasses with our masks. A couple of hotels and a mysterious neighbor with a locked gate add to the ominous ambience.
CRIME - 4 stars: A man is shot and stabbed. In what order? Why? Where? And was he killed as character one, or character two? Is it all a mistake? This locked-room/impossible crime element gets a 4th star.
INVESTIGATION -4: Maigret is smart, unlike Allingham's Campion who is rather silly, and is at least equal to Christie's Poirot in little grey cells. But Maigret is all about work, and work he does. I found this passage great as a description of Maigret at work: "A little boy playing with a football collided clumsily with the inspector's legs. Maigret picked him up and put him down a metre away without even looking at him." Maigret has no time to be sidetracked! (Yes, this is a dated passage, there is no way a strange man is going to touch a kid these days.)
RESOLUTION - 3: We must go back in time to learn about Gallet-he's rather rotten. And greedy. Always has been. And once Maigret knows Gallet, everything falls into place. In a brief 154 pages, there are no extraneous distractions. IF there are, Maigret sets them aside. (See above.) But I did have to go back and read a few pages a second time as I'm not sure if everything is indeed deduced correctly. That's what second readings are for, anyway.
SUMMARY= 3.6. I'm looking forward to more Maigret, and there are 70+ stories to go.
1931
Apparently this was the first Simenon/Maigret to be published in book form. In an "About the Author" short that appears before the start of the novel, we learn that this publication "was launched ... with a lavish themed party, the "Anthropometric Ball"... complete with fake policemen stationed at the entrance." Given the author was only 28 y/o at the time, that's impressive. But the publisher's knew what they had.
CAST - 4 stars: I really liked how Maigret travels to a place he has never been, doesn't really want to go, doesn't know how the trains run, must "fling himself into the last carriage" of a train. He's a big man and must spend the trip wiping sweat and getting his breath back. Then, he's the only one who gets off at a particular station, and he can find no one. In a page, Maigret has left certain comforts at home and learned of trains and sweat and investigating a case alone. You might say he grows into a new level of existence, and this juxtaposed against a quick discovery that much of Monsieur Gallet's life was a lie - he's a man with two existences - is done to perfection. Madame Gallet is much too sure of herself, then not so much when death becomes real. Her son doesn't much care about anything other than perhaps his 'fiance' as Maigret becomes lost in a messy crime. written. We've not just entered a 'who done it' but a psychological study of pretense and lies and greed.
ATMOSPHERE - 3 stars: This novel is 90 years old and yet hardly feels dated. Early on at a train station, Maigret reads a sign: "Sales Office. Plots of Land for Development". We could go today into any transportation center and see the same sign. And although we don't actually and openly discuss social status, we do know it's there, and every day as the gap widens between the rich and poor, it feels like we're heading back to feudal times. The color mauve was huge at the time as Simenon uses the shade as much as Joyce and Proust. (That 80's/90's resurrection was thankfully swift to disappear. But it's due for another round starting in, oh, about 9 years.) Maybe we will all be wearing sunglasses with our masks. A couple of hotels and a mysterious neighbor with a locked gate add to the ominous ambience.
CRIME - 4 stars: A man is shot and stabbed. In what order? Why? Where? And was he killed as character one, or character two? Is it all a mistake? This locked-room/impossible crime element gets a 4th star.
INVESTIGATION -4: Maigret is smart, unlike Allingham's Campion who is rather silly, and is at least equal to Christie's Poirot in little grey cells. But Maigret is all about work, and work he does. I found this passage great as a description of Maigret at work: "A little boy playing with a football collided clumsily with the inspector's legs. Maigret picked him up and put him down a metre away without even looking at him." Maigret has no time to be sidetracked! (Yes, this is a dated passage, there is no way a strange man is going to touch a kid these days.)
RESOLUTION - 3: We must go back in time to learn about Gallet-he's rather rotten. And greedy. Always has been. And once Maigret knows Gallet, everything falls into place. In a brief 154 pages, there are no extraneous distractions. IF there are, Maigret sets them aside. (See above.) But I did have to go back and read a few pages a second time as I'm not sure if everything is indeed deduced correctly. That's what second readings are for, anyway.
SUMMARY= 3.6. I'm looking forward to more Maigret, and there are 70+ stories to go.
September 1, 2024
Early Maigret, 3rd in the recently re-released series.
Good translation of an intriguing mystery. Maigret appears to work alone with others doing footwork and invesigations to his telegrams.
The strengths of this series is Maigret and he demonstrates all his qualities, in full measure. Patience, tenancity and justice.
Again away from Paris and reliant on train tables and hotel accommodation the story is cleverly structured and a worthwhile read.
Good translation of an intriguing mystery. Maigret appears to work alone with others doing footwork and invesigations to his telegrams.
The strengths of this series is Maigret and he demonstrates all his qualities, in full measure. Patience, tenancity and justice.
Again away from Paris and reliant on train tables and hotel accommodation the story is cleverly structured and a worthwhile read.
November 2, 2021
داستان به گونه ای متفاوت از سایر داستان های جنایی به پایان میرسه
این داستان اغلب فاکتورهای یک داستان جنایی و معمایی رو داره اگرچه جنبه معمایی او چربش بیشتری داره با این وجود اگه مقداری موقعیت وحشت آفرین هم در تعریف قصه به کار می رفت نمره کامل میدادم
این داستان اغلب فاکتورهای یک داستان جنایی و معمایی رو داره اگرچه جنبه معمایی او چربش بیشتری داره با این وجود اگه مقداری موقعیت وحشت آفرین هم در تعریف قصه به کار می رفت نمره کامل میدادم
January 1, 2022
Confusingly Complex Conclusion
Review of the Penguin Classics paperback (2013) of a new translation by Anthea Bell from the French language original M. Gallet, Décédé (1931)
In order to confound the completists, this is Maigret #2 in the Penguin Classics series of new translations (2013-2019) of the Inspector Maigret novels and short stories, but it is considered #3 according to the previous standard Maigret Series Listopia as listed on Goodreads.
Trivia and Links
The Late Monsieur Gallet, under its original French title Monsieur Gallet, décédé, was adapted for French television in 1987 as Episode 72 of Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret (The Investigations of Commissioner Maigret) (1967-1990) with Jean Richard 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.
Review of the Penguin Classics paperback (2013) of a new translation by Anthea Bell from the French language original M. Gallet, Décédé (1931)
He had a great many facts: that business of the wall, the two gunshots fired a week later at Moers, the conduct of Monsieur Jacobs, the visits to Sainte-Hilaire fifteen years before, the lost key so providentially found by the gardener, the matter of the hotel room, the knife wound finishing off the work of the bullet with a few seconds between them, and finally the football team and the farcical marriage. - a listing of the clues as summed up by Inspector Maigret in Chapter 9 of The Late Monsieur GalletGeorges Simenon (1903-1989) set the bar pretty high with one of the first of his Inspector Maigret series in The Late Monsieur Gallet. In effect a locked-room mystery, although technically the room isn't actually locked, an apparent travelling salesman is killed in his hotel room by a shot to the head from several paces followed by an almost instantaneous stabbing through the heart. I'd defy anyone to solve this with the clues that Maigret accumulates over the course of the book, although Simenon mostly plays fair with the reader by dropping the tidbits throughout, starting with the odd behaviour of the victim's family. In any case, this was an impressive early outing of this classic French-language detective series.
In order to confound the completists, this is Maigret #2 in the Penguin Classics series of new translations (2013-2019) of the Inspector Maigret novels and short stories, but it is considered #3 according to the previous standard Maigret Series Listopia as listed on Goodreads.
Trivia and Links
The Late Monsieur Gallet, under its original French title Monsieur Gallet, décédé, was adapted for French television in 1987 as Episode 72 of Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret (The Investigations of Commissioner Maigret) (1967-1990) with Jean Richard 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.
January 25, 2022
I know this is sacrilege, but I didn’t enjoy this Maigret book.
The problem is partly to do with the translation; I should make clear that I read the old Penguin translation from 1963 by Margaret Marshall (published as Maigret Stonewalled). The new translation may well be better. This one I showing its age badly; it is stodgy and stale-feeling, with an absurd number of wholly inappropriate and unnecessary exclamation marks! All over the place! If you see what I mean! It did the book no favours, but I wasn’t really convinced by the book itself, either.
Maigret is out of Paris in a small town in Sancerre, investigating alone the puzzling death of M. Gallet, a man who seems to have led a double life. There is a well-painted sense of oppressive heat, but the characters and setting don’t have the depth which I associate with Simenon’s later books. The explanation of Gallet’s death springs out of a hat rather, and I found it very contrived.
In a better translation this is probably a better book (and certainly would be in the original French) but I still don’t think it’s that good. Simenon has written much better books than this and I can’t really recommend it.
The problem is partly to do with the translation; I should make clear that I read the old Penguin translation from 1963 by Margaret Marshall (published as Maigret Stonewalled). The new translation may well be better. This one I showing its age badly; it is stodgy and stale-feeling, with an absurd number of wholly inappropriate and unnecessary exclamation marks! All over the place! If you see what I mean! It did the book no favours, but I wasn’t really convinced by the book itself, either.
Maigret is out of Paris in a small town in Sancerre, investigating alone the puzzling death of M. Gallet, a man who seems to have led a double life. There is a well-painted sense of oppressive heat, but the characters and setting don’t have the depth which I associate with Simenon’s later books. The explanation of Gallet’s death springs out of a hat rather, and I found it very contrived.
In a better translation this is probably a better book (and certainly would be in the original French) but I still don’t think it’s that good. Simenon has written much better books than this and I can’t really recommend it.
November 23, 2018
First, let me say that I see nothing that would indicate these need to be read in order. I did read the first one first, Pietr the Latvian. It's been long enough that I don't remember what kind of introduction to Maigret was in that one. Here, Simenon does not especially assume that you already know Maigret. I find his character to be as well-drawn - perhaps better - than one might expect of characterizations in the genre. He's a big fellow and he likes to be challenged in his job. At first, he finds nothing especially interesting in the case. Despite this, he goes about his job with thoroughness. The more he finds out, the more he is intrigued.
These are in no way as dark as are his stand alone novels. Still, they are murder mysteries, a genre that brings out the worst in at least one character. Perhaps others will be more discerning, but I didn't see the solution until Maigret reveals it. And then he goes home to his wife.
I need to read more Maigret. Good, solid mysteries. Perhaps nothing earth-shaking, but worth turning to again and again. 3-stars, which isn't a slight from me.
These are in no way as dark as are his stand alone novels. Still, they are murder mysteries, a genre that brings out the worst in at least one character. Perhaps others will be more discerning, but I didn't see the solution until Maigret reveals it. And then he goes home to his wife.
I need to read more Maigret. Good, solid mysteries. Perhaps nothing earth-shaking, but worth turning to again and again. 3-stars, which isn't a slight from me.
April 21, 2019
Unusual murder investigation for Inspector Maigret that takes him from Paris to Sancerre. The layers of untruths he must pilot through are astounding. I have never read such a carefully plotted labyrinth of clues about identity that lead to Maigret movingly eulogizing a life bereft of identity and reward. There will be no arrest at conclusion of this case.
August 12, 2022
An English rendering follows this review.
Ecrit en 1930, ceci est le premier livre dans la série Maigret.
Si je lis un roman policier, je n’aime pas que le détectif ait un supérieur qui l’embête, ou qui l’empêche stupidement de faire son travail; ici, dès la première page, l’absence d’une telle présence ennuyeuse est évidente. Le directeur et le sous-directeur de la Police Judiciaire sont tous les deux partis ailleurs, et tous les autres inspecteurs sont occupés avec la visite du roi d’Espagne à Paris. Lorsqu’il reçoit la nouvelle d’un assassinat à un hôtel à Sancerre, Maigret peut faire ce qu’il veut, agir tout seul, sans se justifier interminablement chaque fois qu’il suit son instinct.
Le narratif se déroule sans hâte, soigneusement, détail par détail. Maigret s’obstine á examiner, vérifier, réfléchir sur tout indice minuscule auquel un détectif moins doué n’aurait pas accordé de l’importance. Le dénouement se présente comme conclusion naturelle et logique à tous les soins qu’a pris Maigret pour y arriver, mais s’appuie sur un énigme que moi je n’aurais jamais deviné !
J’ai bien apprécié le contraste entre un crime qu’on croit médiocre, et la vérité qui se révèle peu à peu, sans parler de l’humanité captivante de Maigret quand le moment arrive de faire son rapport officiel ! C’est par le moyen de faire revivre le mort, en cherchant patiemment les détails sur chaque aspect de sa vie, que Maigret grandit devant nous, déjà dans ce premier livre. J’en lirai d’autres !
This is the first book in the Maigret series.
If I read a detective novel, I don’t want to read about the detective being hampered by a less enlightened superior who insists on preventing him from carrying out his investigation. Here, it’s obvious straight away that this is not going to happen. His two superior officers are away, and all the other detectives are caught up in an official visit by the King of Spain. So when he receives the news of an assassination in an hotel in Sancerre, Maigret can please himself how he acts, and get on with the job without continually having to justify himself for following his instincts.
The plot unravels slowly, carefully, detail by detail. Maigret is particular about examining, checking and considering every tiny clue, which a less gifted detective would not bother with. The solving of the crime is a natural and logical conclusion to everything that has gone before, to all Maigret’s patient work, but it also rests on something of an enigma, which I would not have guessed.
I really liked the contrast between what seems like a mediocre crime and the truth that Maigret uncovers, without even mentioning the beguiling humanity of our detective when the time comes to submit his official report! It is by his reconstruction of the dead man, by his patient research into the detail of every aspect of the dead man’s life, that we see Maigret, even in this early book, becoming a great detective and a man to be admired.
Ecrit en 1930, ceci est le premier livre dans la série Maigret.
Si je lis un roman policier, je n’aime pas que le détectif ait un supérieur qui l’embête, ou qui l’empêche stupidement de faire son travail; ici, dès la première page, l’absence d’une telle présence ennuyeuse est évidente. Le directeur et le sous-directeur de la Police Judiciaire sont tous les deux partis ailleurs, et tous les autres inspecteurs sont occupés avec la visite du roi d’Espagne à Paris. Lorsqu’il reçoit la nouvelle d’un assassinat à un hôtel à Sancerre, Maigret peut faire ce qu’il veut, agir tout seul, sans se justifier interminablement chaque fois qu’il suit son instinct.
Le narratif se déroule sans hâte, soigneusement, détail par détail. Maigret s’obstine á examiner, vérifier, réfléchir sur tout indice minuscule auquel un détectif moins doué n’aurait pas accordé de l’importance. Le dénouement se présente comme conclusion naturelle et logique à tous les soins qu’a pris Maigret pour y arriver, mais s’appuie sur un énigme que moi je n’aurais jamais deviné !
J’ai bien apprécié le contraste entre un crime qu’on croit médiocre, et la vérité qui se révèle peu à peu, sans parler de l’humanité captivante de Maigret quand le moment arrive de faire son rapport officiel ! C’est par le moyen de faire revivre le mort, en cherchant patiemment les détails sur chaque aspect de sa vie, que Maigret grandit devant nous, déjà dans ce premier livre. J’en lirai d’autres !
This is the first book in the Maigret series.
If I read a detective novel, I don’t want to read about the detective being hampered by a less enlightened superior who insists on preventing him from carrying out his investigation. Here, it’s obvious straight away that this is not going to happen. His two superior officers are away, and all the other detectives are caught up in an official visit by the King of Spain. So when he receives the news of an assassination in an hotel in Sancerre, Maigret can please himself how he acts, and get on with the job without continually having to justify himself for following his instincts.
The plot unravels slowly, carefully, detail by detail. Maigret is particular about examining, checking and considering every tiny clue, which a less gifted detective would not bother with. The solving of the crime is a natural and logical conclusion to everything that has gone before, to all Maigret’s patient work, but it also rests on something of an enigma, which I would not have guessed.
I really liked the contrast between what seems like a mediocre crime and the truth that Maigret uncovers, without even mentioning the beguiling humanity of our detective when the time comes to submit his official report! It is by his reconstruction of the dead man, by his patient research into the detail of every aspect of the dead man’s life, that we see Maigret, even in this early book, becoming a great detective and a man to be admired.
February 15, 2024
Es 1930, en un poblado de veraneo llamado Sancerre, Francia 🇫🇷, en un hotel de la localidad han encontrado el cuerpo de un hombre de mediana edad con un balazo en la mejilla y un cuchillo que atraviesa el pecho, la pistola no ha sido localizada.
El inspector Maigret es el encargado del caso, el cual no tiene ni pies ni cabeza, al no encontrarse signos de violencia en la habitación, nadie oyó el menor ruido y la persona en cuestión no fue robada.
Emilio Gallet es el nombre del hombre asesinado, un vendedor de una casa de regalos, que recorría Normandía, visitando los poblados de la localidad, con una esposa y un hijo que trabaja en un banco 🏦, hasta aquí llega la normalidad del caso.
Conforme Maigret va investigando, pareciera que con el dedo va levantando la pintura de la pared, y aparece otro color, y si continúa raspando otro color aparecerá, una vida convencional que parece encubrir algún misterio, las pistas aparecen por todos lados, pero no logran ayudar a descifrar el misterio de quien mato y porque, al viajante de Normandía.
Simenon se apoya mucho en su personaje principal y en su interacción con el medio ambienta para dotar de atmósfera a sus casos policiales, en esta ocasión hace mucho calor, y el cuerpo grande de Maigret sufre los estragos, cuando camina o cuando tiene que permanecer encerrado en alguna habitación.
La novela es muy entretenida, y el trasfondo del misterio es algo siniestro, algo que puede parecer increíble pero que la realidad nos ha demostrado que pasa y más veces de las que quisiéramos.
Me ha gustado que los personajes están bien desarrollados, hacen su aparición cuando se necesita, ni un minuto más o menos, esto minimiza la cantidad de paja, hasta dejar una historia corta pero contúndeme.
Dos o tres detalles de la resolución suenan un poco problemáticos de ejecución en la vida real pero son necesarios para atenuar la oscuridad que rodea al asesinado.
El título si está un poco para reírse, pues no aparece ningún filántropo, y el título original aunque directo es mil,veces mejor, ‘El Sr. Gallet ha muerto”
El inspector Maigret es el encargado del caso, el cual no tiene ni pies ni cabeza, al no encontrarse signos de violencia en la habitación, nadie oyó el menor ruido y la persona en cuestión no fue robada.
Emilio Gallet es el nombre del hombre asesinado, un vendedor de una casa de regalos, que recorría Normandía, visitando los poblados de la localidad, con una esposa y un hijo que trabaja en un banco 🏦, hasta aquí llega la normalidad del caso.
Conforme Maigret va investigando, pareciera que con el dedo va levantando la pintura de la pared, y aparece otro color, y si continúa raspando otro color aparecerá, una vida convencional que parece encubrir algún misterio, las pistas aparecen por todos lados, pero no logran ayudar a descifrar el misterio de quien mato y porque, al viajante de Normandía.
Simenon se apoya mucho en su personaje principal y en su interacción con el medio ambienta para dotar de atmósfera a sus casos policiales, en esta ocasión hace mucho calor, y el cuerpo grande de Maigret sufre los estragos, cuando camina o cuando tiene que permanecer encerrado en alguna habitación.
La novela es muy entretenida, y el trasfondo del misterio es algo siniestro, algo que puede parecer increíble pero que la realidad nos ha demostrado que pasa y más veces de las que quisiéramos.
Me ha gustado que los personajes están bien desarrollados, hacen su aparición cuando se necesita, ni un minuto más o menos, esto minimiza la cantidad de paja, hasta dejar una historia corta pero contúndeme.
Dos o tres detalles de la resolución suenan un poco problemáticos de ejecución en la vida real pero son necesarios para atenuar la oscuridad que rodea al asesinado.
El título si está un poco para reírse, pues no aparece ningún filántropo, y el título original aunque directo es mil,veces mejor, ‘El Sr. Gallet ha muerto”
April 27, 2022
Simenon è una garanzia.
Mi piace il suo modo di scrivere e riesce sempre a coinvolgermi nei complicati casi da risolvere di Maigret.
Piacevole lettura.
Mi piace il suo modo di scrivere e riesce sempre a coinvolgermi nei complicati casi da risolvere di Maigret.
Piacevole lettura.
September 5, 2016
One of the earliest Maigret novels (though not the first, as my edition claims on the back), this book has an interesting mystery and a surprising conclusion. There are two problems with it. Here, Maigret is all alone, out in the country and away from the traditional cast of characters, and away from the somewhat melancholy atmosphere of Parisian crime that makes these novels so flavorful. He seems out of context, to a degree. The other problem is that the solution to the crime, although certainly novel and surprising, feels more a result of chance and serendipity rather than Maigret's (and Simenon's) masterful plumbing of the deeper reaches of human psychology and motivation.
A good read. But an average Maigret novel, not a superior one.
A good read. But an average Maigret novel, not a superior one.
December 4, 2016
FRom Tout Simenon:
Dans un hôtel de Sancerre où il était connu sous le nom de M. Clément, Emile Gallet, domicilié à Saint-Fargeau, a été tué d'une balle au visage suivie d'un coup de poignard dans le cœur, alors que sa femme le croyait à Rouen, en train d'exercer son métier de représentant de commerce.
Ecrit à A bord de l'Ostrogoth, Nandy près de Morsang-sur-Seine (Seine-et-Marne) été 1930.
Dans un hôtel de Sancerre où il était connu sous le nom de M. Clément, Emile Gallet, domicilié à Saint-Fargeau, a été tué d'une balle au visage suivie d'un coup de poignard dans le cœur, alors que sa femme le croyait à Rouen, en train d'exercer son métier de représentant de commerce.
Ecrit à A bord de l'Ostrogoth, Nandy près de Morsang-sur-Seine (Seine-et-Marne) été 1930.
March 15, 2018
I do like the Maigret books, as well as Maigret as a character (even if, in my mind, he looks like Rowan Atkinson, who does a really good job of playing him on TV), and I didn't see the twist in this one coming.
October 29, 2018
Another well-written Detective Inspector Maigret novel, this one with an ending that I did not see coming, although in retrospect I did understand where I went wrong. Lol I swallowed the red herrings hook, line and sinker.
December 29, 2019
A man under a false identity is found stabbed and shot in a puzzling case that grows more and more interesting as the book progresses. Maigret struggles to understand the mysterious victim until the very end of the story. A perfectly fin Maigret tale
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