Maigrets Pfeife

by Georges Simenon, Karl-Heinz Ott

Nach einem langen Arbeitstag sitzt Maigret frustriert zu Hause am Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. Seine Lieblingspfeife, noch dazu ein Geschenk von Madame Maigret, ist verschwunden. Maigret denkt nach, was ihm sichtlich schwerfällt, ohne die Bruyèrepfeife im Mund: Vor wenigen Stunden hat ihm eine gewisse Madame Leroy am Quai des Orfèvres eine absonderliche Geschichte von nächtlichen Besuchern in ihrem Haus aufgetischt. Begleitet wurde sie von ihrem Sohn.
Hat er die Pfeife entwendet?

- Mit einem Nachwort des Übersetzers und einer Reminiszenz von Sir Peter Ustinov

Genres: Mystery, France, Fiction, Crime, Short Stories, Detective, Ebooks

88 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1945

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

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Working on this case Maigret has a strong additional incentive to solve it because it would let him get his favourite pipe back.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised to find that this collection of seventeen short stories is by far the best of the 50+ Maigret books I have read. As such, it is also not a bad introduction to the world of Detective Superintendent Jules Maigret of the Paris Police Judiciaire. For one thing, in Maigret's Pipe: Seventeen Stories, Georges Simenon tells us details that cannot be found in the novels, such as this item:

Maigret stuffed his lighted pipe into his pocket and went in with deliberately slow and ponderous steps. On certain occasions, particularly when he was feeling in a good humour, he enjoyed appearing unnaturally stupid, and then he looked stouter and more loutish, like a regular caricature of a policeman, lacking only a big moustache.

The collection is so go that I am hard-pressed to say which is the best story, though I am particularly fond of "The Old Lady of Bayeux," "The Three Daughters of the Lawyer," and "Storm in the Channel."

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always love these stories -love how he solves them and walks away with his pipe lit in his mouth headed home for dinner - so sympathetic great reads.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. Delightful. Short stories can be difficult for author and reader. There's not always enough opportunity for character development, for delving into plot complications, or for setting the scene. Here, in 'Maigret's Pipe: Seventeen Stories,' much depends on our knowing the Superintendent, his style and his methods. But there are new insights, especially into his genius as a detective. His doggedness as he pursues a suspect, one of Maigret's best qualities, is left for novels. Sorry, my small mistake; there is one which highlights this quality. 'Death Penalty.' Here he knows his suspect and sets out to be as persistent and irritating as only Maigret can. In 'Stan the Killer,' one of Simenon's better known short stories, a Polish gang has been terrifying the countryside around Paris. Maigret, Janvier and Lucas are conducting undercover surveillance of a seedy Paris hotel. But they don't know which of the criminals is Stan! Then there's the most delightful, 'A Maigret Christmas.' A neighbour approaches the retired Chief on Christmas Day and asks for help. A little girl across the street claims she saw Santa, and even has a small doll to prove it. Loved it. (Ap2022/Jun2025)

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simenon's Maigret is unique in his approach to crime and criminals. He never seems rushed and he maintains a contemplative mien while keenly observing the context of crime. If the criminal doesn't come to him with a confession, he usually extracts is while remaining empathetic.

Simenon mined the Maigret lode for decades. These stories are brief encounters with the policeman from his earlier days. They are "rough around the edges" as if Simenon had not fully conceived of his Maigret at this point.

If I were coming to him for the first time, I wouldn't start here.

[arcobaleno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tout cela à cause d'une pipe

Poche pagine per un racconto veloce ed essenziale, ma gustoso. La scomparsa della pipa di Maigret, quella a lui più cara, si intreccia con uno strano caso da risolvere. E come lui arrivi alla risoluzione del caso e al ritrovamento della pipa sembra un po' incredibile e casuale, inseguendo idee vaghe e imprecisate: fa sospettare che il nostro Commissario sia in definitiva anche piuttosto fortunato. Ma a noi piace così! Ci piace la sua compagnia, semplice, bonaria e quasi familiare.

Je ne crois rien du tout. Je ne crois jamais rien.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Sometimes the shorter works are better than the longer ones--which is the mark of a truly good writer. A tale rounded to perfection in less than 100 pages is worth much more than a 500-page behemoth that rambles and wanders and gets tangled in its own subplots.

We begin with a standard Simenon trope: A woman turns up at the Quai and demands (yes, demands) to see the top man. When questioned, she swears that someone is getting into her house when she's not there, or at night, moving things around and going through her things. What proof does she have? Well, none, really. Just a feeling...and a broken cup. Maigret spreads a handful of attention over his face and pretends to listen, while he thinks of other things. This time, said woman is accompanied by her adult son whom (another trope) she treats like a child and who wishes he were anywhere else. When they leave, Maigret discovers that said young man has lifted, not just one of his many pipes, but his best pipe, his favourite pipe, the one Madame M gave him as an anniversary present some time back.

And that really will not do.

We discover that the young theif has vanished from his home and place of work, taking nothing with him: no clothes, no money--not even his shoes!
What's going on here?
Where did he go?
Maigret's going to find out, whatever it takes. Not that he cares so much about the young puppy--after all, young adults do a runner every day in Paris, and often just for a change--but not in home made carpet slippers, surely? And anyway, he wants that pipe!

An excellent read.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains seventeen cases handled by Maigret— fourteen while he was in the Police, and three after his retirement. Many of these cases began very simply, almost like a domestic or traffic incident. Then things became complex, with murders and other crimes coming out from various closets.
My favourites were~
1. Maigret's Pipe;
2. Madame Maigret's Admirer;
3. Two Bodies on a Barge;
4. The Old lady of Bayeux;
5. The Drowned Men's Inn.
These stories, as exquisite sketches of life and crimes in France more than eight decades ago, laced with a dark humour that's very different from the British wit but as sophisticated as any, are solid examples of human psychology and behavioural studies.
Recommended.

[Leselissi · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok, das ging schnell. 😅
Jetzt hab ich auch endlich mal einen Maigret gelesen. 😌

[Zella Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

There are quite a few authors whom I think are at their best in short stories rather than longer work. Flannery O'Connor, Ernest Hemingway, and Truman Capote (with the exception of his magnificent In Cold Blood) are all authors whom I'd much rather read their shorter works. Georges Simenon might be the first exception to that rule.

Which is funny because it's recently dawned on me that all my early exposure to him was through his short stories. The first one I read that intrigued me enough to read more as a teenager--"Stan the Killer"--is a stand-out and definitely one of the highlights of this collection. There are a couple of other gems set in Maigret's retirement years ("The Three Daughters of the Lawyer"
and "Storm in the Channel"), when the lure of a good mystery still lulls him into action.

Like all the better stories in this collection, they run on the longer side.

That's not to say the collection is bad. It's a fun read if you already like Maigret and enjoy him as a character. A wonderful glimpse into his personality and his private life, as a matter of fact, but as mysteries, they tend to be less satisfying (with the exception of those I named).

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seventeen, mostly good stories of the burly Detective Maigret. Even a few cases he blundered into after his retirement. All the stories kept my interest, though sometimes I thought the setup was better than the solution. All in all it's hard not to like the police detective.

Recommended for nice pallet cleaners between novels. I need to read more of the Maigret novels.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5 stars -A wonderfully constructed set of French short stories involving murder victims and suspects from a wide variety of life's circumstances. Maigret is a well known detective known to close cases that others can't solve. Though at times, the reader is not privy to every aspect of Maigret's thinking. Each case is quite distinctive from the next. Towards the end of the book, Maigret attempts to leave Paris and retire from police work. Somehow, new cases still find their way to his front door. Simenon's descriptions of the France of old will have you looking for your passport. I dreaded finishing the last page because I still wanted more stories. This book is a real treat for any mystery lover. Enjoy!

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto carino e leggero, ma non è per niente superficiale. Infatti Maigret indaga su un caso che inizialmente non considera serio e ciò che lo muove é solo la volontà di ritrovare la sua pipa. Ma proprio per le caratteristiche di questo caso credo che Simenon riesca ad indagare bene l'animo umano.
Ho letto il libro in lingua originale, se si ha un livello A2/B1 non è tanto difficile.

[Christopher Roden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of stories. The characters and the locations in the Maigret stories stay with you. They could only have been set in France; no other location would work anywhere near as well.

[Lauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kunagi igiammu, 80ndatel sai seda loetud. Loomulikult ei mäletanud ma loetust muud kui et selle Maigret'i nimeline prantsuse detektiivi lood olid ikka üsna igavad ja tüütuvõitu ning segased. Seda siis teismelisele minule.
Vanale minule aga meeldis päris kõvasti. Tegemist on psühholoogilise krimiga ja tegelaste motiive ja meistri käega psühholoogiliste ajendite visandamist ja kujutamist oli puhas nauding lugeda. Kogumik sisaldab 4 pikemat juttu, või ehk isegi tolel kauge aja mõistes romaani. Neist esimene kannab nime "Maigret' esimene juurdlus", kuid pealkiri on petlik - see on kirjutatud Maigret'-sarja hilises ajajärgus, takkajärgi. Peategelane Maigret on jah loos alles märgade kõrvatagustega noor politseiametnik kuid autoril oli selle loo kirjutamise ajaks juba mitukümmend Maigret' uurimist vöö vahel.
Kogumik mahutab veel lood "Maigret ja hulgus", "Maigret' piip" ning "Seitse ristikest politseiniku märkmikus". Viimases loos Maigret' polegi, tema asemel on peategelaseks hoopis inspektor Lecœur, kuid kogu lugu ise on äärmiselt megreelik.

Päris hea oli vahelduseks moodsatele krimidele lugeda aastakümneid vana kindla kvaliteediga klassikat. Nõukogude ajal tõlgiti ainult valitud asju. Takkajärgi tarkusena tuleb nentida, et valik tehti tavaliselt kogenud käega ja need asjad mis tõlgiti olid kõik väga head - kui ideoloogiline kallutatus kõrvale jätta. Nõuka ajal tähendas see tavaliselt seda et autor oli kas päris kommunist või sümpatiseeris kommunistlikele ideedele. Georges Simenon polnud kindlasti ei üht ega teist ja ega teda palju tõlgitudki kuid need mis on, on päris kindlasti pool sajandit hiljem ülelugemist väärt.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent collection of stories. It's not at all like 19th Century detective fiction (Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). Maigret is just a different character. He's physical, contemplative, more inductive than deductive in his work. The stories are formatted simply for the most part (in this book), and there aren't many surprises for me. At times the storytelling is even lazy, in my opinion. Sometimes major events happen without Simenon expanding and exploring with prose or even dialogue.

This book, and this genre as a whole, is light and enjoyable reading, that can serve as a source of deeper analysis outside fo the works themselves. It allows you to think about the situations within the plots, how they relate to the time, and the psychology of the people of the time. I think that's one of the great things about fiction, as well as the importance of setting within a story.

[Kakha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially remember this story. Probably, the novel's unique name helped in this in its own way. This next story of the adventure of the unforgettable commissaire Maigret was published around the middle of the twentieth century, but even now it is read in one breath, at once.
The author in this book tells how, after returning from the chief's office, Maigret discovered the loss of his beloved heather pipe, which his wife gave him many years ago. And so, he began to think about where he could have lost this pipe and remembered the visit of the widow, who came to him accompanied by her son. And what that woman told about, what kind of help she needed from the detective, the reader will find out in the most interesting way and it will be difficult for him to put aside the book until he has finished reading the very last paragraph of the very last page.

[EU · Rating 4 out of 5]

La pipe de Simenon est le titre de la nouvelle qui clos ce livre. Plutôt anecdotique. L’essentiel de ce tome est pris par le roman Maigret se fâche, lui aussi écrit au début de l’été 1945. C’est sans doute un hasard mais, comme celui que je viens de finir, il se passe également dans les boucles de la Seine à proximité de Seine-Port et repose lui aussi sur l’exposition des turpitudes cachées derrière les belles façades des villas qui bordent le fleuve. Mêmes lieux et mêmes faux-semblants donc, mais 14 années séparent la rédaction de ces deux romans et l’on sent que l’écriture de Simenon a gagné en maturité, qu’elle s’est épurée. La juxtaposition de ces deux époques de l’écrivain n’en est que plus intéressante à faire.

[Tony Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seventeen short stories involving Maigret published between 1938 and 1946. They are a bit of a mixed bag, some are brilliantly entertaining, clever and a masterpiece of short detective fiction. Others are less interesting and curiously they tend to be the longer. My favourite was "Stan the Killer" - a story involving a stakeout of a hotel housing a gang of Polish cut throats. They all have as a back drop pre-war Paris with the usual French sights, sounds and smells of bistros, excessive smoking, and apartment buildings all of which have a concierge. Several of these stories involve a retired Maigret; Simenon did attempt to retire him off in in 1945 but relented and Maigret was back at work in the following novel. The timelines in Maigret novels are all over the place!

[Tony Vynckier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incroyable comment une gaffe, comme chipé la pipe d’un commissaire, peut te sauver la vie.
Sinon on aurait surement retrouvé le corps du drôle de pistolet, Joseph, un jour ou l’autre dans les roseaux de le Marne.

Cette histoire raconte de file en aiguille la recherche de la pipe volée.

Ce n’est que à la fin que toutes les pièces tombent en place et que la vérité et le magot sortent de la pénombre.

Comme dans un histoire d’Hercule Poirot, ou le commissaire Maigret, avec une nuance d’orgueil, finisse a bourrer une fois de plus sa pipe préférée retrouvée.

TONY VYNCKIER

[Susan Springer · Rating 2 out of 5]

French: A very short book. A widow and her son search out Maigret at the PJ to report intruders in their home. While in Maigret's office, the son pockets Maigret's favorite pipe as an homage to his
celebrity. The son tries to investigate on his own, suspecting that the intruders must be looking for
something valuable left by a previous boarder. In the end it's "la pipe de Maigret" that ultimately
saves his life. Not one of the best.

[Blitzsche · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eine kleine Erzählung, etwas sprunghaft, ungewohnt für Simenon, die Charaktere (eine hysterische Mutter, ein bemuttertes Muttersöhnchen) sind für einmal wenig ausgearbeitet. Am Schluss prügelt sich Maigret in einer Spelunke, auch dies untypisch, unfertig. Trotzdem gerne und rasch fertig gelesen - auch dank der erhellenden Nachworte, u.a. von Peter Ustinov.

[NoID · Rating 1 out of 5]

Faut pas voler la pipe à Maigret ! M’enfin, c’est vrai quoi, faucher la pipe du commissaire !

Mais finalement, si ça peut le décider à enquêter, ça risquerait même de vous sauver.

Une nouvelle bien trop courte pour être intéressante, à la limite anecdotique

https://www.noid.ch/la-pipe-de-maigret/

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maigret mysteries are always well plotted and his well drawn character, along with his wife and usual French detective companions are sympathetic and consistent through the very many novels and, in this book, short stories. The stories are realistic, so cover rough motives and crimes that may offend sensitive readers.

[Lauri Laanisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neli lugu Maigret´ga, või õigemini kolm, sest viimases novellimõõtu loos Maigret´ ei figureerigi, kuigi tegu oli igati Maigret´liku looga. Lihtsalt lugesin ja nautisin. Kohati on punktiiregi tihedamalt kui Celine´il...

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love these short stories.

[Jule · Rating 5 out of 5]

😍😍😍

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short gems from the master of mysteries.

[Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compact Maigret story.