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Maigret and the Wine Merchant: Inspector Maigret #71
'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves
'Maigret had never been comfortable in certain circles, among the wealthy bourgeoisie where he felt clumsy and awkward ... Built like a labourer, Oscar Chabut had hauled himself up into this little world through sheer hard work and, to convince himself that he was accepted, he felt the need to sleep with most of the women.'
When a wealthy wine merchant is shot in a Paris street, Maigret must investigate a long list of the ruthless businessman's enemies before he can get to the sad truth of the affair.
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century' Guardian
'Maigret had never been comfortable in certain circles, among the wealthy bourgeoisie where he felt clumsy and awkward ... Built like a labourer, Oscar Chabut had hauled himself up into this little world through sheer hard work and, to convince himself that he was accepted, he felt the need to sleep with most of the women.'
When a wealthy wine merchant is shot in a Paris street, Maigret must investigate a long list of the ruthless businessman's enemies before he can get to the sad truth of the affair.
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century' Guardian
ebook
Published September 5, 2019
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About the author
Georges Simenon
2,751 books2,310 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 29, 2024
This 1970 novel is late Maigret. Simenon had been publishing Maigrets for almost forty years at this point.
There is little sign of aging. The spare prose sparkles. He still has the ability to quickly and brutally sketch a character. "Although Oscar was dressed by the finest tailors, he still remained a sort of a brute, and there was still something awkward about him." He still moves up and down the social scale of Paris from the idle rich to the middleclass shop owner to the most desperate boarding house.
Simenon is also still a master at succinctly and plainly letting Maigret explain his approach to policing. " We are all to be pitied in some way. I try to understand. My aim is not to decide each person's share of blame."
This is a classic murder mystery plot. A completely vile rich man is killed, and the challenge is picking among the huge number of suspects with a motive. Oscar Chabut is a very successful wine wholesaler. He is shot coming out of an upscale brothel in Paris. He is a compulsive womanizer who has had affairs with his friend's wife's, his employees and multiple other women. He is crude, nasty and domineering. His wife knows what he is up to and has multiple affairs of her own.
Maigret doggedly goes about solving the crime, while at the same time developing more and more evidence of Chabut's villainy. Simenon's books are never overtly autobiographical, but it is tempting to wonder if he was having second thoughts about his own compulsive sexual conquests as he outlines the selfishness and desire to control which drove Chabut. By the end of the book Maigret clearly has more sympathy for the murderer than the victim.
The 1960s barely make an appearance in this book. Paris had gone through a massive upheaval in 1968. The French twist on English hippiedom was at its height. Woman's liberation, the Vietnam war, the drug culture all were everywhere. None of those issues touch this story. About the only change in the books since 1931 is that Maigret and his wife watch TV rather than go to the movie theater.
These books are not uplifting. They are stoic. Magret ploddingly does his job because it has to be done. It is not noble work, and he gets no thrill from dealing out justice or fighting bad guys. He does take a certain pleasure in doing a hard job well.
The last line of this novel is even more pessimistic than is usual in this series.
There is little sign of aging. The spare prose sparkles. He still has the ability to quickly and brutally sketch a character. "Although Oscar was dressed by the finest tailors, he still remained a sort of a brute, and there was still something awkward about him." He still moves up and down the social scale of Paris from the idle rich to the middleclass shop owner to the most desperate boarding house.
Simenon is also still a master at succinctly and plainly letting Maigret explain his approach to policing. " We are all to be pitied in some way. I try to understand. My aim is not to decide each person's share of blame."
This is a classic murder mystery plot. A completely vile rich man is killed, and the challenge is picking among the huge number of suspects with a motive. Oscar Chabut is a very successful wine wholesaler. He is shot coming out of an upscale brothel in Paris. He is a compulsive womanizer who has had affairs with his friend's wife's, his employees and multiple other women. He is crude, nasty and domineering. His wife knows what he is up to and has multiple affairs of her own.
Maigret doggedly goes about solving the crime, while at the same time developing more and more evidence of Chabut's villainy. Simenon's books are never overtly autobiographical, but it is tempting to wonder if he was having second thoughts about his own compulsive sexual conquests as he outlines the selfishness and desire to control which drove Chabut. By the end of the book Maigret clearly has more sympathy for the murderer than the victim.
The 1960s barely make an appearance in this book. Paris had gone through a massive upheaval in 1968. The French twist on English hippiedom was at its height. Woman's liberation, the Vietnam war, the drug culture all were everywhere. None of those issues touch this story. About the only change in the books since 1931 is that Maigret and his wife watch TV rather than go to the movie theater.
These books are not uplifting. They are stoic. Magret ploddingly does his job because it has to be done. It is not noble work, and he gets no thrill from dealing out justice or fighting bad guys. He does take a certain pleasure in doing a hard job well.
The last line of this novel is even more pessimistic than is usual in this series.
February 22, 2025
Maigret's world is again cold and damp, and though he is miserable with flu he is roused to deal with two murders, supported endlesslly by his wife who seems to have no other purpose in life.
Once again his cast are on the whole a nasty lot, mean, unfeeling, self-centred - the victims, the perpetrators and the people they worked or lived with.
I found myself wondering how much of Simenon's own world view is reflected in the Maigret books, and I suspect quite a bit. Not in Maigret himself, but in the cold world he inhabits.
There's a nice piece on simenon and Maigret in the New Statesman:
https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/...
Once again his cast are on the whole a nasty lot, mean, unfeeling, self-centred - the victims, the perpetrators and the people they worked or lived with.
I found myself wondering how much of Simenon's own world view is reflected in the Maigret books, and I suspect quite a bit. Not in Maigret himself, but in the cold world he inhabits.
There's a nice piece on simenon and Maigret in the New Statesman:
https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/...
August 28, 2025
It is curious that Maigret deals with so many loners in his work but does not feel threatened by them even if they have a gun. This is one such which has a cast of dozens of rich and successful people who practice bed hopping as often as the mere mortals of the petit bourgeois discuss the latest scandal revealed in their daily papers.
The Wine Merchant is an unbelievable character who surely would have had his comeuppance a long time before he did.
The Wine Merchant is an unbelievable character who surely would have had his comeuppance a long time before he did.
November 8, 2024
Another one ticked off excellently read as ever.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews