Georges Simenon Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Inspector Maigret Books
Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett / Pietr the Latvian | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Meets a Milord / The Carter of 'La Providence' | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Death of Monsieur Gallet / The Late Monsieur Gallet / Maigret Stonewalled | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien / The Crime of Inspector Maigret / Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A Battle of Nerves/ A Man\'s Head / Maigret Bides His Time / The Patience of Maigret / Maigret\'s Patience | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Yellow Dog / Maigret and the Concarneau Murders | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret at the Crossroads / The Night at the Crossroads | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret in Holland/ A Crime in Holland | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Sailors' Rendezvous / Maigret Answers a Plea / The Grand Banks Cafe | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin / Maigret At the Gai-Moulin | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine / The Two-Penny Bar | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Shadow Puppet / Maigret Mystified | (1932) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Goes Home / The Saint-Fiacre Affair / Maigret on Home Ground / Maigret and the Countess | (1932) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Flemish Shop / The Flemish House | (1932) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Death of a Harbor-Master / Misty Harbour / Maigret and Monsieur Labbe | (1932) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Madman of Bergerac | (1932) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Liberty Bar / Maigret on the Riviera | (1932) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Lock No. 1 / The Lock at Charenton | (1933) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret / Maigret Returns | (1934) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Cellars of the Majestic / Maigret and the Hotel Majestic | (1942) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Judge's House / Maigret in Exile | (1942) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Spinster / Cécile is Dead | (1942) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Fortuneteller / To Any Lengths / Signed, Picpus | (1944) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Félicie / Maigret and the Toy Village | (1944) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Inspector Cadaver / Maigret's Rival | (1944) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Gets Angry / Maigret in Retirement | (1947) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret in New York / Maigret in New York's Underworld | (1947) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Holiday / A Summer Holiday / No Vacation for Maigret | (1948) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Dead Man / Maigret's Special Murder | (1948) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's First Case | (1949) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
My Friend Maigret / The Methods of Maigret | (1949) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret at the Coroner's / Maigret and the Coroner | (1949) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Old Lady | (1950) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Madame Maigret's Own Case / The Friend of Madame Maigret / Madame Maigret's Friend | (1950) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Memoirs | (1951) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret in Montmartre / Maigret and the Strangled Stripper / Maigret at Picratt's | (1951) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Takes a Room / Maigret Rents a Room | (1951) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Burglar's Wife / Maigret and the Tall Woman | (1951) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Gangsters / Inspector Maigret and the Killers / Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Revolver | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Man on the Bench / Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard | (1953) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Afraid / Maigret Is Afraid | (1953) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Mistake | (1953) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Goes to School | (1954) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Calame Report / Maigret and the Minister | (1954) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Dead Girl / Maigret and the Young Girl | (1954) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Headless Corpse | (1955) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Sets a Trap | (1955) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Failure | (1956) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Enjoys Himself / Maigret's Little Joke / None of Maigret's Business | (1957) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Travels / Maigret and the Millionaires | (1958) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Has Scruples / Maigret's Doubts | (1958) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses | (1959) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Secret / Maigret Has Doubts | (1959) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret in Court | (1960) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Old People / Maigret in Society | (1960) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Idle Burglar / Maigret and the Lazy Burglar | (1961) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Black Sheep / Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse | (1962) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Saturday Caller | (1962) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Tramp / Maigret and the Dosser / Maigret and the Bum | (1963) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Fury / Maigret Loses His Temper / Maigret's Anger | (1963) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Ghost / Maigret and the Apparition | (1964) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret on the Defensive / Maigret Holds His Own / Maigret Defends Himself | (1964) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Nahour Case | (1966) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Pickpocket / Maigret's Pickpocket | (1967) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret in Vichy / Maigret Takes the Waters | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret Hesitates | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Boyhood Friend / Maigret's Childhood Friend | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Killer | (1969) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Wine Merchant | (1970) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Madwoman / Maigret's Madwoman | (1970) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Loner | (1971) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and the Informer / Maigret and the Flea | (1972) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret and Monsieur Charles | (1973) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Inspector Maigret Short Story Collections
Maigret's Pipe: Seventeen Stories | (1945) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maigret's Christmas | (1976) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
The Girl with a Squint | (1931) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Engagement | (1933) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Tropic Moon | (1933) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Window Over the Way | (1933) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Lodger | (1934) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Long Exile | (1935) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Donadieu's Will | (1936) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By | (1938) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Girl In Waiting | (1938) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Three Crimes | (1938) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Strangers in the House | (1940) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Widow | (1942) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Truth About Bebe Donge | (1942) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Across the Street | (1942) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Suspect | (1944) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Monsieur Monde Vanishes | (1945) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Three Bedrooms in Manhattan | (1946) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Act of Passion | (1946) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Mahé Circle | (1946) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Death of a Nobody | (1947) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Pedigree | (1948) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Snow Was Dirty | (1948) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Magnet of Doom | (1948) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Bottom Of The Bottle | (1949) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Four Days in a Lifetime | (1949) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Pitards | (1949) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Strange Inheritance | (1950) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Heart of a Man | (1950) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A New Lease On Life | (1951) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Burgomaster of Furnes | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Escape in Vain | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Havoc by Accident | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
On the danger line | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Belle | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
In Two Latitudes | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Trial of Bebe Donge | (1952) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Dirty Snow | (1953) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Red Lights | (1953) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Iron Staircase | (1953) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Watchmaker of Everton | (1954) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Clockmaker | (1954) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Big Bob | (1954) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Accomplices | (1955) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Rules of the Game | (1955) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Burial of Monsieur Bouvet | (1955) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Fugitive | (1955) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A Sense of Guilt | (1955) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Little Man From Archangel | (1956) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Stowaway | (1957) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Sunday | (1958) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The President | (1958) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Son | (1958) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Widower | (1959) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Grandmother | (1959) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Negro | (1959) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Young Cardinaud | (1959) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Blue Room | (1960) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Betty | (1960) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Justice | (1960) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Family Lie | (1960) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Train | (1961) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Striptease | (1961) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Poisoned Relations | (1961) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The hatter's ghosts | (1961) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Door | (1962) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The House on Quai Notre Dame | (1962) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Others | (1962) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Bells of Bicetre | (1963) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Magician | (1963) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Inquest on Bouvet | (1963) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Man With the Little Dog | (1964) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Venice Train | (1965) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Survivors | (1965) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Venice Train | (1965) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Black Rain | (1965) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Ticket of Leave | (1965) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Cat | (1966) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Old Man Dies | (1966) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Old Man Dies | (1966) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Mouse | (1966) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Fate of the Malous | (1966) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Little Saint | (1967) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Brothers Rico | (1967) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Reckoning | (1967) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The neighbours | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Prison | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Premier | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The confessional. | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Patient | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Witnesses | (1968) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself in | (1969) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Uncle Charles | (1969) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
November | (1970) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Rich Man | (1970) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Enigmas | (1970) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Glass Cage | (1971) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Innocents | (1972) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Disappearance Of Odile | (1972) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Magician | (1974) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Girl in His Past | (1976) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Nightclub | (1977) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The White Horse Inn | (1979) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Little Doctor | (1981) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Outlaw | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Murderer | (2013) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Hand | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
Simenon's Paris | (1970) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
When I Was Old | (1971) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Letter to My Mother | (1976) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Intimate Memoirs: Including Marie-Jo's Book | (1981) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Anthologies
Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews | (1957) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Nine Detective Stories | (1964) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
City Sleuths and Tough Guys | (1989) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Murder at Christmas | (1991) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Murder Intercontinental | (1996) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Oxford Book of Detective Stories | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Murder On The Railways | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Georges Simenon, better known as the creator of the famous detective, Jules Malgret, was a Belgian writer who has published over 200 novels and many other short works making him one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century.
Simenon was born on 13 February, 1903 at the provincial town of Liege in Belgium. Born to Desire Simenon and Henriette Simenon, George’s birth date was changed to 12 February owing to the superstition of number 13 being an unlucky number. George had a sibling, Christian Simenon who was born in September, 1906. Christian was his mother’s favorite child which despised him in his growing days. he began reading at the age of three at the Saint Julienne nursery school. He started his studies in the College Saint-Louis in 1914 but dropped out in 1918 without even taking the end year exams, citing his father’s ailment. A 15 year old George took a number of short term jobs of various kinds.
In 1919, he started work in a newspaper called ‘Gazette De Liege’. It was here that George Simenon first encountered the wide world of politics, crime and people in general as a writer of the common human interests section. He was notably exposed to police investigations and criminal psychology. His job taught him the art of quick editing which enabled him to publish his first novel in 1921, ‘Au Pont Des Arches’ under the pen name, ‘G Sim’ . In this period, he became familiar with a wide diaspora of people who appeared in many of his future novels.
His father’s death in 1922 made him move to Paris with his future wife, Regine Renchon whom he met while working in Liege. He married her in 1923. His creative works started paying him financial dividends in France. It was in 1930 that his most famous character, Commissaire Maigret made his first appearance. It was as a short piece written in the ‘Detective’which he wrote on special request. It was written while boating around the Dutch town of Delfzijl. A statue of Malgret in Delfzijl is a sweet reminder of the story. Later, the beloved character featured in many crime novels written by George.
Beginning in 1932, George traveled extensively going from Africa to Turkey to the Soviet Union. It was followed by a reporting tour around the world in 1934 and 1935. During the second world war, George Simenon was accused of collaborating with the Germans. Though he was an apolitical man, this accusation arose as a result of his deal with the German film studio for the adaptation of one of his works. He was sentenced for five years during which he wasn’t allowed to publish any new work. This sentence was kept as a secret from the public.
Simenon escaped from France in 1945 and arrived in the North America along with his wife. He first lived in a modern style house in Quebec, Canada where he published three novels. He later moved to the United States. In the US, he lived in Florida for a brief period before moving to Arizona. He wrote a novel, ‘The bottom of the bottle’ , which is inspired by his days in Arizona. Following a short stay in California, he finally moved to a large house in Lakeville, Connecticut which formed the background of another of his novel, ‘The death of Belle’. In the United States, he and his son, Marc learned to speak English fluently.
In 1945, Simenon began a romantic relationship with a girl who was seventeen years younger than him, Denyse Ouimet. She was to be hired as a secretary but ended up marrying Simenon after he divorced his first wife in 1949 after a legal tussle. George and Denyse married in Nevada in 1950 and subsequently had three children together. His first wife continued to remain in close proximity to George and her son, Marc as part of the settlement. In 1952, Simenon visited his homeland Belgium where he was made a member of the Royal Belgian Academy. Simenon though never lived in Belgium after 1922.
In 1955, he moved with his family back to France but later settled in Switzerland. In 1963, he got himself an enormous house constructed according to his own design in Epilanges near Lausanne. Simenon and Denyse separated in 1964 sicne he had become romantically involved with his housekeeper, Teresa who was hired in 1961. Teresa remained with George for the rest of his life. His daughter with Denyse committed suicide in 1978 at the age of 25 which darkened Simenon’s later years.
Simenon underwent a brain tumor surgery in 1981 but his health weakened considerably. On the night of 3-4 September in 1989, George Simenon died in his sleep of natural causes in his house in Lausanne. He was honored by a Silver commemorative coin minted in 2003 in Belgian celebrating the centenary of George Simenon’s birth.
Books:
Widely known as the creator of the detective, Commissaire Maigret, he was allegedly capable of writing 60-70 pages a day making him one of the most prolific writers of the modern times. He has written under about a dozen pseudonyms and a total of 550 million copies of his works have been sold. He published a series of novels and short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. Altogether, 75 novels and 28 short stories have featured Maigret.
‘The Strange Case of Peter the Lett’was the first novel featuring inspector Jules Maigret. Published in 1931, it introduced the suave French detective who later became a household name in the world of crime novels. Later that year, another novel in the series was published, called the ‘The Crime at Lock 14’. Maigret is termed as the Sherlock Holmes of France. The character is an eccentric detective who has an exceptional eyesight. He is shown to be a bit claustrophobic and a bit short of stamina. Supported by three assistants, he goes about his cases smoking a pipe. Maigret doesn’t use reasoning and instead relies on his intuition and his unique perception abilities which make him different form the other detectives. There is a mysterious yet awe inspiring element in his identification of criminals. His attributes are shown to be patience and compassion and his single minded pursuit of justice.
Adaptations:
George Simenon’s works have regularly been adapted as television shows or movies. The character, Maigret has been portrayed by French, British, Irish, Austrian, Belgian, Russian, German and Japanese actors. One of the first was a 1932 french film called ‘Night at the Crossroads’. Since then a number of French and English films have been released adapting one or he other of his books featuring inspector Jules Maigret. It was also the inspiration behind a British crime drama series called, ‘Maigret’ in 1991 which received both critical and audience acclaim.
George Simenon is one of the greatest writers of the modern times and he will forever live on in the form of his books and characters.
Book Series In Order » Authors »
i wanted to see if i had missed any for my collection. many thanks john