''Maigret's Failure'' (French: ''Un échec de Maigret'') is a

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

by the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

writer

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

featuring his famous creation

Jules Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...

Overview

Fumal, an infamous bully and the owner of meat-packing industry, orders Maigret to protect him after he comes to believe his life is in danger. However, Maigret, who was one of Fumal's targets for offense as a child, does very little to protect the man. Later, Fumal is viciously slaughtered, Maigret finds himself being blamed for the murder, and so must go about the agonizing task of bringing the murdered butcher's killer to justice.

Publishing history

Originally published in French in 1956 by Presses de la Cité as ''Un Echec de Maigret'', the first English translation (translated by Daphne Woodward) was published by Hamish Hamilton in 1962. It was included in two anthologies, ''A Maigret Quartet'' (1972) and ''A Maigret Trio'' (1983).

Adaptations

A BBC TV version of the book first aired on November 6, 1961, under the title Death of a Butcher with

Rupert Davies Rupert Davies FRSA (22 May 191622 November 1976) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of '' Maigret'', based on Georges Simenon's novels. Life and career Military s ...

playing Maigret. Jean Richard played Maigret in the 1987 French TV version and

Bruno Cremer Bruno Jean Marie Cremer (6 October 1929 – 7 August 2010) was a French actor best known for portraying Jules Maigret on French television, from 1991 to 2005. Origins Bruno Cremer was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, in the eastern suburbs ...

in the 2003 adaptation.

References

1956 Belgian novels Maigret novels Presses de la Cité books {{1950s-crime-novel-stub