Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created by writer Georges Simenon. The character's full name is Jules Amédée François Maigret. Between 1931 and 1972, 75 novels and 28 short stories about Maigret were published, starting with ''Pietr-le-Letton'' ("Peter the Lett") and concluding with ''Maigret et Monsieur Charles'' ("Maigret and Monsieur Charles"). The Maigret stories have also received numerous film, television and radio adaptations.

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year. the project was begun in November 2013 by translators

David Bellos David Bellos (born 1945) is an English-born translator and biographer. Bellos is Meredith Howland Pyne Professor of French Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton University in the United States. He was director of Princeton ...

, Anthea Bell, and Ros Schwartz.

Character

Creation

Marcel Guillaume commissaire divisionnaire 1932

The character of Maigret was invented by Simenon while drinking in a cafe and imagining a Parisian policeman: "a large powerfully built gentleman...a pipe, a bowler hat, a thick overcoat." Maigret was reputed to be based on , an actual French detective although Simenon himself variously claimed not to remember the inspiration or that Maigret was influenced by Simenon's own father. Biographers Thomas Narcejac and Fenton Bresler both see Simenon himself in his creation.

Description

Maigret is described as a large, broad-shouldered man – he is gruff but patient and fair. Recurring characters in the series include Maigret's wife Louise (usually referred to simply as Madame Maigret) and in particular "The Faithful Four", a group consisting of his four loyal police colleagues (Sgt./Inspector Lucas, Janvier, Lapointe, and Torrence). Other prominent characters include police surgeon Dr. Paul and the Examining Magistrate, Judge Coméliau, who alternates between being a help and a hindrance to Maigret. Maigret doesn't like his first name being used and prefers to be simply called "Maigret". Even Maigret's wife largely restricts herself to calling him "Maigret", only calling him by his first name a handful of times. He was from the village of Saint-Fiacre in the

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named after ...

Department, where his father Evariste Maigret was the bailiff for the local landowner; see Simenon's novel '' Maigret's Failure'' (''Un échec de Maigret''), about a school bully and contemporary, "Fatty" Ferdinand Fumal from the same village.

List of novels

List of Maigret novels with date of French-language publication as well as the Penguin reissue dates and titles.

List of short stories

List of Maigret short stories by date of first publication in French.

In other media

Theatre

A production called ''Maigret and the Lady'' by Philip Mackie toured in England and Scotland in 1965, before playing at the Strand Theatre in London in October 1965. Madame Maigret was played by Charmian Eyre, and Maigret was Rupert Davies.

Film

The cinematic potential of Maigret was realized quickly: the first screen Maigret was

Pierre Renoir Pierre Renoir (March 21, 1885 – March 11, 1952) was a French stage and film actor. He was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. He is also noted for being the first ...

in 1932's ''

Night at the Crossroads ''Night at the Crossroads'' (french: La Nuit du carrefour) is a 1932 French film by Jean Renoir, based on the novel of the same title (known in English as '' Maigret at the Crossroads'') by Georges Simenon and starring Renoir's brother Pierre Re ...

'', directed by his brother

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s. His films '' ...

; the same year brought '' The Yellow Dog'' with

Abel Tarride Abel Tarride (1865–1951) was a French actor. He was the father of the actor Jacques Tarride and the director Jean Tarride. He played the role of Jules Maigret in the 1932 film '' The Yellow Dog'', directed by his son. Selected filmography * '' ...

, and Harry Baur played him in 1933's '' A Man's Neck'', directed by

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are '' La Bandera'', ''Pépé le Moko' ...

. In 1950,

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future ...

played the first English-language Maigret in ''

The Man on the Eiffel Tower ''The Man on the Eiffel Tower'' is a 1950 American Ansco Color film noir mystery film directed by Burgess Meredith and starring Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Meredith, and Robert Hutton. It is based on the 1931 novel '' La Tête d'un homme' ...

'', adapted from the 1931 novel '' A Battle of Nerves''. The film co-starred

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

, Burgess Meredith, and Wilfrid Hyde-White. In France,

Albert Préjean Albert Préjean (27 October 1894 in Paris – 1 November 1979 in Paris) was a French actor, primarily in film. He served in World War I, and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur. With Lysiane Rey, he was the ...

portrayed Maigret in three films; '' Picpus'', ''

Cecile Is Dead ''Cecile Is Dead'' (French: ''Cécile est morte!'') is a 1944 French crime film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Albert Préjean, Santa Relli and Germaine Kerjean. It is based on the 1942 novel of the same title by Georges Simenon feat ...

'', and '' Majestic Hotel Cellars''. A decade later, Jean Gabin played the part in three other films; '' Maigret Sets a Trap'', '' Maigret et l'Affaire Saint-Fiacre'', and '' Maigret voit rouge''.

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

played the lead in a 1966 European international co-production '' Enter Inspector Maigret''. Gerard Depardieu starred as Maigret in a 2022 French film, entitled '' Maigret'', adapted from ''Maigret and the Dead Girl''.

Television

There have been numerous incarnations of Maigret on the small screen all around the world. He has been portrayed by French, British, Irish, Austrian, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, and Russian actors. A French version, ''Les Enquêtes du Commissaire Maigret'', starred Jean Richard in 88 episodes between 1967 and 1990; however, Simenon himself is said to have disliked Richard's Maigret because he would not take his hat off when entering a room. Later, Bruno Cremer played the character in 54 adaptations between 1991 and 2005. Luis van Rooten played Maigret in an episode of ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being Decision-making, undecided, or being Doubt, doubtful. In a Drama, dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the wikt:outcome, outcome of a plot (narrative), plot or of the solution t ...

'' entitled ''The Old Lady of Bayeux'', whilst Louis Arbessier appeared in a televised film of ''Liberty Bar''. The Italian actor

Gino Cervi Luigi Cervi (3 May 1901 – 3 January 1974), better known as Gino Cervi (), was an Italian actor. He was best known for portraying Peppone in a series of comedies based on the character ''Don Camillo'' (1952-1965), and police detective Jules ...

played the character on Italian television from 1964 up to 1972 in ''

Le inchieste del commissario Maigret ''Le inchieste del commissario Maigret'' (i.e. "The inquiries of the superintendent Maigret") is an Italian television series based on the detective fiction of Georges Simenon about the French police ''commissaire'' Jules Maigret, portrayed by ...

''; Simenon himself considered Cervi's interpretation of the character to be "very good." This series resulted in 14 novels and 2 short stories being adapted. In the Soviet Union, Russian theatre actor portrayed Maigret in several TV films in the 1970s. In Soviet cinema, apart from Boris Tenin, Maigret was portrayed by cinema actors Vladimir Samoilov and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. In Japan, Kinya Aikawa played ''Megure'', a Japanese-born equivalent to the French Maigret, reinvented in a modern Japanese setting, in Tōkyō. Megure Keishi, a 25-episode TV series aired from 14 April to 29 May 1978 on

Asahi TV JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compa ...

. Megure's wife was played by Sato Tomomi, who earned the praises of Simenon himself: "The best 'Madame Maigret' in my opinion, even including the French ones, was the 'Madame Maigret' on Japanese television. She was exactly right". The title role in the 1960s British '' Maigret'' TV series was played by the actor Rupert Davies, who made his debut on 31 October 1960. Davies took over the part after Basil Sydney, who appeared as Maigret in the original transmitted pilot, proved unavailable owing to ill-health. Davies went on to star in 52 adaptations for BBC TV in that decade. His portrayal won two of the highest accolades: his versions were dubbed into French and played across

the Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

; and Simenon himself said of Davies "At last, I have found the perfect Maigret!" The theme tune to the TV series, ”Midnight in Montmartre”, was composed by Ron Grainer. Kees Brusse and Jan Teulings also portrayed the character in separate Dutch adaptations produced around the same time.

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

produced an adaptation of '' Maigret'' for ITV in 1992 and 1993 in which

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...

starred as Maigret; there were 12 adaptations in the two series. An earlier version, '' Maigret'' (1988) on ITV cast Richard Harris in the lead role. In 2004,

Sergio Castellitto Sergio Castellitto (born 18 August 1953) is an Italian actor, film director, and screenwriter. Biography Sergio Castellitto was born in Rome in 1953, to parents from Molise and Abruzzo, Southern Italy. After graduating from the Silvio D'Amico N ...

played Maigret in two Italian TV movies: ''La trappola'' ("The Trap") and ''L'ombra cinese'' ("The Chinese Shadow").

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–20 ...

plays Maigret in '' Maigret'' for television films made by ITV from 2016. The first two episodes were adapted from '' Maigret Sets a Trap'' and '' Maigret's Dead Man''. Two further episodes were broadcast in 2017, adapted from ''

Maigret at the Crossroads ''Maigret at the Crossroads'' () is a detective novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon. Published in 1931, it is one of the earliest novels to feature Inspector Maigret in the role of the chief police investigator, a character that has sinc ...

'' and '' Maigret in Montmartre''. In 2021, the Simenon estate signed a co-production and licensing deal with Playground Entertainment and

Red Arrow Studios ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media & digital company. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Ventures. The company is listed on the Fr ...

to produce a new English-language series, with the option extending to the entire Maigret canon.

Radio

Maurice Denham played Chief Inspector Maigret in a series of three-quarter-hour dramatizations of the novels on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

beginning in 1976, with

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...

playing Georges Simenon. The format of each play would begin with Maigret and Simenon sitting together discussing some fact or event which would then lead into Maigret's recounting a particular case, with Simenon asking questions or commenting from time to time. After Denham's death, the series was continued in 2003 with

Nicholas Le Prevost Nicholas Le Prevost (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor. Early life Le Prevost was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, Shaftesbury, Dorset from 1957 to 1961 and at Kingswood School, Bath from 1961 to 19 ...

playing a gruffer, more earthy Maigret and

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with ''The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with '' Flaubert's Parrot'', '' England, England'', and ''Art ...

playing Simenon. In 1990-1991, abridgments of some of the novels (including "Madame Maigret's Case," "Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine," and "Maigret in Montmartre") were serialized in daily one-minute installments on WNCN, a classical music station in New York City. They were read every night at midnight in a radio program called the " H.B.J. Midnight Murder Mystery Minute."

Comics

Jacques Blondeau adapted the novels into the comic series ''Maigret'' (1950–53), published in ''Samedi Soir'' and ''Paris Journal''. Rumeu (drawings) and Camille Dulac (script) adapted the Maigret story L'Affaire Nahour into the comic strip ''Maigret'' in 1969. Between 1992 and 1997 the series ''Maigret'' inspired five albums, drawn by and .

References

External links

(bibliography, statistics, online texts, links)
Titles matching "Maigret"
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maigret, Jules Book series introduced in 1931 Literary characters introduced in 1931 Fictional French police detectives Fictional detectives Fictional French police officers Georges Simenon Belgian novels adapted into films Belgian novels adapted into plays Novels adapted into radio programs Belgian novels adapted into television shows Novels adapted into comics Male characters in literature