The summer between my sophomore and junior years of college, I lived in Berkeley, California. I was in an intensive Ancient Greek program at the university, living in the dorms, wanting desperately to seem cool. Part of this effort involved going to a small theater and watching movies in French (obvs). Well, one of them was The Cat (1971), directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre, based on the novel by Georges Simenon.
I loved this movie. It was 100% pathos, hatred, disgust, played to a level of absurdity. I loved it, and not because I was supposed to, but because it was also funny and strange and entertaining, unlike the other movies I saw that summer, which were serious and confusing and naked, but not in a fun way.
That was 2002. I’m not sure when I read my first Simenon, since I didn’t start counting for five more years, but I read The Cat in 2008, and I’ve read bunches more since then. Since he wrote around 400 novels, I’ve quite a ways to go.
Usually, I can find one or two Simenons in bookstores. They’re often the latest Penguin reissues, and I find myself puzzling over their titles and trying to remember, based on a frustratingly spare book flap, whether I have read them. (And, to be completely honest, I also read them quickly. They are like glasses of wine or string cheeses to me, delightful to consume but impossible to linger over.) Another complication: sometimes, translators will translate the title differently from the previous edition. I’ve been getting into the habit of finding old ones around used bookstores, too, which complicates matters.
Below, I have done my best to include the English title(s) and the original French. Novels featuring Inspector Maigret come first, in date order, followed by Simenon’s other novels, also ordered by date. If I have read it, the title has a strike-through.
I hope this list will help me the next time I’m in a bookstore or library and I come across one that I (really hope) I haven’t read. Maybe it will help you, too.
Pietr the Latvian/ Pietr-le-Letton (1931)
Maigret Meets a Milord [The Carter of La Providence]/ Le Charretier de “la Providence” (1931)
The Late Monsieur Gallet/ M. Gallet décédé (1931)
The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien [Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets]/ Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien (1931)
Maigret’s War of Nerves [A Man’s Head]/ La Tête d'un homme [L'homme de la Tour Eiffel] (1931)
The Yellow Dog [A Face for a Clue]/ Le Chien jaune (1931)
The Night at the Crossroads [The Crossroads murders] / La Nuit du carrefour (1931)
Maigret in Holland [A Crime in Holland]/ Un crime en Hollande (1931)
The Grand Banks Café/ Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas (1931)
Maigret at the Gai-Moulin [The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin]/ La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin (1931)
The Two-Penny Bar [The Bar on the Seine]/ La Guinguette à deux sous (1932)
The Shadow Puppet [Maigret Mystified]/ L'Ombre chinoise (1932)
Maigret Comes Home [Maigret Goes Home] [The Saint-Fiacre Affair]/ L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre (1932)
The Flemish House/ Chez les Flamands (1932)
The Misty Harbour/ Le port des brumes (1932)
The Madman of Bergerac/ Le Fou de Bergerac (1932)
Liberty Bar [Maigret on the Riviera]/Liberty Bar (1932)
Lock No. 1 / L'Écluse no. 1 (1932)
Maigret [Maigret returns]/ Maigret (1934)
The Unlikely M. Owen/ L'improbable Monsieur Owen (1938)
The Group at the Grand Café/ Ceux du Grand Café (1938)
Maigret on the Riviera (1940)
The Hotel Majestic [the Cellars of the Majestic] [Maigret and the Hotel Majestic]/ Les Caves du Majestic (1942)
The Judge’s House/ La Maison du juge [1942]
Maigret and the Spinster [Cecile is Dead]/ Cécile est morte (1942)
Death Threats/ Menaces de mort (1942)
Two Bodies on a Barge [Inspector Maigret thinks]/ La Péniche aux deux pendus (1944)
The Mysterious Affair in the Boulevard Beaumarchais/ L'Affaire du Boulevard Beaumarchais (1944)
The Open Window [Inspector Maigret Smokes His Pipe]/ La Fenêtre ouverte (1944)
Jeumont: 51 Minutes’ Wait/ Jeumont, 51 minutes d'arrêt (1944)
Death of a Woodlander/ Les Larmes de bougie (1944)
In the Rue Pigalle/ Rue Pigalle (1944)
Maigret’s Mistake/ Une erreur de Maigret (1944)
Madame Maigret’s Admirer/ L'Amoureux de Madame Maigret (1944)
Four on Maigret: Mr. Monday / Maigret's Pipe / Maigret's Mistake / The Drowned Men's Inn (1944)
Stan the Killer/ Stan le tueur (1944)
At the Étoile du Nord/ L'Étoile du Nord (1944)
Storm in the Channel/ Tempête sur la Manche (1944)
Mademoiselle Berthe and her Lover/ Mademoiselle Berthe et son amant (1944)
The Three Daughters of the Lawyer/ Le Notaire du Châteauneuf (1944)
Maigret and the Fortuneteller/ Signé Picpus (1944)
Maigret’s Rival [Inspector Cadaver]/ L'Inspecteur Cadavre (1944)
Maigret and the Toy Village (Felicie)/ Félicie est là (1944)
Maigret Gets Angry [Maigret’s retirement]/ Maigret se fâche (1947)
Maigret in New York/ Maigret à New York (1947)
Death of a Nobody/ On ne tue pas les pauvres types (1947)
The Evidence of the Altar-boy/ Le Témoinage de l'enfant de chœur (1947)
The Most Obstinate Customer in The World/ Le Client le plus obstiné du monde (1947)
Maigret and the Surly Inspector/ Maigret et l'inspecteur malgracieux (malchanceux) (1947)
Maigret’s Holiday [No Vacation for Maigret]/ Les Vacances de Maigret (1948)
Maigret’s Dead Man/ Maigret et son mort (1948)
Maigret's First Case/ La première enquête de Maigret, 1913 (1948)
My Friend Maigret/ Mon ami Maigret (1949)
Maigret at the Coroner’s/ Maigret chez le coroner (1949)
Maigret and the Old Lady/ Maigret et la vieille dame (1949)
Madame Maigret’s Friend [Madame Maigret’s Own Case]/ L'Amie de Mme Maigret (1950)
The Man in the Street [Inspector Maigret Pursues]/ L'Homme dans la rue (1950)
Maigret's Christmas/ L'Homme dans la rue (1951)
Maigret's Memoirs/ Les Mémoires de Maigret (1951)
Maigret at Picratt’s [Maigret in Montmarte]/ Maigret au "Picratt's" (1951)
Maigret Takes a Room/ Maigret en meublé (1951)
Maigret and the Burglar’s Wife/ Maigret et la grande perche (1951)
Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters [Maigret and the Gangsters]/ Maigret, Lognon et les gangsters (1952)
Maigret’s Revolver/ Le Revolver de Maigret (1952)
Maigret and the Man on the Bench [The Man on the Boulevard]/ Maigret et l'homme du banc (1953)
Maigret is Afraid/ Maigret a peur (1953)
Maigret Goes to School/ Maigret à l'école (1954)
Maigret and the Dead Girl/ Maigret et la jeune morte (1954)
Maigret and the Minister/ Maigret chez le ministre (1954)
Maigret and the Headless Corpse/ Maigret et le corps sans tête (1955)
Maigret Sets a Trap/ Maigret tend un piège (1955)
Maigret’s Failure/ Un échec de Maigret (1956)
Maigret Enjoys Himself [Maigret’s Little Joke]/ Maigret s'amuse (1957)
Maigret Travels [Maigret and the Millionaires]/ Maigret voyage (1958)
Maigret’s Doubts [Maigret Has Scruples]/ Les Scrupules de Maigret (1958)
Maigret and the Reluctant Witness/ Maigret et les témoins récalcitrants (1959)
Maigret in Court/ Maigret aux assises (1960)
Maigret and the Old People [Maigret in Society]/ Maigret et les vieillards (1960)
Maigret and the Lazy Burglar/ Maigret et le voleur paresseux (1961)
Maigret and the Black Sheep [Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse]/ Maigret et les braves gens (1962)
Maigret and the Saturday Caller/ Maigret et le client du samedi (1962)
Maigret and the Tramp/ Maigret et le clochard (1963)
Maigret's Anger [Maigret Loses His Temper]/ La Colère de Maigret (1963)
Maigret and the Apparition/ Maigret and the Ghost/ Maigret et le fantôme (1964)
Maigret Defends Himself [Maigret on the Defensive]/ Maigret se défend (1964)
Maigret Bides His Time [Maigret’s Patience]/ La Patience de Maigret (1965)
Maigret and the Nahour Case/ Maigret et l'affaire Nahour (1966)
Maigret's Pickpocket [Maigret and the Pickpocket]/ Le Voleur de Maigret (1967)
Maigret in Vichy [Maigret Takes the Waters]/ Maigret à Vichy (1968)
Maigret's Boyhood Friend/ L'Ami d'enfance de Maigret (1968)
Maigret and the Killer/ Maigret et le tueur (1968)
Maigret and the Wine Merchant/ Maigret et le marchand de vin (1970)
Maigret and the Madwoman/ La Folle de Maigret (1970)
Maigret and the Loner/ Maigret et l'homme tout seul (1971)
Maigret and the Informer [Maigret and the Flea]/ Maigret et l'indicateur (1971)
Maigret and Monsieur Charles/ Maigret et Monsieur Charles (1972)
