Georges Simenon: Difference between revisions

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'''Georges Joseph Christian Simenon''' ({{IPA-|fr|ʒɔʁʒ simnɔ̃|lang}}; 12/13 February 1903 –– 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer, most famous for his fictional detective [[Jules Maigret]]. One of the most popular authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 novels (including 192 under his own name), 21 volumes of memoirs and many short stories, selling over 500 million copies.

Apart from his detective fiction, he achieved critical acclaim for his literary novels, which he called ''romans durs'' (hard novels). Among his literary admirers were [[Max Jacob]], [[François Mauriac]] and [[André Gide]]. Gide wrote, “I consider Simenon a great novelist, perhaps the greatest, and the most genuine novelist that we have had in contemporary French literature.”<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Assouline |first=Pierre |date=2013 |title=VII. À la croisée d'une œuvre: Les écrivains face à Simenon |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=98844588&site=eds-live&scope=site |journal=Cahiers de l'Herne |language=fr |volume=102 |pages=221–225 |quote=« Je tiens Simenon pour un grand romancier : le plus grand peut-être et le plus vraiment romancier que nous ayons eu en littérature française aujourd’hui. »}}</ref>

Born and raised in [[Liège]], Belgium, Simenon lived for extended periods in France (1922–451922–1945), the United States (1946–551946–1955) and finally Switzerland (1957-19891957–1989). Much of his work is semi-autobiographical, inspired by his childhood and youth in Liège, extensive travels in Europe and the world, wartime experiences, troubled marriages, and numerous love affairs.

Simenon was born at 26 {{Ill|Rue Léopold (Liège)|fr|Rue Léopold (Liège)}} (now number 24) to Désiré Simenon and his wife Henriette Brüll. Désiré Simenon worked in an accounting office at an insurance company and had married Henriette in April 1902. Simenon was either born either at 11.30 pm on Thursday 12 February 1903 (according to the birth certificate), or just after midnight on Friday 13th (the date possibly being falsified on the certificate due to superstition).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marnham |first=Patrick |title=[[The Man Who Wasn't Maigret|The Man who Wasn't Maigret, a portrait of Georges Simenon]] |publisher=Harvest Books |year=1994 |isbn=0156000598 |pages=10–11}}</ref>

The Simenon family was of [[Walloons|Walloon]] and [[Flemish people|Flemish]] ancestry, settling in the [[Limburg (Belgium)|Belgian Limburg]] in the seventeenth century.<ref name=":0">Marnham (1994). pp. 14, 311-13, 324</ref> His mother's family was of Flemish, Dutch and German descent. One of his mother's most notorious ancestors was [[Gabriel Brühl]], a criminal who preyed on Limburg from the 1720s until he was hanged in 1743.<ref name=":0" /> Later, Simenon would use Brühl as one of his many pen names.<ref>{{Cite web |title=15 |url=https://translationreview.utdallas.edu/abr/ABR_19.1-2.2014.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801015456/https://translationreview.utdallas.edu/abr/ABR_19.1-2.2014.pdf |archive-date=1 August 2020 |access-date=17 March 2020 |website=UT Dallas}}</ref>

In 1911, the Simenons moved to 53 rue de la Loi, where they took in lodgers, many of them students from Eastern Europe, Jews and political refugees.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 34-35</ref> This gave the young Simenon an introduction to the wider world, which was later reflected his novels, notably ''Pedigree'' (published 1948) and ''Le Locataire'' (''The Lodger'') (1938).

Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Liège was occupied by the German army. Henriette took in German officers as lodgers, much to Désiré's disapproval. Simenon later said that the war years provided some of the happiest times of his life. They were also memorable for a child because, "my father cheated, my mother cheated, everyone cheated."<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 39-43</ref>

In October 1914, Simenon began his studies at the Collège Saint-Louis, a [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] high school. After a year, he switched to Collège St Servais, where he studied for three years. He excelled at French, but his marks in other subjects declined. He read widely in the Russian, French and English classics, frequently played truant, and turned to petty theft in order to buy pastries and other war -time luxuries.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 45-48</ref>

In 1917, the Simenon family moved to a former post -office building in the rue des Maraîchers.<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 43</ref> Using his father's heart condition as a pretext, Simenon quitleft school in June 1918, without taking his end-of-year exams.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 51-52</ref> After brief periods working in a patisseriepâtisserie and a bookshop, Simenon found himself unemployed when the war ended in November 1918. He witnessed scenes of violent retribution against residents of Liège accused of collaboration, which stayed with him for the rest of his life. He described these scenes in ''Pedigree'' and ''Les trois crimes de mes amis'' (My Friends' Three Crimes) (1938).<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 53-54, 212</ref>

== Early career, 1919–221919–1922 ==

In January 1919, the 15-year-old Simenon took a job as a junior reporter at the ''Gazette de Liège'', a right-wing Catholic newspaper edited by Joseph Demarteau.<ref name="Beckerp3782">Becker, Lucille Frackman. "Georges Simenon (1903-1989)." In: Amoia, Alba della Fazia and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp. ''Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook''. [[Greenwood Publishing Group]], 2002. {{ISBN|0313306877}}, 9780313306877. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Xv6R5qiDEQC&pg=PA378 378] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610134731/https://books.google.com/books?id=3Xv6R5qiDEQC&pg=PA378|date=10 June 2016}}.</ref> Within a few months he was promoted to crime reporting, signing his articles "Georges Sim". By April he was given his own opinion and gossip column, which he signed "Monsieur Le Coq.". He was also assigned interviews with leading international figures such as Hirohito, Crown Prince of Japan, and French war hero Marshal Foch. In 1920-21 he enrolled inon a course onin forensic science at the University of Liège in order to improve his knowledge of the latest police methods.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 56-65</ref>

In May 1920, Simenon began publishing short fiction in the ''Gazette''. In September he completed his first novel, ''Au Pont des Arches'', which he self-published in 1921.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 70-72</ref> He wrote two other novels while working at the ''Gazette'', but these were never published.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bresler |first=Fenton |title=The Mystery of Georges Simenon |publisher=Heineman/Quixote Press |year=1983 |isbn= |location=London |pages=32–33}}</ref>

In June 1919, Simenon had been introduced into a group of young artists and bohemians whichthat called itself "''Le Caque''" (herring barrel). The group met at night to drink, discuss art and philosophy, and experiment with drugs such as morphine and cocaine. In early 1922 one of the members of the group, Joseph Kleine, hanged himself at the doors of the St Pholien church of Liège after a night of excess with ''Le Caque''. Simenon was one of the last people to see Kleine alive and was deeply affected by his suicide, later referring to the incident in ''Les trois crimes de mes amis'' and ''Le pendu de St Pholien'' (''The Hanged Man of Saint Pholien'') (1931).<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 78-79, 93-103</ref>

Simenon's father died Inin November 1921, an event whichthat Simenon called, "the most important day in a man's life." Soon after, he began his military service. After a brief posting with the allied occupation forces in Germany, he was transferred to the cavalry barracks in Liège and was soon given permission to resume writing for the ''Gazette.''<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 89-92</ref>

When Simenon's military service ended in December 1922, he resigned from the ''Gazette'' and moved to Paris to establish a base for himself and his future wife, Régine, whom he preferred to call "Tigy".<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 84, 102-3</ref>

=== Literary apprenticeship, 1922{{En dash}}281928 ===

Now in Paris, Simenon found a menial job with a far-right political group headed by the writer [[Binet-Valmer]]. In March 1923, he returned to Liège to marry Régine. Although neither Simenon ornor Régine were religious, they were married in a Catholic church to please Simenon's mother, who was devout.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 108-09</ref>

Now with a steady income from his writing, Simenon left the Marquis' employ in 1924 and returned to Paris where he and Régine found an apartment in the fashionable [[Place des Vosges]]. Simenon was writing and selling short stories at the rate of 80 typed pages a day, and now turned his hand to pulp novels. His first, ''Le roman d'une dactylo'' (The Story of a Typist) was quickly sold and two more appeared in 1924 under the pseudonyms "Jean du Perry" and "Georges Simm".<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 112-15</ref> From 1921 to 1934 he used a total of 17 pen names while writing 358 novels and short stories.<ref name="Beckerp3792">Becker, Lucille Frackman. "Georges Simenon (1903-1989)." In: Amoia, Alba della Fazia and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp. ''Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook''. [[Greenwood Publishing Group]], 2002. {{ISBN|0313306877}}, 9780313306877. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Xv6R5qiDEQC&pg=PA379 379] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506101909/https://books.google.com/books?id=3Xv6R5qiDEQC&pg=PA379|date=6 May 2016}}.</ref>

=== Birth and retirement of Maigret, 1929{{En dash}}391939 ===

The first Maigret novels were launched in book form by Fayard in February 1931 at the fancy dress ''bal anthropométrique'' which had a police and criminals theme. The launching party was widely reported and the novels received positive reviews. Simenon wrote 19 Maigret novels by the end of 1933, and the series eventually sold 500 million copies.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 133-34, 146-47</ref>

''Maigret,'', written in June 1933, was intended to be the last of the series and ended with the detective in retirement. Simenon called the Maigret novels "semi-literary" and he wanted to establish himself as a serious writer. He stated his aim was to win the Nobel Prize for Literature by 1947.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 147-48</ref>

In 1935, the Simenons undertook a world tour which included the Americas, the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, Australia and India.<ref>Bresler (1983). p. 102</ref> They then moved back to Paris, into the fashionable Neuilly district, where they lived a life of luxury whichthat Simenon later described as "too sumptuous".<ref>Bresler (1983). pp. 112-15</ref>

They moved home to La Rochelle in 1938 because, as Simenon later explained, "I was sickened by the life I was leading." In April the following year, Simenon's first child, Marc, was born.<ref name=":22">Marnham (1994). pp. 167-69, 183-84</ref>

=== Second World War, 1939{{En dash}}451945 ===

In November 1944, following the German retreat, Simenon, Marc and Boule moved to a hotel in the resort town of [[Les Sables-d'Olonne|Les SableSables d'Olonne]], while Régine returned to their house near La Rochelle which had now been evacuated by the Germans. In January 1945, Simenon was placed under house arrest by the police and the [[French Forces of the Interior]] on suspicion of collaboration. After three months of investigations, he was cleared of all charges.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 214-16</ref>

While living in Connecticut, Simenon's book sales increased to an estimated 3 million a year, and he was elected president of the [[Mystery Writers of America]]. Simenon and Denyse made two trips to Europe, in 1952 and 1954. On the 1952 trip, Simenon was admitted to the Royal Belgian Academy.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 255-56, 259-64</ref> In February 1953, Denyse gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Georges Simenon (known as Marie-Jo).<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 248</ref> By this time, Boule had moved in with Denyse and Simenon and had resumed her position as his lover.<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 268</ref>

[[File:Georges Simenon (1963) by Erling Mandelmann.jpg|thumb|left|Simenon, 1963 by [[Erling Mandelmann]].]]

However, the relationship between Denyse and Simenon was deteriorating. They were both drinking heavily<ref>Besler (1983). pp. 193-4, 199</ref> and Simenon admitted that he had hit her.<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 293</ref> In June 1962, Denyse was persuaded to admit herself to a mental health clinic for several months.<ref>Manheim (1994). p. 291</ref> In 1961 the Simenons had decided to build a new house at Epalinges in the heights above Lausanne. The house was completed in December 1963, but Denyse lived there for only a few months before returning to the clinic.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 291-92</ref>

Denyse left Epalinges for the last time in April 1964. In November, Simenon dismissed Boule, who went to live with Marc, who was now married with children.<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 299</ref>

Although Simenon never divorced Denyse, he was now living with his companion, Teresa, and three of his children: John, Marie-Jo, and Pierre. He continued to work steadily, completing three to four books a year from 1965 to 1971, including the important works ''Le petit saint'' (The Little Saint) (1965) and ''Le chat'' (The Cat) (1967).<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 298, 302</ref>

In February 1973, Simenon announced that he was retiring from writing. A few months later, he and Teresa moved into a small house in Lausanne. He produced no new fiction from that date, but he dictated 21 volumes of memoirs.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 306-07, 309</ref>

In May 1978, Simenon's daughter, Marie-Jo, killed herself in Paris at the age of 25. In his final volume of memoirs, ''Mémoires intimes'' (''Intimate memoirs'') (1981), he wrote, "One never recovers from the loss of a daughter one has cherished. It leaves a void that nothing can fill."<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 309</ref>

Simenon underwent a brain operation in 1984, but made a full recovery. From late 1988 he was confined to a wheelchair. He died on 4 September 1989, following a fall.<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 320</ref>

Simenon's published works include 192 novels written under his own name,<ref name=":05">{{Cite book |last=Alavoine |first=Bernard |title=Georges Simenon, Parcours d'une œuvre |publisher=Encrage Édition |year=1998 |isbn=978-2-36058-943-2 |pages=94 |language=fr}}</ref> over 200 novels written under various pseudonyms, four autobiographies and 21 volumes of memoirs.<ref name=":03">Marnham (1994). pp. 2-3</ref> He also wrote a large quantity of short fiction. His novels had sold over 500 million copies by the time of his death, making him one of the highest selling novelists in history.<ref name=":03" /> In 2008, [[The Times]] named Simenon the second greatest crime writer of all time after [[Patricia Highsmith]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Forshaw|first1=Barry|title=The 50 Greatest Crime Writers, No 2: Georges Simenon|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3767261.ece|date=April 17, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706140904/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3767261.ece |archive-date=6 July 2008 }}</ref>

The early Maigret novels generally received positive reviews and were acknowledged as an attempt to raise the standard of the French crime novel. Several critics, however, made fun of the speed with which they were written. ''[[Le Canard enchaîné|Le Canard Enchaîné]]'' told its readers, "Monsieur Georges Simenon makes his living by killing someone every month and then discovering the murderer."<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 134, 158</ref>[[File:2003 Belgium 10 euro Georges Simenon back.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Belgium)#2003coinage|The 100 Years of Georges Simenon coin]]]]The Maigret stories are short and characterised by their short length, simple writing style and a deliberately restricted vocabulary (which Simenon estimated was limited to 2000 words). Simenon stated that his Maigret novels were designed to be read by people of average education in a single sitting.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 141-2</ref><ref>Besler (1983). p. 2</ref>

[[Patrick Marnham]], [[Scott Bradfield]] and others state that the early Maigrets were innovative because the detective doesn't hunt for clues or use deduction to find the guilty party, but rather immerses himself in the life and environment of the victim and suspected criminal. In most cases, Maigret seeks to understand the criminal rather than judge him.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 132-3, 136.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bradfield |first=Scott |date=20 February 2015 |title=The case of Georges Simenon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/books/review/the-case-of-georges-simenon.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=5 February 2023 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>Besler (1983) p 79</ref>

Simenon stated that his Maigret stories often deal with more serious themes thatthan those of his other novels.<ref>Besler p. 83-4</ref> Recurrent themes include political influence over the justice system, snobbery and class divisions, and the role of social background and pure chance in determining whether an individual becomes a criminal or a respected member of society.<ref>Marnham (1994) p. 135, 145-46</ref>

Marnham, Fenton Besler and others have pointed out that the plots of the Maigret novels are often implausible and internally inconsistent.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 135, 143</ref><ref>Besler (1983). pp. 78-79</ref> However, critics have praised Simenon's ability to concisely evoke concisely the atmosphere of a particular place and to provide insights into human psychology.<ref>Besler (1983) pp. 80-81</ref> Referring to ''The Saint-Fiacre Affair'', John Banville wrote, "The story is silly, as usual, but the evocation of the little town and its people makes such considerations irrelevant."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Banville |first=John |date=11 January 2020 |title=Maigret and the Master |pages=8 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>

In 2003, the collection [[Bibliothèque de la Pléiade|La Pléiade]] published 21 of Simenon's novels in two volumes. The novels were selected by Professor [[Jacques Dubois (Walloon Professor)|Jacques Dubois]], President of the [[Centre for Georges Simenon Studies]] at the [[Université de Liège]], and his assistant Benoît Denis, both experts on Simenon.<ref name=":424">{{cite web |title=The Simenon Year - Le Soir magazine - 2003 |url=http://www.trussel.com/maig/ls03-pleiade-e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173148/http://www.trussel.com/maig/ls03-pleiade-e.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=23 June 2015 |work=trussel.com}}</ref> A third volume of 8eight novels and two autobiographical works was published in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Georges Simenon, Pedigree et autres romans |url=https://www.la-pleiade.fr/Catalogue/GALLIMARD/Bibliotheque-de-la-Pleiade/Pedigree-et-autres-romans |access-date=8 February 2023 |website=La Pléiade |language=fr}}</ref>

* ''[[Les Fiançailles de M. Hire|Les Fiançailles de Mr. Hire]]'' (1933) (''The Engagement''; ''Monsieur Hire's Engagement'')

*''[[Maigret (1988 Filmfilm)|Maigret]]'' (1988) appeared on ITV casting [[Richard Harris]] in the lead role.

*{{cite book |last1=Marnham |first1=Patrick |title=[[The Man Who Wasn't Maigret|The Man who wasn't Maigret, A Portrait of Georges Simenon]] |publisher=Harvest/Harcourt Brace & Company |location=New York |year=1994 |isbn=0156000598}}