Sat 9 Jun 2018
GEORGES SIMENON – The Bar on the Seine. Inspector Jules Maigret #11. Penguin, US, softcover, 2007; translated by David Watson. First published in 1931 as La Guinguette a deux sous (The Tuppenny Bar). First British edition: Routledge, hardcover, 1940, as The Guinguette by the Seine. First US edition: Combined with The Flemish Shop as Maigret to the Rescue (Harcourt, hardcover, 1941). Other reprint titles include Spot by the Seine, Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine, and The Two-Penny Bar (2015). TV adaptations: (1) “The Wedding Guest.” Season 3, episode 4 (15 October 1962) of Maigret (UK), starring Rupert Davies; and (2) “La guinguette à deux sous.” Season 1 Episode 27 (11 October 1975) of Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret, starring Jean Richard.
This early short Inspector Maigret has a strangely surreal atmosphere to it, heightened by this, the second paragraph:
And the beginning of Maigret’s involvement in the case begins in an odd way, with an interview with a prisoner who is to be executed the next day, in which he tells Maigret of a murder he and a friend saw committed, an incident which they used to blackmail the killer for several years before losing track of him.
He will say no more. The only clue that Maigret has to work on is the killer is one of the regulars at a little bar called the guinguette a deux sous. Not until Maigret overhears a man buying something to wear to a mock wedding and mentioning the bar in passing does he have a foothold in the case.
Somehow getting himself involved with the wedding party, Maigret travels along with them to the place on the Seine where a group of friends congregate for fishing and fun every weekend. One of them is a killer, but who? Maigret watches and listens carefully, then suddenly and unexpectedly a shot rings out. One of the merrymakers is dead, another is standing over him with gun in hand. The latter then manages to make his escape.
For a short novel — only 154 small pages in the Penguin edition — the story is a complex one, as various liaisons between the husbands and wives gradually come to light. More blackmail is involved, based on the latter activity, and it requires some good police work as well as Maigret’s instincts and intuition to bring the case to a solid but very noirish conclusion.
Good detective work, a leading character with some character, and a noirish conclusion. What more could you want in a mystery novel?
June 9th, 2018 at 6:11 am
I read all the early Maigrets 40 years ago (or more!) but I’ve picked up many of the new Penguin editions and still hope to reread them one of these days.
June 9th, 2018 at 11:50 am
Putting together a set of the new Penguin editions is very tempting, Jeff, but since I’ve already read so many of them, I’ve decided to spend my money on books I already haven’t. It’s still tempting, though.
June 9th, 2018 at 10:45 am
I have a ton of Maigret books unread, yet every time I read one I wonder why I waited. Yet they’re not books one can read one after another.
June 9th, 2018 at 11:52 am
I kind of burned out on Maigret a few years back, Rick. This is the first one I’ve read in over ten years. I don’t think I’ll read another right away, but I don’t think I’ll wait another ten years, either.
June 9th, 2018 at 12:30 pm
I think the Maigret series is well done and I’ve read many of the novels. But my favorites are the non series psychological crime novels that Simenon wrote. There are around a hundred of them, all but a few are short novels, and almost all excellent. A few years ago I read most of them and was very impressed.
June 9th, 2018 at 3:04 pm
I have a small confession to make, Walker. I’ve never read any of Simenon’s non-Maigret books. Can you name two or three of your favorites?
June 9th, 2018 at 5:39 pm
This is probably my favorite Maigret novel. After the prolog, with the interview with the condemned man, whose clue leads nowhere, the Inspector just puts it aside and goes on about his business. It is only in the middle of a hot summer in Paris, when Maigret is planning to join his wife in the country, and by chance goes to buy a new hat that he overhears a reference to the elusive Cafe of the Three Coins. He has word sent to his wife that he won’t be joining her and follows this stranger to the cafe. I’ve always loved Maigret’s investigating style, of just ordering a drink and sitting quietly in a corner to watch everyone.
Wasn’t this the basis for movie The Man on the Eiffel Tower, that has Charles Laughton as Maigret?
June 10th, 2018 at 10:55 pm
Sorry to be so long in replying, Matthew. I thought I had from my phone while on the go, but what I thought I said has disappeared, if it ever showed up at all.
In any case, to answer your question, no, THE MAN ON THE EIFFEL TOWER wasn’t based on this particular Simenon novel, but on La Tête d’un homme (A Man’s Head) from 1931 instead., and one, alas, I’ve never read.
June 10th, 2018 at 1:46 am
Steve in Comment #6 asks about my favorite non-Maigret novels. I see from my notes that I spent most of 2015 reading Simenon’s psychological crime novels. I read most of the hundred or so novels and even thought of writing an article for Mystery File about my experience. But I couldn’t figure out how to discuss 75 or so novels in an article without making it into a long book.
I recommend that you buy an omnibus of 5 novels titled A SIMENON OMNIBUS(Hamish Hamilton 1965). Here are my notes on some of the novels:
MR. HIRE’S ENGAGEMENT–This was one of the first of his serious non-Maigret novels. Told from the viewpoint of a very strange man, a peeping Tom. Made into two movies: PANIQUE (1947 France) and MR HIRE(1989 France).
SUNDAY–Told from the viewpoint of a guy plotting to poison his wife. Looks autobiographical to me especially in regard to his relationship with the girlfriends. Simenon said more than once that he had thousands of sexual encounters.
THE LITTLE MAN FROM ARCHANGEL–Excellent tale of a second hand book store owner and stamp collector who makes the mistake of marrying a slut 16 years younger. He’s 40 and she is 24. Needless to say, this does not have a happy ending. The book and stamp details are fascinating.
THE PREMIER–Also known as THE PRESIDENT. Not only a study of politics and the political life but also a look at old age and the impact it has not only on the famous but also every man. I was so impressed by this novel that I reread most of it immediately. Made into a 1961 movie starring Jean Gabin (Le PRESIDENT).
I consider all these novels excellent and there are many more titles that impressed me, too many to list here. Also see 1001 MIDNIGHTS for more recommendations.
June 10th, 2018 at 2:58 am
Thanks, Walker. That’s a list that’s exactly what I was hoping for. And as a bonus, all in one volume, too! I’ll go hunt it down right now.
June 24th, 2018 at 5:23 pm
“What more could you want in a mystery novel” is a fair and concise way to sum up all the best Maigrets.