Belgian-born French novelist, one of the most skilled and literate writers of detective fiction. Simenon is best known as the creator of Paris police detective Inspector Maigret. He turned out 84 Maigret mysteries and 136 other novels, but he never wrote the 'big' novel that many critics demanded of him. Over 500 million copies of Simenon's books have been printed and translated into 50 languages.

"'Truth never seems true. I don't mean only in literature or in painting. I won't remind you either of those Doric columns whose lines seem to us strictly perpendicular and which only give that impression because they are slightly curved. If they were straight, they'd look as if they were swelling, don't you see?'" (from Maigret's Memoirs, 1950)

Georges Simenon was born in Liège on 13 February 1903, the first son of Désiré Simenon and Henriette Brüll. Because his birthday was Friday the 13th, his superstitious aunt changed the date to February 12. Simenon's father was an accountant for an insurance company. He died in 1921. At the age of sixteen Simenon was forced by his father's ill health to abandon his studies. He worked as a baker and a bookseller and began his career as a writer at a local newspaper, Gazette de Liège. This experience provided the young Simenon with the perfect apprenticeship. At the age of seventeen he published his first novel. He joined a group of painters, writers, and dilettantes who called themselves La Caque (The Cask) and spent time drinking, trying drugs, and discussing philosophy and art. Later he returned to the group and several of its members in the novel Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien (1931). In 1923 he married Règine Renchon, a young artist, whom he had met in Liège. The marriage ended in divorce.

In 1922 Simenon went to Paris, publishing short stories and popular novels under almost two dozen different pen names. He worked as an office clerk for a right-wing writer, and was a secretary to a wealthy aristocrat, the Marquis de Tracy. Simenon lived in France from 1923 to 1939, during which time his writing turned into an industry of novels. Between 1923 and 1933 Simenon produced more than 200 books of pulp fiction under several pseudonyms. From 1931 to 1934 Simenon wrote 19 Maigret novels. After a pause of 8 years, Maigret returned again in 1942 with three new stories.

The social life of Paris provided for the successful author innumerable sources of delight. In 1925 Simenon saw the legendary Josephine Baker dance in the famous show, La revue Nègre, and they became close friends. In 1928 and 1929 he sailed the rivers and canals of France, Holland, and Northern Europe, writing all the while. These journeys supplied material for several of his novels, among them Le Charretier de "la Providence" (1931). Throughout the 1930s Simenon lived in many houses, he cruised the Mediterranean, and travelled in Lapland, Africa, and eastern Europe.

With the appearance of Le coup de lune (1933), about corruption and colonial rule in Gabon, Simenon was banned from entering the French Equatorial Africa. In Odessa Simenon saw starving people and was followed by the secret police. Les gens d'en face (1933), an anti-communist novel, was considered by André Gide an accurate description of the Russian atmosphere. Between the years 1934 and 1935 Simenon made an around-the-world cruise. "I have never been able to write a novel about a country which I have known only as a tourist, and I have never traveled around the world with a notebook in hand, jotting down impressions." (preface in Simenon: An American Omnibus, 1967)

The first novel, which Simenon published under his own name, was Pietr-le-Letton (1930, The Strange Case of Peter the Lett), where he introduced to the public Inspector Maigret. The character was apparently modelled on the author's great-grandfather. In this and the following books Simenon combined his moral objectivity and psychological insight to create characters that are wholly credible. Another series character, Jean Dollent, "the Little Doctor", appeared in short stories, which have been collected in The Little Doctor (1943). In the early 1930s Simenon produced eighteen Maigret books, but abandoned the character for eight years. By the end of the 1930s he was the favorite of such writers as André Gide, Ford Madox Ford (who mentions him in Vive Le Roy), and Robert Graves.

In 1939 Simenon was appointed commissioner for Belgian refugees at La Rochelle. When the German army invaded France, Simenon settled in Fontenay. During the years of occupation he continued writing and enjoyed success in the film business – under Nazi bureaucracy nine films based on his text were produced.

After the war Simenon found himself in the lists of collaborators. In 1945 he moved to Canada and from there to Tucson, Arizona. He spent the late 1940s and early 1950s in the United States. In New York Simenon met the bilingual young French-Canadian woman, Denyse Ouimet, with whom he had one of the great love affairs of his life. The relationship inspired the novel Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946). He married Denise in 1949 and moved with his new family to Connecticut, where he lived for the next five years. During this period he wrote several novels with an American background. Belle (1954) was a story of murder in a small Connecticut community. The Hitchhiker (1955) explored a battle of wills between husband and wife, and The Brothers Rico (1954) was a Mafia story. Simenon's unusually hard-boiled style echoes the work of Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain.

"Call me Mike."
But there was no mistake about it. This was no license to get chummy with him. It applied to the respectful familiarity which in certain groups, in certain small towns, surrounds those of importance.
He looked like a politician, a state senator, or a mayor, or like someone who bosses the political machine and makes judges and sheriffs alike. He could have played any role of these parts in the movies, especially in a Western, he knew, and it was obvious that it pleased him, that he kept polishing up the resemblance.
"How about a highball?" he proposed, pointing at the bottle.
"I never drink."
(from The Brothers Rico)

Simenon's semi-autobiographic, naturalistic Pedigree (1948) was exceptionally long compared to most novels, over five hundred pages. Originally meant to be a memoir, it was turned into a novel after the suggestion of André Gide. Simenon began writing because a doctor misread an x-ray and told him that he had less than two years to live. He planned to give the book to his young son so that he would be able to know about his father when he grew up. However, Simenon still had 41 years ahead.

In 1955 Simenon returned to Europe and settled eventually in Lausanne, Switzerland. Beneath the illusion of a happy household, Simenon's marriage was deteriorating and his family disintegrating. He had started a sexual relationship with Teresa Sburelin, a new servant, who became his devoted companion. In 1964 Denise entered a psychiatric clinic, never returning to Epalinges, their home. Her bitter memoir of the marriage, Un Oiseau pour le chat, was published in 1978. Simenon's daughter Marie-Jo began the first of several psychiatric treatments in 1966, but ultimately in 1978 she committed suicide. In Mémoires intimes I-II (1981) Simenon blamed Denise for her death.

The critic and awarded mystery writer H.R.F. Keating selected My Friend Maigret (1949) and Maigret in Court (1960) in 1987 for his list of the one hundred best crime novels. Maigret's method of investigation doesn't rely on vast amounts of police work. He operates more on the basis of intuition. His method also has many similarities with hermeneutics – the theory of interpretation, of understanding the significance of human actions, utterances, products, and institutions. In My Friend Maigret a small-time crook is murdered on the island of Porquerolles off the Mediterranean coast. Maigret is sent to investigate. He collects impressions, and tries to see behind the facts that the local inspector offers him. Thoughts start to rise up from his subconscious. "He sensed a whole heap of things, as he always did at the start of a case, but he couldn't have said in what form this mist of ideas would sooner or later resolve itself." And in the end he finds the answer.

A number of actors have impersonated Maigret in films and television series. Simenon's favorite was Jean Renoir's brother Pierre, who appeared in La Nuit du carrefour (1932). The director had happy memories of the film. His nephew Claude made his debut as a cameraman, Jacques Becker was producer, and the famous film critic and historian Jean Mitry was part of the crew. The film has been praised for its poetic atmosphere full of fog, rain, and car-lights. Jean Gabin played the inspector in Maigret tend un piège (1957), Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre (1959), and Maigret voit rouge (1963), carrying off the role with appropriate world-weariness. Simenon's stories have also inspired a number of other films, including L'ainé des Ferchaux (1963), directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Charles Vanel, Stéfania Sandrelli, and Jean-Paul Belmondo. The story was remade in 2000 as a television series, directed by Bernard Stora. Belmondo played the old millionaire, Dieudonné Ferchaux.

The Bibliothèque Simenon opened in Liège in 1961, and in 1966 a statue of Commissaire Maigret was unveiled in Delfzijl, Holland. The last Maigret, Maigret et Monsieur Charles came out in 1972, and the next year Simenon announced his retirement. In the following years he published only non-fiction of an autobiographical sort. In his autobiography Quand j'étais vieux (1970, When I Was Old) Simenon claimed to have had sex with more than twenty thousand different women. Lettre à ma mère (1974) examined his relationship to his mother. Simenon died in Lausanne, on September 4, 1989. He left instructions at his death that his body be cremated without any ceremony and that his ashes, mingled with his beloved daughter's, be scattered beneath a huge tree in the back garden of his last house in Lausanne.

The Maigret books focus on the circumstances and stresses that compel one person to murder another. They are written in a spare, undecorated style. Simenon described them as sketches, comparable to the sort of things a painter does for his pleasure or for preliminary studies. The production of 115 'Simenons', short, intense psychological analyses of modern man, started with Le relais d'Alsace (1931, The Man from Everywhere). Among these works is his most Dostoyevskyan tale (1938, The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By), which centers on the theme of the sense of guilt – as do many of his stories. Simenon's more or less optimistic side and joy in life is seen in such novels as L'Homme qui regardait passer les trainsLe petit saint (1965, The Little Saint) and Le Président (1958, The Premier). L'horloger d'Everton (1954) was filmed by Bernard Tavernier in 1973. In the story a father, Dave Galloway, begins to review his own life, when he hears that his son Ben has murdered a man and eloped with an underage girl. Dave realizes that he, his father, and Ben "were of the same breed, all three of them. ... It seemed to him that, in the whole world, there were only two sorts of men, those who bow their heads and the others."

Maigret is the son of a farmer of the countryside near Moulins. He came to Paris as a young man originally to study medicine. Instead he joined the police, and rose from uniformed bicycle patrolman to superintendent. His wife Louise is a fine cook, who often prepares heavy, hearty peasant fare – cassoulet, calves' liver, and his favorite, choucroute. They live in an apartment on the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. Maigret's office is at the Quai des Orfévres, where sandwiches and beer are delivered during his interrogations. During his investigations Maigret consumes quantities of wine, endless glasses of beer, and Calvados. Heavy drinking is combined with pipe smoking. – Other police detectives in Maigret novels: Lucas, Janvier, Lapointe, Torrence. – Best Maigret film: Maigret tend un piége, 1957 (dir. by Jean Delannoy, with Jean Gabin as Maigret and Annie Girandot) – see more information later below. – Television Maigrets: Rupert Davies (1970) and Richard Harris (1988), Michael Gambon (1992) in Britain, Heinz Rühmann in Germany, Jan Teuling in Holland, Gino Cervi in Italy, Boris Tenin in Russia, Kinya Aikawa in Japan, Jean Richard and Bruno Cremer in France. See also: Lawrence Treat and modern police procedural novel.

For further reading: The Art of Simenon by T. Narjerac (1952); Simenon in Court by R. Raymond (1963); Simenon by B. de Fallois (1971, rev. ed.); Simenon by F. Lacassin and G. Sigaux (1973); Georges Simenon by T. Young (1976); Georges Simenon by F.F. Becker (1977); Simenon's Paris by F. Frank (1983); Georges Simenon, a Critical Biography by S. Erskin (1987); The Man Who Wasn't Maigret by P. Marnham (1992); Simenon: A Biography by Pierre Assouline (1997); 'Georges Simenon' by George Grella, in Mystery and Suspense Writers, vol. 2, ed. by Robin W. Winks (1998) - Suom.: Suomeksi Simenonin teoksia on käännetty hyllymetrillinen ellei toinenkin. Kaikki Maigret -teokset on suomennettu.

Selected bibliography:

• Au Pont des Arches, 1920 (first published book)
• Pietr-le-Letton, 1930 (first Maigret)- The Strange Case of Peter the Lett translated by Anthony Abbott) / Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett translated by Daphne Woodward) - Maigret ja Latvialainen (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas, 1931 - The Sailors Rendezvous / Maigret Keeps a Rendezvous (translated by Margaret Ludwig) - Maigret ja turskanpyytäjät (suom. Inkeri Sallamo)
• Le Charretier de "la Providence", 1931 - The Crime at Lock 14 / The Triumph of Inspector Maigret / Maigret Meets a Milord - Maigret ja kaitselmuksen hevosmies (suom. Reino Hakamies)
• Le Chien jaune, 1931 - A Face for a Clue (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) / The Patience of Maigret / Maigret and the Yellow Dog translated by Linda Asher) - Keltainen koira (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Un crime en Hollande, 1931 - A Crime in Holland (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) / Maigret Abroad (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) / Maigret in Holland (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) - Maigret Hollannissa (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin, 1931 - At the "Gai-Moulin" (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) / Maigret at the Gai-Moulin (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) - Maigret murhaajana (suom. Inkeri Sallamo)
• M. Gallet décédé, 1931 - The Death of M. Gallet translated by Anthony Abbott) / Introducing Inspector Maigret / Maigret Stonewalled translated by Margaret Marshall)
• La Nuit du carrefour, 1931 - The Crossroad Murders (translated by Anthony Abbott) / Inspector Maigret Investigates / Maigret at the Crossroads - Maigret ja tienristeyksen valot (suom. Sinikka Kallio)
• Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien, 1931 - The Crime of Inspector Maigret (translated by Anthony Abbott) / Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets (translated by Tony White) - Maigret ja matkalaukku (suom. Aili Palmén)
• Le relais d'Alsace, 1931 - The Man from Everywhere (translated by Stuart Gilbert)
• La Tête d'un homme, 1931 - A Battle of Nerves (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) / Maigret’s War of Nerves (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) - Maigret ja mies Seinen rannalta (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre, 1932 - The Saint-Fiacre Affair (translated by Margaret Ludwig) / Maigret Goes Home (translated by Robert Baldick) - Maigret kotikylässään (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Chez les Flamands, 1932 - The Flemish Shop / Maigret and the Flemish Shop (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) - Maigret rajan pinnassa (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Le Fou de Bergerac, 1932 - The Madman of Bergerac (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) - Maigret vastatuulessa (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• La Guinguette à deux sous, 1932 - Guinguette by the Seine / Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) / The Bar on the Seine (translated by David Watson) - Maigret maalaiskapakassa (suom. Inkeri Sallamo)
• "Liberty Bar", 1932 - Liberty Bar / Maigret on the Riviera (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) - Murha Rivieralla (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• L'Ombre chinoise, 1932 - The Shadow on the Courtyard / Maigret Mystified - Maigret ja varjokuva ikkunassa (suom. Aili Palmén)
• Le Port des brumes, 1932 - Death of a Harbor Master (translated by Stuart Gilbert) / Maigret and the Death of a Harbor-Master (translated by Stuart Gilbert) - Sumujen satama (suom. Ilkka Pastinen)
• Les Gens d'en face, 1933 - The Window over the Bay (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury)
• L'âne rouge, 1933 - The Night Club (translated by Jean Stewart)
• Les fiançailles de Monsieur Hire, 1933 - Mr. Hire's Engagement (translated by Daphne Woodward)
• L'Écluse no. 1, 1933 - The Lock at Charenton (translated by Margaret Ludwig) - Maigret kanavasululla (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Les gens d'en face, 1933 - The Window over the Way (translated by Robert Baldick)
• La maison du canal, 1933 - The House by the Canal (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury)
• Le coup de lune, 1933 - Tropic Moon (translated by Stuart Gilbert; Marc Romano)
• Maigret, 1934 - Maigret Returns (translated by Margaret Ludwig) - Maigret ja sukulaispoika (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• L'Homme de Londres, 1934 - Newhaven-Dieppe (translated by Stuart Gilbert) - Mies Lontoosta (suom. Annikki Suni)
• Le Testament Donadieu, 1937 - The Shadow Falls (translated by Stuart Gilbert) - Testamentti (suom. Sulamit Reenpää)
• L'Assassin, 1937 - The Murderer (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury)
• Le Cheval Blanc, 1938 - The White Horse Inn (translated by Norman Denny)
• Le suspect, 1938 - The Suspect (translated by Stuart Gilbert)
• Les Rescapés du Télémaque, 1938 - The Survivors (translated by Stuart Gilbert)
• L'Homme qui regardait passer les trains, 1938 - The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By (translated by Stuart Gilbert) - Mies ja junat (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Monsieur La Souris, 1938 - The Mouse (translated by Robert Baldick)
• Les Inconnus dans la maison, 1939 - The Strangers in the House (tanslated by Geoffrey Sainsbury)
• Chez Krull, 1939 - Chez Krull (translated by Daphne Woodward)
• Le Coup de vagu, 1939
• Malempin, 1940 - The Family Lie (translated by Isabel Quigly)
• Bergelon, 1941 - The Delivery (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen)
• Cour d'Assises, 1941 - Justice (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury)
• Il pleut, bergère, 1941 - Black Rain (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury)
• La Maison des sept jeunes filles, 1941
• . L'Outlaw, 1941 - The Outlaw (translated by Howard Curtis)
• Le Fils Cardinaud, 1942 - Young Cardinal (translated by Richard Brain)
• Oncle Charles s'est enfermé, 1942 - Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself In (tr. 1987)
• La veuve Couderc, 1942 - Ticket of Leave (translated by John Petrie) / The Widow (translated by John Petrie)
• Cécile est Morte, 1942 - Maigret and the Spinster (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret'n tyttöystävä (suom. Maijaliisa Auterinen)
• Les Caves du Majestic, 1942 - Maigret and the Hotel Majestic (translated by Caroline Hillier) - Maigret ja hotellin kahvinkeittäjä (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• La maison du juge, 1942 - Maigret in Exile (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen)
• La Vérité sur Bébé Donge, 1942 - The Trial of Bébé (translated by Louise Varèse)
• Signé Picpus, 1944 - To Any Lengths (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) / Maigret and the Fortuneteller (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury) - Maigret ja selvännäkijä (suom. Ulla-Kaarina Jokinen)
• L'Inspecteur Cadavre, 1944 - Maigret's Rival (translated by Helen Thomson) - Maigret ja tarkastaja (suom. Erkki Jukarainen)
• Félicie est là, 1944 - Maigret and the Toy Village (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen)
• Les Nouvelles Enquêtes de Maigret, 1944
• Je me souviens...., 1945
• La Fuite de monsieur Monde, 1945 - Monsieur Monde Vanishes (translated by Jean Stewart)
• Trois chambres à Manhattan, 1945 - Three Beds in Manhattan (translated by Lawrence G. Blochman) - Kolme huonetta Manhattanilla (suom. Sinikka Kallio)
• Maigret à New York, 1947 - Maigret in New York's Underworld (translated by Adrienne Foulke) - Maigret New Yorkissa (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Maigret se fâche, 1947 - Maigret in Retirement (translated by Jean Steward)
• La Pipe de Maigret, 1947 - Maigret's Pipe (translated by Jean Stewart)
• Maigret et l'inspecteur Malchanceux, 1947 - The Short Cases of Inspector Maigret (tr. 1959)
• Lettre à mon juge, 1947 - Act of Passion (translated by Louise Varèse) - Kirje tuomarilleni (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Le passager clandestin, 1947 - The Stowaway (translated by Nigel Ryan)
• Le Bilan Malétras‎, 1948 - The Reckoning (translated by Emily Read)
• La neige était sale , 1948 - The Snow Was Black (translated by Louise Varèse) / The Stain on the Snow / Dirty Snow (translated by Marc Romano) - Lumi oli likaista (suom. Sinikka Kallio)
• Maigret et son mort, 1948 - Maigret's Special Murder (translated by Jean Stewart) / Maigret's Dead Man (translated by Jean Stewart) - Maigret ja hänen vainajansa (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Les Vacances de Maigret, 1948 - Maigret on Holiday (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury ) / No Vacation for Maigret - Maigret viettää lomaa (suom. Sinikka Kallio-Visapää)
• Pedigree, 1948 - Pedigree (translated by Robert Baldick)
• La Première Enquête de Maigret, 1949 - Maigret's First Case (translated by Robert Brain) - Komisario Maigretin ensimmäinen juttu (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Mon ami Maigret, 1949 - My Friend Maigret (translated by Nigel Ryan) / The Methods of Maigret - Ystäväni Maigret (suom. Sinikka Kallio-Visapää)
• Le Fond de la bouteille, 1949 - The Bottom of the Bottle (translated by Cornelia Schaeffer)
• Maigret chez le coroner, 1949 - Maigret at the Coroner's (translated by Frances Keene) / Maigret and the Coroner (translated by Frances Keene) - Maigret syrjästäkatsojana (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Maigret et la vieille dame, 1950 - Maigret and the Old Lady (translated by Robert Brain) - Maigret ja vanha rouva (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• L'Amie de Mme Maigret, 1950 - Madame Maigret's Friend (translated by Helen Sebba) / Madame Maigret's Own Case / The Friend of Madame Maigret (translated by Helen Sebba) - Rouva Maigret'n ystävätär (suom. Maijaliisa Auterinen)
• Maigret et les petits cochons sans queue, 1950
• Maigret au "Picratt's", 1951 - Maigret in Montmartre (translated by Daphne Woodward) / Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper (translated by Cornelia Schaeffer) - Maigret ja Picrattin tanssijatar (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Une vie comme neuve, 1951 - A New Lease of Life (translated by Joanna Richardson)
• Maigret en meublé, 1951 - Maigret Takes a Room (translated by Robert Brain) / Maigret Rents a Room (tr. by Richard Brain) - Maigret vuokraa huoneen (suom. Anna Louhivuori)
• Maigret et la grande perche, 1951 - Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (translated by J. Maclaren-Ross) / Inspector Maigret and the Burglar's Wife - Maigret ja humalasalko (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Les Mémoires de Maigret, 1951 - Maigret's Memoirs (translated by Jean Stewart) - Maigret muistelee (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Un Noël de Maigret, 1951 - Maigret's Christmas (translated by Jean Stewart)
• Les frères Rico, 1952 - The Brothers Rico (translated by Ernst Pawel)
• La mort de Belle, 1952 - Belle (translated by Louise Varèse) / Tidal Waves
• Maigret, Lognon et les gangsters, 1952 - Inspector Maigret and the Killers (translated by Louise Varèse) / Maigret and the Gangsters translated by Louise Varèse) - Maigret ja gangsterit (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Le Revolver de Maigret, 1952 - Maigret's Revolver (translated by Nigel Ryan) - Maigret'n revolveri (suom. Aili Palmén)
• Maigret et l'homme du banc, 1953 - Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) / Maigret and the Man on the Bench (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret ja penkillä istuskelija (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Maigret a peur, 1953 - Maigret Afraid (translated by Margaret Duff) - Maigret pelkää (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Maigret se trompe, 1953 - Maigret's Mistake (translated by Alan Hodge) - Maigret erehtyy (suom. Aili Palmén)
• Feux rouges, 1953 - Red Lights (translated by Norman Denny)
• Le grand Bob, 1954 - Big Bob (translated by Eileen M. Lowe)
• Maigret à l'école, 1954 - Maigret Goes to School (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret koulussa (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• L'horloger d'Everton, 1954 - The Clockmaker (translated by Norman Denny) / The Watchmaker of Everton (translated by Norman Denny) - film: The Clockmaker of Saint Paul (1973), dir. by Bernard Tavernier, starring Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Jean Denis, Julien Bertheau, Yves Afonso
• Maigret et la jeune morte, 1954 - Maigret and the Young Girl translated by Daphne Woodward) / Inspector Maigret and the Dead Girl - Maigret kilpasilla (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Maigret chez le ministre, 1955 - Maigret and the Minister (translated by Moura Budberg) / Maigret and the Calame Report (translated by Moura Budberg) - Maigret ja kadonnut asiakirja (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• ‎Les complices‎, 1955 - Accomplices (translated by Bernard Frechtman) - Rikostoverit (suom. Aili Palmén)
• Maigret et le corps sans tête, 1955 - Maigret and the Headless Corpse (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret ja kahvilan emäntä (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Maigret tend un piège, 1955 - Maigret Sets a Trap (translated by Daphne Woodward) - Maigret virittää ansan (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• En cas de malheur, 1956 - A Case of Emergency (translated by Helen Sebba) / In Case of Emergency (translated by Helen Sebba) - Kuolemani varalta (suom. Sulamit Reenpää)
• Un échec de Maigret, 1956 - Maigret's Failure (translated by Daphne Woodward) - Maigret epäonnistuu (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Le petit homme d'Arkhangelsk, 1957 - The Little Man from Archangel (translated by Nogel Ryan) - Pikku mies Arkangelista (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Le Nègre, 1957 - The Negro (translated by Helen Sebba)
• Maigret s'amuse, 1957 - Maigret's Little Joke (translated by Richard Brain) / None of Maigret's Business - Maigret huvittelee (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Le fils, 1957 - The Son (translated by Daphne Woodward)
• Strip-tease, 1958 - Striptease (translated by Robert Brain) - Striptease (suom. Mirja Rutanen)
• Maigret voyage, 1958 - Maigret and the Millionaires (translated by Jean Stewart) - Maigret matkustaa (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Les Scrupules de Maigret, 1958 - Maigret has Scrupules (translated by Robert Eglesfield) - Maigret psykiatrina (suom. Inkeri Sallamo)
• Le Président, 1958 - The Premier (translated by Daphne Woodward) - Pääministeri (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Maigret et les témoins récalcitrants, 1959 - Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses (translated by Daphne Woodward) - Maigret ja vastahakoiset todistajat (suom. Inkeri Sallamo)
• Une confidence de Maigret, 1959 - Maigret Has Doubts (translated by Lyn Moir) - Maigret uskoutuu (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Dimanche, 1959 - Sunday (translated by Nigel Ryan)
• Le Veuf, 1959 - The Widower ( translated by Robert Baldick)
• Maigret aux assises, 1960 - Maigret in Court (translated by Robert Brain) - Maigret oikeudessa (suom. Kaj Kauhanen)
• L' ours en peluche, 1960 - Teddy Bear (translated by Henry Clay) - Ylilääkäri (suom. Sulamit Hirvas)
• Maigret et les vieillards, 1960 - Maigret in Society (translated by Robert Eglesfield) - Maigret ja vanhukset (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Maigret et le voleur paresseux, 1961 - Maigret and the Lazy Burglar (translated by Daphne Woodward) - Maigret ja valikoiva varas (suom. Inkeri Sallamo)
• Maigret et les braves gens, 1962 - Maigret and the Black Sheep (translated by Helen Thomson) - Maigret ja kunnon ihmiset (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Maigret et le client du samedi, 1962 - Maigret and the Saturday Caller (translated by Tony White) - Maigret ja lauantaipäivän asiakas (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• La Chambre bleue, 1963 - The Blue Room (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen)
• La Colère de Maigret, 1963 - Maigret Loses His Temper (translated by Robert Eglesfield) - Maigret raivostuu (suom. Inkeri Sallamo)
• Maigret et le clochard, 1963 - Maigret and the Dosser (translated by Jean Stewart) / Maigret and the Bum (translated by Jean Stewart) - Maigret ja mies siltojen alta (suom. Osmo Mäkeläinen)
• Maigret et le fantôme, 1964 - Maigret and the Ghost (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) / Maigret and the Apparation (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen)
• Maigret se défend, 1964 - Maigret on the Defensive (translated by Alastair Hamilton) - Maigret puolustautuu (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Le petit saint, 1965 - The Little Saint (translated by Bernard Frechtman) - Pikku pyhimys (suom. Elina Hytönen)
• Le Train de Venise, 1965 - The Venice Train (translated by Alastair Hamilton) - Juna Venetsiasta (suom. Ulla-Kaarina Jokinen)
• La Patience de Maigret, 1965 - The Patience of Maigret (translated by Alastair Hamilton) / Maigret Bides His Time (translated by Alastair Hamilton) - Maigret on kärsivällinen (suom. Inkeri Sallamo)
• Maigret et l'affaire Nahour, 1966 - Maigret and the Nahour Case (translated by Alastair Hamilton) - Maigret kansainvälisessä seurassa (suom. Aili Palmèn)
• Le Voleur de Maigret, 1967 - Maigret's Pickpocket (translated by Nigel Ryan) / Maigret and the Pickpocket (translated by Nigel Ryan) - Maigret ja taskuvaras (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Simenon: An American Omnibus, 1967
• Le Déménagement, 1967 - The Neighbours (translated by Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson) / The Move (translated by Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson)
• Le chat, 1967 - The Cat (translated by Bernard Frechtman) - Kissa (suom. Sulamit Reenpää)
• La prison, 1968 - The Prison (translated by Lyn Moir)
• L'Ami d'enfance de Maigret, 1968 - Maigret's Boyhood Friend (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret ja hänen lapsuudenystävänsä (suom. Sulamit Reenpää)
• Maigret à Vichy, 1968 - Maigret Takes the Waters (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) / Maigret in Vichy (tr. by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret Vichyssä (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Maigret hésite, 1968 - Maigret Hesitates (translated by Lyn Moir) - Maigret epäröi (suom. Marja Luoma)
• Novembre, 1969 - November (translated by Jean Stewart)
• Maigret et le tueur, 1969 - Maigret and the Killer (translated by Lyn Moir) - Maigret ja tappaja (suom. Aili Palmén)
• La Folle de Maigret, 1970 - Maigret and the Madwoman (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret ja harmaasilmäinen nainen (suom. Sinikka Kallio)
• Quand j'étais vieux, 1970 - When I Was Old (translated by Helen Eustis)
• Maigret et le marchand de vin, 1970 - Maigret and the Wine Merchant (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret ja viinikauppias (suom. Sulamit Reenpää)
• Le riche homme, 1970 - The Rich Man (translated by Jean Stewart)
• Maigret et l'homme tout seul, 1971 - Maigret and the Loner (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen) - Maigret ja yksineläjä (suom. Sinikka Kallio)
• La Disparition d'Odile, 1971 - The Disappearance of Odile (translated by Lyn Moir) - Odile katoaa (suom. Sinikka Kallio)
• Maigret et l'indicateur, 1971 - Maigret and the Flea (translated by Lyn Moir) / Maigret and the Informer (translated by Lyn Moir) - Maigret ja ilmiantaja (suom. Sinikka Kallio)
• Maigret et Monsieur Charles, 1972 (last Maigret) - Maigret and Monsieur Charles (translated by Marianne Alexandre Sinclair) - Maigret ja monsieur Charles (suom. Irmeli Sallamo)
• Les Innocents, 1972 - The Innocents (translated by Eileen Ellenbogen)
• Lettre à ma mère, 1974 - Letter to My Mother (translated by Ralph Manheim)
• Mémoires intimes I-II, 1981 - Intimate Memoirs (translated by Harold J. Salemson) - Intiimit muistelmat (suom. Ulla-Kaarina Jokinen)

Selected Maigret films:

• La Nuit du Carrefour/Maigret at the Crossroads/The Crossroads Murder, 1932, dir. by Jean Renoir, adapted from the novel of the same title (1931)
• Le Chien jaune/A Face for a Clue, 1932, dir. by Jean Tarride, adapted from the novel of the same title (1931)
• La Tête d'un homme/A Battle of Nerves, 1933, dir. by Julien Duvivier, starring Harry Baur, adapted from the novel of the same title (1931)
• Picpus/To Any Lengths, 1943, dir. by Richard Pottier, starring Albert Préjean,  adapted from the collection Signé Picpus (1944)
• Cécile est morte/ Maigret and the Spinster, 1944, dir. by Maurice Tourneur, starring Albert Préjean, adapted from the story of the same title (1942)
• Les Caves du Majestic/Maigret and the Hotel Majectic, 1945, dir. by Richard Potter, starring Albert Préjean,, adapted from the story of the same title (1942)
• The Man on the Eiffel Tower, 1949, dir. by Burgess Meredith, starring Charles Laughton, based on La Tète d'un homme (1931)
• Brelan d'as, 1952, dir. by Henri Verneuil, partly based on Le Témoignage de l'enfant de choeur in the collection Maigret et l'inspecteur malchanceux - puis malgracieux (1947)
• Maigret Dirige L'enquete (TV), 1955, dir. by Stanley Cordier, starring Maurice Mason
  
• Maigret Tend un Piège / Maigret Sets a Trap, 1958, dir. by Jean Delannoy, starring Jean Gabin, adapted from the novel of the same title (1955)
• Maigret et l'Affaire Saint-Fiacre/The St. Fiacre Affair/Maigret Goes Home, 1959, dir. by Jean Delannoy, starring Jean Gabin, adapted from L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre (1932)
• Maigret (TV series), 1960-1963, prod. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), starring Rupert Davies
  
• Maigret voit rouge/Maigret and the gangsters/Inspector Maigret and the Killers, 1963, dir. by Gilles Grangier, starring Jean Gabin, adapted from Maigret, Lognon et les gangsters (1952)
• Maigret à Pigalle, 1966, dir. by Mario Landi, starring Gino Cervi
• Maigret und sein größter Fall, 1966, dir. by Alfred Weidenmann, starring Heinz Rühmann
• Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret, 1967-1990, prod. Antenne-2, Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF), starring Jean Richard
  
• Le Chien jaune (TV), 1968, dir. by Claude Barma, starring Henry Czarniak
• Maigret en meublé (TV series: Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret), 1972, starring Jean Richard
• Maigret et l'Homme du banc (TV series:Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret), 1973, dir. by René Lucot, starring Jean Richard
• Megre i staraya, 1974, dir. by Vyacheslav Brovkin, starring Boris Tenin
  
• Maigret hésite (TV series: Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret), 1975, dir. by Claude Boissol, starring Jean Richard
• Maigret, Lognon et les gangsters (TV series: Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret), 1977, dir. by Jean Kerchbron, starring Jean Richard
• Liberty Bar (TV series: Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret), 1979, dir. by Jean-Paul Sassy, starring Jean Richard
• Maigret à Vichy (TV series: Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret), 1984, dir. by Alain Levent, starring Jean Richard
• Maigret (TV film), 1988, prod. Columbia Pictures Television, dir. by Paul Lynch, starring Richard Harris
• Maigret (TV series), 1991-2005, prod. Antenne-2, Ceská Televize, Dune, starring Bruno Cremer
• Maigret (TV series) 1992/93, prod. Granada Television, starring Michael Gambon
• Maigret: La trappola, 2004 (TV film), dir. by Renato De Maria, starring Sergio Castellitto
  
• Maigret: L'ombra cinese, 2004 (TV film), dir. by Renato De Maria, starring Sergio Castellitto