La Colère de Maigret

Commissaire Maigret first appeared in four popular novels published by the author under the pseudonyms Georges Sim and Christian Brulls. These novels are not part of the official “Maigret” cycle because Simenon himself drew a distinction — notably in 1975, a period when he was fiercely intent on suppressing any work predating 1931 — between his “illegitimate” output (books published under pseudonyms) and his recognized body of work (books published under his own name).

The official cycle comprises 75 novels, 4 collections of short stories and 28 short stories published in periodicals. Fifty of these novels were published by Presses de la Cité, whose cover designs went through four different presentations. Beginning with Maigret voyage (published in December 1957), the presentation became standardized: a solid-colored background featuring the author’s silhouette in profile, wearing a hat and smoking a pipe, from which smoke rings — extending onto the front cover — bear the author’s name and the title. All titles in this series were issued as numbered first editions printed on fine paper, with the deluxe and ordinary printings sharing the same achevé d’imprimer.