Maigret se défend

Inspector Maigret first appeared in four popular novels published under the pseudonyms Georges Sim and Christian Brulls. These novels are excluded from the official “Maigret” cycle because Simenon himself established — notably in 1975, at a time when he fiercely suppressed any work predating 1931 — a distinction between his illegitimate output (books published under pseudonyms) and his acknowledged body of work (books published under his own name).

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