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When Maigret's prized gun goes missing, he must travel to London on
the trail of a troubled young man on the run. Maigret's Revolver is
a wonderful picture of both London and Paris and one of Simenon's
most ingenious and satisfying stories. 'One of the greatest writers
of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us
look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at
absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian 'A supreme writer
. . . unforgettable vividness' Independent
'The new crime and espionage series from Penguin Classics makes for
a mouth-watering prospect' Daily Telegraph A baffling case. A
mysterious inheritance. It starts when a man's arm is fished out of
Paris's Canal Saint-Martin. Then the rest of the body is retrieved
- apart from the head. Inspector Maigret is determined to unearth
the truth behind this disturbing murder. When he meets the
strangely taciturn owner of a shabby local bistro, Madame Calas,
who says her husband is away, the pieces start to fall into place.
But, as the dogged, laconic detective discovers, nothing in this
tangled case is as it seems.
Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions
of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest
writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith
Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take
us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England
to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on
the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and
printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile
cloth and stamped with foil. Georges Simenon's brilliant
pipe-smoking detective, Jules Maigret, is one of the most beloved
literary creations of the twentieth century. In this adventure, an
officer from Scotland Yard is studying Maigret's methods when a
call from an island off the Cote d'Azure sends the two men off to
an isolated community to investigate its eccentric inhabitants.
The first novel which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret
series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos. Not that he
looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he
didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of
fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his
hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man. His
firm muscles filled out his jacket and quickly pulled all his
trousers out of shape. He had a way of imposing himself just by
standing there. His assertive presence had often irked many of his
own colleagues. In Simenon's first novel featuring Maigret, the
laconic detective is taken from grimy bars to luxury hotels as he
traces the true identity of Pietr the Latvian. This novel has been
published in previous translations as The Case of Peter the Lett
and Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett. 'Compelling, remorseless,
brilliant' John Gray 'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth
century' Guardian
'Quite simply a masterpiece' John Banville 'I've just found a
stranger in my house. In a bed on the second floor. He was dying
when I got there. You're going to have to deal with it' Hector
Loursat has been a drunken recluse since his wife left him eighteen
years ago. Shut away in his dilapidated mansion in the small town
of Moulins, he barely speaks to his daughter. But when the sound of
a gunshot penetrates the padded walls of his study one night, and
he discovers a body, Loursat is forced to act. No longer able to
ignore the world, he determines to get to the truth of what
happened, and save an innocent life.
The first annual omnibus edition in the new Penguin Inspector
Maigret series, comprising four titles from the series so far:
Pietr the Latvian, The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien, The Carter of
La Providence and The Grand Banks Cafe. Additional material
includes the original French first edition covers, art directed by
Georges Simenon himself. Penguin is publishing the entire series of
Maigret novels. 'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray 'One
of the greatest writers of the twentieth century ...Simenon was
unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked
by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories'
Guardian 'A supreme writer ...unforgettable vividness' Independent
'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves
'He hadn't seen her arrive. She had stopped on the pavement a few
steps away from him and was peering into the courtyard of the
Police Judiciaire, where the small staff cars were parked. She
ventured as far as the entrance, looked the officer up and down,
then turned round and walked away towards the Pont-Neuf' When an
old lady tells Maigret someone has been moving things in her
apartment, she is dismissed as a fantasist - until a schocking
event proves otherwise. 'One of the greatest writers of the
twentieth century' Guardian
A gripping new translation of the iconic short story collection
featuring Simenon's celebrated literary detective 'The truth was,
Maigret knew nothing! Maigret felt. Maigret was sure he was right,
would have bet his life on it. But in vain he'd turned the problem
over a hundred times in his head, in vain he'd had every taxi
driver in Paris questioned' Written and published in journals
during the Second World War, these seventeen short stories distil
the atmosphere, themes and psychological intensity that make
Simenon's famous detective series so compelling. Translated by
Howard Curtis and Ros Schwartz 'Not just the world's bestselling
detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he
exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the
melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor' Boyd Tonkin,
Times
A masterful tale of murder and intrigue in a small French town,
from the celebrated author of the Maigret series Not only had the
rain in the dark streets, with a halo around each light and
reflections on the ground, always given him a certain thrill, it
also made it easier for him to move around. It has been raining for
twenty days in La Rochelle - ever since the first murder. Since
then, five more bodies have been found. In the cafes, over card
games, a quiet terror of the killer in their midst spreads through
the little town. But unknown to anyone, Kachoudas, a poor, timid
tailor, has discovered, quite by accident, who the murderer is. As
a twisted cat and mouse game begins, Simenon's chilling novel takes
us into the darkness of the criminal mind. 'Dark, disturbing ...
Simenon discovered something fundamental about the soul' Guardian
A new translation of this gripping domestic tragedy, set in
Simenon's very own neighbourhood. One by one the lighted windows
went dark. The silhouette of the dead man could still be seen
through the frosted glass like a Chinese shadow puppet. A taxi
pulled up. It wasn't the public prosecutor yet. A young woman
crossed the courtyard with hurried steps, leaving a whiff of
perfume in her wake. Summoned to the dimly-lit Place des Vosges one
night, where he sees shadowy figures at apartment windows, Maigret
uncovers a tragic story of desperate lives, unhappy families,
addiction and a terrible, fatal greed. Penguin is publishing the
entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has
been published in previous translations as Maigret Mystified and
The Shadow in the Courtyard. 'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'
John Gray 'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . .
. Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the
ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in
his stories' Guardian
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray When a tramp is
recovered from the Seine, after being badly beaten, Maigret must
delve into the man's personal circumstances to figure out just who
wanted to kill him. This novel has been published in previous
translations as Maigret and the Dosser and Maigret and the Bum.
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon
was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was
masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his
stories' Guardian 'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness'
Independent
Connecticut, 1969. On their way back from a party, two couples
struggle home through the snow. Not everyone arrives safely. The
great detective writer Georges Simenon escaped France at the end of
World War Two, and arrived in the USA to start again. With his
American wife, he settled at Shadow Rock Farm in Lakeville. Years
later, he wrote La Main, a psychological thriller set in a New
England farmhouse. David Hare has taken this novel, and forged from
it a startling new play. The Red Barn premiered at the National
Theatre, London, in October 2016.
'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves
'You see, I mainly work at night. I've ended up getting to know
everybody. They're used to me in Pigalle, I exchange a few words
with this person or that person. I go into the bars and cabarets
where they give me a quarter bottle of Vichy without waiting for me
to order anything.' An anonymous tip-off regarding the death of a
restaurant owner sends Maigret into the world of Parisian
nightlife, a notorious criminal gang and a man known as 'the Flea'.
This novel has been pubished in a previous translation as Maigret
and the Flea. 'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth
century' Guardian
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The Venice Train (Paperback)
Georges Simenon; Translated by Ros Schwartz
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R264
R214
Discovery Miles 2 140
Save R50 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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'There were some weeks that were painful, nerve-racking. At the
office or at home, in the middle of a meal, he would suddenly find
his forehead bathed in sweat, a tightness in his chest, and at
those times, feeling everyone's eyes on him was unbearable.' During
a chance meeting on the train from Venice to Paris, a stranger asks
Justin Calmar to deliver a briefcase for him to an address in
Switzerland. Soon this ordinary family man will become hopelessly,
fatally, ensnared in a world of guilt, lies and paranoia.
Originally published in 1965, shortly after Simenon moved into the
new home he had built in Epalinges, Switzerland, this chilling
novel is a powerful exploration of the fragility of the human
psyche.
'His artistry is supreme' John Banville Eyes half-closed, head
tilted against the back of his seat, he seemed not to be thinking,
as the plane flew over a thick carpet of bright clouds. In reality,
he was making an effort to bring names and shadowy figures to life,
names and figures that even this morning had been as unknown to him
as the inhabitants of another planet. The attempted suicide of a
countess and the death of a billionaire in the same luxury Paris
hotel send Maigret to the Riviera and then to Switzerland, as he
searches for the truth amid the glittering world of the super-rich.
This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret
and the Millionaires. 'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth
century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside,
though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us
obsessively in his stories' Guardian
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The Krull House (Paperback)
Georges Simenon; Translated by Howard Curtis
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R266
R216
Discovery Miles 2 160
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'Vintage Simenon, a dark masterpiece . . . eerily prophetic' John
Banville, Guardian 'It's not because you're foreigners. It's
because you aren't foreign enough . . . or else that you are too
foreign' Just as the Krull house sits on the edge of a rural French
town, the family occupies a marginal place in the life of the
community around them. Snubbed by the locals despite having lived
there for decades, they rely on trade with passing sailors to earn
a living. When their relative arrives unannounced from Germany,
with his unsettling, nonchalant ways, the family becomes the target
of increasing suspicion and the scapegoat for a terrible crime.
Written on the eve of the Second World War, The Krull House is a
taut, strangely prophetic novel about how distrust and hostility
towards outsiders descends into hate-filled violence. 'Simenon lays
out with ruthless exactitude the way selfish, conscience-free greed
exploits modest, hospitable decency . . . The world of Chez Krull
is a common, shared one' Julian Barnes, London Review of Books
'His artistry is supreme' John Banville 'He had seldom been so
perplexed by human beings. Would a psychiatrist, a teacher or a
novelist...have been better placed to understand characters who had
suddenly materialized from another century?' Maigret is called to
the home of Armand de Saint-Hilaire, a highly respected official
who has been found shot dead in his study by his housekeeper. After
interviewing everyone concerned Maigret is at a loss to the
identity of the perpetrator until he comes across a series of
letters from the past fifty years between the victim and a recently
widowed woman. As Maigret uncovers the details behind the two's
relationship he gets closer to discovering the tragic truth behind
the official's demise. This novel has been published in a previous
translation as Maigret in Society. 'One of the greatest writers of
the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us
look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at
absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian
'You'll get used to things, you'll see. But you have to watch very
carefully what you say and what you do.' Adil Bey is an outsider.
Newly arrived as Turkish consul at a run-down Soviet port on the
Black Sea, he receives only suspicion and hostility from the
locals. His one intimacy is a growing, wary relationship with his
Russian secretary Sonia, who he watches silently in her room
opposite his apartment. But this is Stalin's world before the war,
and nothing is as it seems. Georges Simenon's most starkly
political work, The People Opposite is a tour de force of slow-burn
tension. 'Irresistible... read him at your peril, avoid him at your
loss' Sunday Times
'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves
A man picked up for wandering in obvious distress among the cars
and buses on the Grands Boulevards. Questioned in French, he
remains mute . . . A madman? In Maigret's office, he is searched.
His suit is new, his underwear is new, his shoes are new. All
identifying labels have been removed. No identification papers. No
wallet. Five crisp thousand-franc bills have been slipped into one
of his pockets. A distressed man is found wandering the streets of
Paris, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. The answers
lead Maigret to a small harbour town, whose quiet citizens conceal
a poisonous malice. Penguin is publishing the entire series of
Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published
in a previous translation as Death of a Harbour Master.
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray 'A supreme writer .
. . unforgettable vividness' Independent
'His artistry is supreme' John Banville 'Why all of a sudden did
this shock him? He was annoyed with himself for being shocked. He
felt as if he had been sucked into the bourgeois, almost edifying,
atmosphere that surrounded those epeople, 'good people' so everyone
kept telling him.' A retired manufacturer has been shot dead by his
own pistol, last seen alive by his son-in-law. In this seemingly
motiveless murder, Inspector Maigret must rely on his famous
intuition to discover the truth. This novel has been published in a
previous translation as Maigret and the Black Sheep. 'One of the
greatest writers of the twentieth century ' Guardian
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Betty (Paperback)
Georges Simenon; Translated by Ros Schwartz
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R263
R213
Discovery Miles 2 130
Save R50 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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'A brilliant portrait of betrayal, hypocrisy, love and loss'
Chicago Tribune 'She tried to laugh, but was sobbing at the same
time. She attempted to stand up and fell over, but she didn't
shatter like the glass' Alone and adrift after losing everything in
a divorce, Betty finds her life sliding dangerously out of control.
When an older woman, Laure, discovers her drunk in a Paris
restaurant and nurses her back to health, she is given another
chance. But Betty is damaged, consumed by darkness. As the truth
about her past, and her nature, emerges, it threatens to consume
Laure too. Originally published in 1961, this gripping
psychological thriller caused a sensation and inspired a film
adaptation by Claude Chabrol. 'Dark, disturbing ... Simenon
discovered something fundamental about the soul' Guardian
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