Not one of the greatest Maigret stories but a great drawing of characters involved and a beautiful insight of a Paris and Europe of old. Simenon shows once more that he can write a detective in yet another way and make you want to read the story right to the end. Rowan Atkinson plays Maigret in Maigret for television films made by ITV from 2016. The first two episodes were adapted from Maigret Sets a Trap and Maigret's Dead Man. [25] Two further episodes were broadcast in 2017, adapted from Maigret at the Crossroads [26] and Maigret in Montmartre. [27]

Maigret began working as a police officer in Paris in his twenties. At the age of 30 he entered the Homicide Squad and later, nearing his forties, became chief inspector of the squad. It is mentioned that Maigret retired when in his mid-fifties, which gave him over 30 years of experience in the police. [10] Maigret doesn't like his first name being used and prefers to be simply called "Maigret". [8] Even Maigret's wife largely restricts herself to calling him "Maigret", only calling him by his first name a handful of times. [8]There have been numerous incarnations of Maigret on the small screen all around the world. He has been portrayed by French, British, Irish, Austrian, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, and Russian actors. A French version, Les Enquêtes du Commissaire Maigret, starred Jean Richard in 88 episodes between 1967 and 1990; [19] however, Simenon himself is said to have disliked Richard's Maigret because he would not take his hat off when entering a room. [20] Later, Bruno Cremer played the character in 54 adaptations between 1991 and 2005.

On Sunday, February 9, 1969, BBC One London aired Maigret at Bay as part of its series BBC Play of the Month. [8] This feature-length movie was based on the 1964 novel Maigret Defends Himself ( Maigret se défend), and featured Rupert Davies, Helen Shingler, and Neville Jason reprising their series roles of Commissaire Maigret, Madame Maigret, and Lapointe, respectively. [9] Episodes [ edit ]The moment Simenon saw me he shouted: " C'est Maigret, c'est Maigret. You are the flesh and bones of Maigret!" Davies later remembered. "That was a wonderful beginning. Then he drove us to his lovely château in the village of Échandens, where I met his wife. Later he began to coach me in Maigret's idiosyncrasies." [4] In most novels, Maigret is aged around 45 to 55 years. There are contradictive clues to his year of birth. In Monsieur Gallet, décédé, which takes place in 1930, Maigret is described as 45, indicating 1885 as his year of birth. In another novel La première enquete de Maigret, where the investigation takes place in 1913, the author states that Maigret is 26, which establish his year of birth as 1887. In the 1932 novel L'affaire Saint-Fiacre, Maigret is 42, which would mean he was born in 1890, assuming that Maigret is contemporary to the year the novel was written. [9]