Maigret and the spy

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Maigret and the Spy (French: La danseuse du Gai-Moulin ) is a crime novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon . It is the tenth novel in a series of 75 novels and 28 short stories about the detective Maigret . The novel was written in Ouistreham in September 1931 and published in November of that year by the Paris publisher Fayard . In 1935 the Schlesische Verlagsanstalt published the first German translation by Harold Effberg under the title Die Tänzerin . Since the translation by Hansjürgen Wille and Barbara Klau, which was published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch in 1962 , the novel has been known in the German-speaking world as Maigret und der Spion . The new translation by Hainer Kober , which was published by Diogenes Verlag in 1986 , retained this title.

Two young Belgian boys who are chasing after an experienced animator plan to break into a nightspot in Liège in order to steal the cash register. But in the abandoned establishment they come across a lifeless guest lying on the floor. When his body is found the next day in the Liège Zoo, the two youngsters quickly become the main suspects in a spectacular murder case. However, the Belgian police are also interested in a Frenchman who was noticeably tall and broad and who was present at the scene.

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Liege in 1915

On a fall night in Liege sit two young guys, the 16 year old Jean Chabot and his two year older friend René Delfosse, in nightspot Gai-Moulin and raving for Animierdame Adèle Bosquet, which both could ever see when tightening. Today, however, Adèle is taking care of a strange guest, an obviously wealthy Greek named Ephraïm Graphopoulos. The two boys, who are always in need of money, are planning a big coup: the theft of the establishment's cash register. They hide in the cellar until the landlord Génaro and his waiter Victor have locked the place. But when they stumble over a man lying motionless on the floor in the dark, they panic and flee the restaurant.

The next morning, the Greek's body is found in a wicker trunk in the zoological garden. The Liège police soon suspect the two young boys. Delfosse appears to have made money overnight which he claims stole from his uncle. But while the son of an influential factory owner goes into hiding, his friend Chabot, a boy from a humble background, is arrested. His statement leads the police on the trail of another suspect, a tall, clumsy Frenchman who quietly followed the events of the previous evening in the Gai-Moulin . That same evening, the French strolled calmly into the nightclub, which was overrun by onlookers and journalists, and was arrested. It is - Commissioner Maigret.

While he is being held in pretrial detention, Maigret reports the history of the case to Belgian Commissioner Delvigne. Two days before his death, Graphopoulos had asked for police protection in Paris. Then he seemed to have changed his mind and did everything he could to get rid of the observing inspector. When he boarded the train to Liege, Inspector Maigret personally took over the chase, stayed in the same hotel and also shadowed him in the Gai-Moulin . After closing time he lost sight of the Greek, but discovered his body in the neighboring hotel room. Maigret assumed that Graphopoulos was involved in an affair with an international organization that could only be dealt with if it confused events. So the Parisian commissioner transported the body in a wicker suitcase from the hotel to the Liège zoo. In order to lull the real perpetrators to safety, he plays his suicide for the waiting journalists, whereupon Delvigne announces that the case will be filed.

The ruse gets caught. The following evening, two men secretly sneak into Adèle's apartment under the observation of the Liège police: the waiters Victor and René Delfosse. They are overwhelmed and it turns out that Génaro, Victor and Adèle had been working for a secret service for years , which the adventurous Graphopoulos wanted to hire. As a test he was given the task of stealing papers from the Gai-Moulin , but he was frightened several times: first in Paris when he tried to evade the assignment, later in Liege when he was at his nightly Activities of the two boys was surprised and the dead man played. A few hours later his acting became a reality. Believing that the Greek was dead, René Delfosse wanted to rob the hotel room, but was surprised by the returning Graphopoulos and killed him with his father's cane. The ailing Delfosse dies soon after being admitted to a mental hospital. His friend Chabot, on the other hand, is sent to the Congo by his father to find his way back to a righteous life in the Belgian colony .

background

Simenon's birthplace at 26 rue Léopold

In February 1931, the first two Maigret novels Maigret and the late Monsieur Gallet and Maigret and the Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien appeared , which Simenon introduced with a widely advertised costume ball, the Bal Anthropométrique . His in-house publisher Fayard , for which he had previously written penny novels under various pseudonyms , planned a monthly publication of the series, so that the author had to finish further Maigret novels under time pressure. For the next eight months, Simenon lived and wrote on board his boat Ostrogoth , which he used to navigate the French canals and coasts, before anchoring in Ouistreham . This is where the novel Maigret and the Spy was written in September 1931 in an unusually short time of just 25 hours, even for the prolific writer Simenon.

It was not the first time that Simenon returned to his native Liège with the novel. The second half of Maigret and the Hanged Man from Saint-Pholien was already settled in his Belgian homeland. Both novels are pervaded by autobiographical memories. In Le Carré in Liège, for example, there was actually a nightclub Gai-Moulin near Rue Léopold, where Simenon was born. The young Georges visited the restaurant regularly in the early 1920s. The Café Pélican and the Hôtel Moderne also go back to Liège locations of the same name. In the Rue de la Loi 53 , the home of Jean Chabot, who lived from 1911 to 1917. Simenon Bogdanowsky and Pauline (Feinstein) two lodgers were called his mother at that address.

The parents Chabot - the energetic, nagging mother and the understanding, weak, heart disease father - are a reflection of Simenon's parents. Uncle Henry, about whom the young Jean is warned, reminds of Simenon's alcohol-addicted Uncle Léopold. Peter Foord sees in Jean a possible alter ego of his author, who in later years repeatedly emphasized how close he was to slipping into a criminal milieu if he had not become a writer. In any case, the Belgian tourism association recognizes Simenon's role model in the two young protagonists: "Young men from a decent family who adopt an unhealthy lifestyle and hang out in nightclubs like the 'Gai-Moulin'."

interpretation

Although “Maigret” is on the book title (on this Tilman Spreckelsen : “Readers should buy it”), the Paris inspector in Maigret and the spy only come into play very late. The inspector remains incognito until well over half of the novel, no more than a shadow in the background that even arouses suspicion. However, even the first description he gives is revealing for experienced readers. As usual in the early Maigret novels, the inspector turns out to be a “tough guy” in physical arguments. But otherwise he shows himself this time with unusual cheerfulness and exuberance. As a guest in a foreign country, he plays the role of a private detective and leads the Belgian police by the nose. For Murielle Wenger, Maigret looks like a small child who is thievingly happy about his prank when he reveals his identity to Commissioner Delvigne. Again and again the serious plot is interrupted by the comical interlude of a Belgian inspector trying to sell his colleagues cheaper pipes.

Stanley G. Eskin names the three central types of the novel: a vamp , as so often in the early Maigret novels, a naive lover, and a friend with a pernicious influence. The pair of opposites of a poor, insecure weakling and a self-confident, cynical egoist can be found again and again in Simenon's work, and Eskin sees in both a part of Simenon's being. Gavin Lambert describes them as representatives of an alienated youth and their perversions. For Peter Foord, Simenon explores the general themes of human weakness, seduction and obsession with them. According to Tilman Spreckelsen, the novel seems for a long time as if Simenon only had eyes "for the poor, confused seventeen-year-olds". The trick of the plot, according to Dominique Meyer-Bolzinger, is that Simenon shows the two boys permanently as a couple and lets the reader so forget that they are of very different natures. Not both are innocent together, but one alone is the murderer.

Peter Foord contrasts the two rascals with the nightclub staff, who also have their criminal secrets, but are made up of professional criminals with cool calculations. The clash between the two groups and their very different motivations was triggered by the wealthy and naive Greek Graphopoulos, who tries to escape his uneventful life. This boredom spy is for Josef Quack an example of the adventurous, often sensational background stories that Simenon developed in his early novels. For Tilman Spreckelsen, the two young people who want to experience something in their free time suddenly come across people who are serious. What they all have in common, however, is that they are looking for excitement, want to rise above the average and ultimately get under the wheels. In the end, only Commissioner Maigret triumphs, the perfect embodiment of the petty-bourgeois average.

reception

Heinz Rühmann , here on the movie poster for It happened in bright day (1959), played Maigret in the film adaptation of Maigret and his greatest case (1966).

The New York Times Saturday Review of Book and Art saw Maigret and the Spy, as well as Maigret and the Crime in Holland, as “excellent examples of the work of Georges Simenon, who, for the speed with which his detective stories are ejected, the French Edgar Wallace The similarity ends there, however, because Simenon does not rely on fast-paced action and exciting effects like his English colleague: "His commissioner Maigret is pretty much the quietest detective known in literature, but he is nonetheless effective. “For Kirkus Reviews , the“ yarn ”of the novels was“ fast-paced and easy to read ”:“ Maigret promises to become a recognized classic within a short time ”. Although the novel is not one of "Maigret's greatest triumphs," it is "interesting because of its haunting character studies - especially those of teenagers in serious trouble."

For The Spectator , it was “the most exciting Maigret story ever translated”: “From the rousing first chapter to the inevitable mass arrest, the accelerator pedal is pushed continuously.” Publishers Weekly praised: “Simenon's genius shines through this simple but exciting story. "Roddy Campbell read a" wonderful book "that leads into a" world of greenhorns and nightclub regulars ", but also offers a" wonderfully intricate plot ". Oliver Hahn from maigret.de gave a brief and concise judgment: "An all-round successful Maigret story!"

The novel was filmed twice. In 1966 the feature film Maigret and its biggest case hit the cinemas. Heinz Rühmann played Inspector Maigret under the direction of Alfred Weidenmann . Other roles included Françoise Prévost , Günther Stoll , Günter Strack and Eddi Arent . Herbert Reinecker's script was so far removed from Simenon's original that in the end it didn't even include a spy. Inspector Maigret turned into a “Maigretchen” in Rühmann's interpretation for Der Spiegel . Another film adaptation was made in 1981 as an episode of the French television series Les Enquêtes du Commissaire Maigret with Jean Richard . In 1994, a comic adaptation by Odile Reynaud and Philippe Wurm appeared in the Éditions Claude Lefrancq .

expenditure

  • Georges Simenon: La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin. Fayard, Paris 1932 (first edition).
  • Georg Simenon: The dancer. Translation: Harald Effberg. Schlesische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1935.
  • Georges Simenon: A stranger dies. Translation: M. Konrad. Rudolf Hans Hammer, Vienna 1949.
  • Georges Simenon: Maigret and the Spy. Translation: Hansjürgen Wille, Barbara Klau. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1962.
  • Georges Simenon: Maigret and the Spy. Translation: Hansjürgen Wille, Barbara Klau. Heyne, Munich 1966.
  • Georges Simenon: Maigret and the Spy. Translation: Hainer Kober . Diogenes, Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-257-21427-8 .
  • Georges Simenon: Maigret and the Spy. Complete Maigret novels in 75 volumes, volume 10. Translation: Hainer Kober. Diogenes, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-257-23810-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ La danseuse du Gai-Moulin in the Simenon bibliography by Yves Martina.
  2. ↑ Oliver Hahn: Bibliography of German-language editions. In: Georges-Simenon-Gesellschaft (Ed.): Simenon-Jahrbuch 2003 . Wehrhahn, Laatzen 2004, ISBN 3-86525-101-3 , p. 74.
  3. ^ Fenton Bresler: Georges Simenon. In search of the "naked" person . Ernst Kabel, Hamburg 1985, ISBN 3-921909-93-7 , pp. 131-134.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Maigret of the Month: La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin (Maigret at the Gai-Moulin) on Steve Trussel's Maigret page.
  5. ↑ See also Joe Richards: A Walking tour of Simenon's Liege on the Maigret page by Steve Trussel.
  6. ↑ Addicted to women and literature ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / presse.belgien-tourismus.de archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website belgien-tourismus.de.
  7. ↑ a b c Tilman Spreckelsen: Maigret Marathon 10: The Spy . On FAZ.net from June 13, 2008.
  8. ↑ a b Maigret and the spy on maigret.de.
  9. ^ A b Stanley G. Eskin: Simenon. A biography . Diogenes, Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-257-01830-4 , pp. 165-166.
  10. ^ The birth of a passion or Why I love Maigret on Steve Trussel's Maigret page.
  11. ^ Gavin Lambert: The Dangerous Edge . Grossmann, New York 1976, ISBN 0-670-25581-5 , p. 181. (also online )
  12. ↑ Dominique Meyer-Bolzinger: Une méthode clinique dans l'enquête policière: Holmes, Poirot, Maigret . Éditions du Céfal, Brussels 2003, ISBN 2-87130-131-X , pp. 64–65.
  13. ↑ Josef Quack: The limits of the human. About Georges Simenon, Rex Stout, Friedrich Glauser, Graham Greene . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2000, ISBN 3-8260-2014-6 , p. 25.
  14. ^ "These two stories are excellent examples of the work of Georges Simenon, who has been called the French Edgar Wallace, because of the rapidity with which he turns out his detective tales. […] His Inspector Maigret is about the calmest detective known to fiction, but he is none the less effective for all that. ”Quoted from: New York Times Saturday Review of Book and Art Volume 2, 1940, p. Lxxxix.
  15. ^ "Maigret promises to become an accepted classic in short order. The yarns are well-paced and good reading. ”Quoted from: Maigret abroad on Kirkus Reviews .
  16. ↑ "Not one of Maigret's more brilliant triumphs but interesting for its penetrating character studies - especially of those teenagers in deep trouble." Quoted from: Maigret at the Gai-Moulin on Kirkus Reviews .
  17. ↑ "From its thrilling first chapter to the inevitable round-up the accelerator is kept firmly down; this is the most exciting Maigret story yet translated. "Quoted from: The Spectator , Volume 164, 1940, p. 696.
  18. ^ "Simenon's genius shines in this simple but exciting story." Quoted from: Maigret at the Gai-Moulin . In: Publishers Weekly, February 9, 1991.
  19. ↑ "a wonderful book [...] a world of callow youths and nightcub denizens, so but it has a wonderfully puzzling plot." Quoted from: Maigret of the Month: La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin (Maigret at the Gai-Moulin) on Steve Trussel's Maigret page.
  20. ↑ Only money . In: Der Spiegel . No. 33 , 1966, pp. 79 ( online ).
  21. ↑ Fool at the bar . In: Der Spiegel . No. 50 , 1966, pp. 157 ( online ).
  22. ↑ Maigret Films & TV on Steve Trussel's website.
  23. ↑ tape Dessinées: Éditions Claude Lefrancq on the Maigret page of Steve Trussell.