Maigret et la Vieille Dame (1950)

Maigret and the Old Lady (French: Maigret et la vieille dame) is a detective novel by Belgian writer Georges Simenon, featuring his character inspector Jules Maigret. The novel was written between November 29 to December 8, 1949, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, United States. The book was published the following year by Presses de la Cité.

Translations

The book was translated into English by Robert Brain in 1958 and by Ros Schwartz in 2016 under the title Maigret and the Old Lady.

The first German translation by Hansjürgen Wille and Barbara Klau was published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch in 1954. The new translation by Renate Nickel was published by Diogenes Verlag in 1978.

Reception

In 1958 literature magazine Time and Tide wrote about the novel: "The plot of Maigret and the Old Lady […] might not amount to much if it were handled by another, but Maigret's methods and Simenon's gift for creating and evoking local atmosphere combine to hold the reader captive."

Adaptations

The novel was adapted several times:

In French

1977: Maigret et la dame d'Etretat, with Jean Richard in the lead role;

1995: Maigret et la vieille dame, starring Bruno Cremer;

In English

1960: The Old Lady, starring Rupert Davies;

In Japanese

1978: Keishi to rōfūfu no nazo (警視と老夫婦の謎)), starring Kinya Aikawa;

In Russian

1974: Maigret i staraya dama, starring Boris Tenin.

Stage Play 1965

Maigret and the Lady, Strand Theatre, London (now Novello Theatre, London), Opera House, Manchester, and other locations.

August 23 – November 6, 1965. [John Gale Productions Ltd., ]