Inspector Maigret Omnibus: Volume 1 - by Georges Simenon (Hardcover)

About the Book

Includes an interview with Georges Simenon by Carvel Collins entitled The art of fiction.

Book Synopsis

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.

"A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason." --John Le Carré

"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." --The Guardian

"A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness." --The Independent

Review Quotes

Praise for Georges Simenon:

"One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." --The Guardian

"These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself." --The Washington Post

"The matchless French crime novelist." --Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker

"Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals." --People

"I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov." --William Faulkner

"An astute observer of human nature, writing in a spare and vivid style." --Amor Towles

"I never read contemporary fiction-with one exception: the works of Simenon." --T.S. Eliot

"A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason." --John Le Carré

"One of the most important writers of our century." --Gabriel García Márquez

"A favorite writer of mine." --Sigrid Nunez

"A great writer of detail, of atmosphere." --Leïla Slimani

"Feels incredibly modern...A great writer." --Ian Rankin

"The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature." --André Gide

"A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness." --The Independent (London)

"Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales." --The Observer (London)

"Compelling, remorseless, brilliant." --John Gray

"A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable--lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates." --Muriel Spark

"A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it." --Peter Ackroyd

"Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century." --John Banville

"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . 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" ―Times (London)

"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." ―Margaret Atwood

"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere." ―Financial Times

"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn." ―Stig Abell, The Sunday Times (London)

About the Author

GEORGES SIMENON (1903-1989) was born in Liège, Belgium. Best known in the English-speaking world as the author of the Inspector Maigret books, his prolific output of more than four hundred novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe.